Transum Software

Only One Each

Place the tents so that each tree has one tent next to it and no two tents are next to each other.

Tap a square to put a tent in it. Tap it again for meaning "nothing goes here". Tap once more to clear it.

Instructions

The grid shows a campsite. The trees 🌳 are already there but the tents ⛺ are missing. Your job is to work out where every one of them goes.

Watch out for this one. A tent may well end up sitting next to two trees. That is perfectly allowed. What matters is that when you have finished, the trees and the tents can be paired off one to one, with each pair sitting next to each other.

Using the grid

Where to begin

Look for a row or column with a 0 at the end: nothing goes in any of those squares, so mark them all with straight away. Then look for trees with only one empty square beside them, because you know at once what has to go there. After that, count carefully along the rows and columns whose numbers are nearly used up.

The Type menu lets you choose a bigger grid or a harder puzzle. Every puzzle you are given has exactly one answer, and you never have to guess — you can always reason your way to it.

Where this puzzle comes from

This activity is based on the puzzle Tents from Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection, and uses a version of Simon's puzzle-generating and puzzle-solving logic, rewritten in jQuery for Transum. The original software is copyright © 2004–2024 Simon Tatham and is used, with thanks, under the terms of its MIT licence.

What next?

There's a rather large number of puzzles waiting for you on the Transum website and the best place to start, surprisingly, is the Puzzles Page.

Transum.org

This web site contains over a thousand free mathematical activities for teachers and pupils. Click here to go to the main page which links to all of the resources available.

Please contact me if you have any suggestions or questions.

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Mathematicians are not the people who find Maths easy; they are the people who enjoy how mystifying, puzzling and hard it is. Are you a mathematician?

Comment recorded on the 18 September 'Starter of the Day' page by Mrs. Peacock, Downe House School and Kennet School:

"My year 8's absolutely loved the "Separated Twins" starter. I set it as an optional piece of work for my year 11's over a weekend and one girl came up with 3 independant solutions."

Comment recorded on the i asp?ID_Top 'Starter of the Day' page by Ros, Belize:

"A really awesome website! Teachers and students are learning in such a fun way! Keep it up..."

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Numeracy

"Numeracy is a proficiency which is developed mainly in Mathematics but also in other subjects. It is more than an ability to do basic arithmetic. It involves developing confidence and competence with numbers and measures. It requires understanding of the number system, a repertoire of mathematical techniques, and an inclination and ability to solve quantitative or spatial problems in a range of contexts. Numeracy also demands understanding of the ways in which data are gathered by counting and measuring, and presented in graphs, diagrams, charts and tables."

Secondary National Strategy, Mathematics at key stage 3

Go Maths

Learning and understanding Mathematics, at every level, requires learner engagement. Mathematics is not a spectator sport. Sometimes traditional teaching fails to actively involve students. One way to address the problem is through the use of interactive activities and this web site provides many of those. The Go Maths main page links to more activities designed for students in upper Secondary/High school.

Teachers

If you found this activity useful don't forget to record it in your scheme of work or learning management system. The short URL, ready to be copied and pasted, is as follows:

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Scan the QR code below to visit the online version of this activity.

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https://www.Transum.org/go/?Num=118

Description of Levels

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Level 1 - Tents and Trees

Level 2 - Christmas trees and presents

Level 3 - Easter eggs and bunnies

Level 4 - Witches and pumpkins

More on this topic including lesson Starters, visual aids, investigations and self-marking exercises.

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