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BODMAS Countdown | |

|Stimuli |

|This activity is based upon a game-show that was broadcast in both Britain and Australia. In Britain, it was called “Countdown.” In |

|Australia, it was “Letters and Numbers.” |

|To give students a better understanding of the norms and rules of the game, they could watch some online footage of the TV program: |

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|Equipment |

|* Nine dice in total; one section has seven 12-sided dice; the other section has a 12-sided die and a 6-sided die. |

|* A whiteboard and markers. |

|* A timer, capable of making a loud buzzing sound after a countdown of a minute. |

|* The students’ math-books. |

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|How to Play |

|Players will take turns being the host. After every round, switch who the host is in a clock-wise direction. |

|Before starting, all players should agree on the level of difficulty they want the game to be played at. Will it be “Very Easy,” |

|“Easy,” “Medium,” “Hard” or “Very Hard”? Make the decision and then continue. |

|At the start of a round, the host will roll the 12-sided and 6-sided dice, creating the “Target Number,” which will be written up on|

|the whiteboard. |

|Secondly, the host will roll the seven 12-sided dice, creating the “Active Numbers,” which are also written on the whiteboard. |

|Make sure the Target Number and Active Numbers are placed separately on the whiteboard, so that they won’t get confused within one |

|another. |

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|How to get the “Active Numbers” |

|The range of possible Active Numbers is between 1 and 10. This means that if the numbers 11 or 12 are rolled, then have a redo. |

|Once you have seven numbers within this range, write them on the board in the order they were rolled. |

|For example, 6, 5, 9, 2, 2, 7, 1. |

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|How to get the “Target Number” |

|Rolling the 12-sided die will give you the Target Number’s unit column. The number should be somewhere in the range of 0 to 9. The |

|roll of a 10 is to be taken as a 0. If the number rolled is 11 or 12, then have a redo. |

|Then, rolling the 6-sided die will give you the Target Number’s tens column. Take the number you’ve rolled and multiply it by 10, |

|giving you your number. For example a roll of 2 gives you a Target Number of 20. |

|However, this rolled number is increased by a certain number depending on the level of difficulty the players had agreed upon |

|earlier. |

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|Very Easy……… No increase (a roll of 2 creates a Target Number of 20) |

|Easy……… Increase by 30 (a roll of 2 creates 20 + 30 = 50) |

|Medium……… Increase by 60 (a roll of 2 creates 20 + 60 = 80) |

|Hard……… Increase by 90 (2 creates 20 + 90 = 110) |

|Very Hard……… Increase by 120 (20 + 120 = 140) |

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|Writing your BODMAS equation |

|Once all the numbers have been written up onto the board, the host will set the timer for one minute. During that minute of time, |

|the players are to write their calculations into their math-books. But once the minute has run out and the timer has buzzed, they |

|must stop doing any more writing. |

|During that minute of time, each player is to create and write down a BODMAS equation. |

|They can use whatever operations they want and can place them wherever in the equation they want. |

|The only numbers that are allowed to be used in the BODMAS equation are the Active Numbers. |

|There’s no restriction on where the Active Numbers can be placed within the equation. It’s completely up to the individual player. |

|Each number can be used only once in the equation. If there’s only one 3 in the Active Numbers, you can only use one 3 in your |

|BODMAS equation. If there are two 3s in the Active Numbers, you can only use two 3s. |

|You don’t have to use every Active Number that’s available to you. Only select the ones you need to create the equation you want. |

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|Calculating the BODMAS equation |

|Using the Order of Operations, the BODMAS equation that each player has created and written down needs to be calculated out with an |

|end total. |

|The aim of the game is for each player’s equation to have a total that’s equal to or very near the Target Number. |

|When the timer has buzzed and the players have stopped writing, the host will ask, “Has anyone reached the Target Number?” |

|If one or more players put up their hands, then they get to write their BODMAS equations on to the whiteboard. The calculation of |

|the equation should be done through the writing process according to the Order of Operation. That way the host and the other players|

|can see how the equation is worked out. |

|If no player puts their hand up, then the host will ask each individual player how close they came to the Target Number. The host |

|locates the person who has gotten a number that is closest to the Target Number and gets them to write their BODMAS equation onto |

|the whiteboard. |

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|Optional scoring system |

|The round is now over. The host will write down the scores onto the scoresheet. |

|Every player who was able to reach the Target Number receives 30 points (30 – 0 = 30). |

|Every other player gets a score of points depending on how close they came to the Target Number. For example, if they got a result |

|that was 10 away from the Target, then they receive 20 points (30 – 10 = 20). |

|The host wasn’t participating in the round as a player. Leave a dash next to their name for this round. |

|Online individual work |

|For further exploration of this game, its rules and the maths behind it, there is this online activity. This is a game based upon |

|the original game-show. |

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|Online Resources |

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|The BODMAS song |

|A catchy song to help you remember the rules of BODMAS. |

|* (just with the lyrics) |

|* (dance routine) |

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|Highlights from the TV shows, “Letters and Numbers” and “Countdown.” |

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|* (start the video at 2:20) |

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|The BODMAS calculator |

|Type in a BODMAS equation into the top bar and the program will automatically calculate its total, providing you with the |

|step-by-step process that it took to reach that answer. |

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|A simple Order of Operations game |

|You start off being given a BODMAS equation. You must click onto the part of the equation that you think should be solved first. The|

|two main learning intentions are: DM is solved before AS; AS is solved going from left to right. |

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|Other games involving BODMAS calculations |

|* Shodor. |

|* Math Play. |

|* Suffolk Maths. |

|* Learn Alberta. |

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|“Letters and Numbers” and “Countdown” Generator |

|The structure and features of the game-show are replicated here, allowing you to play your very own rounds and competitions. Plus, |

|the settings of what numbers are randomly generated are adjustable. |

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