Coloured paper

Coloured paper

Pencil and paper
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Working with Students
Further Resources
This task is about interpreting a tree diagram.

Tania is making a pastel and paint picture for a competition. She has to choose one paper colour, one pastel colour, and one paint colour. Here are the colours Tania can choose from:

  • white or brown paper
  • green, yellow, or orange pastel
  • blue or pink paint

tree diagram
 

All Tania's possible choices are shown in the tree diagram above.

Use the tree diagram to answer the following questions about the different combinations of coloured materials Tania could use to make her picture.

 

a)
How many of the different combinations have
 
 
i)
 
ii)
 
iii)
 
iv)
 
v)
white paper? __________

yellow pastel? __________
 
blue paint? __________
 
green pastel and pink paint? __________
 
brown paper and blue paint? __________
 
b)
In total, how many different combinations of paper, pastels, and paint could Tania use to make her picture? 
 
_________
Task administration: 
This task is completed with pencil and paper only.
Level:
4
Curriculum info: 
Maths, Statistics, Probability
Keywords: 
tree diagrams, combinations
Description of task: 
This task requires students to interpret a tree diagram of art materials and identify the number of different possibilities from various combinations presented.
Curriculum Links: 
This resource can be used to help to identify students' understanding of using models of all possible outcomes.
 
Learning Progression Frameworks
This resource can provide evidence of learning associated with
Interpreting statistical and chance situations, sets 4-5
within the Mathematics Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Read more about the Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Answers/responses: 
 

Y8 (11/2001)

a)

i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)

6
4
6
2
3

difficult
difficult
moderate
moderate
moderate

b)

  

12

difficult

 

Diagnostic and formative information: 
 

Common error

Likely reason

a) i)
    ii)

1
2

Counts the number of times colour appears on diagram, not number of combinations that include that colour.

a) iv)
     v)

8
7

Counts total number of times each material appears on diagram, not number of combinations using both colours.

b)

20

Counts total number of colours in tree diagram.