Broadbent Maths
Broadbent Juggler
Sign In
Broadbent Maths
Broadbent Maths - creative primary maths

A special date with consecutive square numbers 4.9.16

Monday, 5 September 2016
4.9.16...  a square day! A set of consecutive square numbers appearing in a date - what a great starting point for some fun with numbers. Can this happen again? Has it happened before? What about dates that have all square numbers but not necessarily appearing in order? How many can you find? When are the next 'square number days'?
There is so much mathematical thinking to be had by giving children a simple starting point like this and letting them explore. Sometimes you can leave them to ask their own questions or you can prompt them, but always give them thinking time to come up with their own ideas before directing them on to a particular route. 


Find a 'Square Date'


• When was the last time there was a consecutive square number date?

• Will there ever be another consecutive square number date? Why not?



If you change the rules a little to include any square numbers in a date without them being in order, then there are a few 'Square dates' in September 2016

So hold this mini-activity on one of the following, 16th or 25th September 2016.

Which other months this year would have had square number days? Find all the dates.




Find a 'Prime Day'

Extend this activity to find prime number dates, how many prime number dates will there be in 2017? When was the last prime number date?

What about consecutive prime number dates?

Will there be another consecutive prime number date in 2017? Why not?



Screen Shot 2016-09-05 at 14.35.56
Related articles

Consecutive dates - an investigation adding 3 consecutive numbers
11.12.13 was a special date with consecutive numbers.

Palindromic dates - how many can you find?

21.11.12 or 31.1.13 - will there be any palindromic dates in the next year?

All about 15 maths activities for 15.12.15
These ideas can be adapted... 16 minutes of maths for 16th of September, October, November or December 2016.
This includes finding Fibonacci numbers in nature, exploring patterns and rules in number sequences, sunflowers and cones

2013 was the first year not to have a repeating digit since 1987
When will be the next time that a year has a repeating digit?
Like us...
Follow us...
Connect with us...
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Website design by SiteBuilder Bespoke