Mr.P’s Parent Maths Problem of the Week

Hello parents,

Thank you to everyone who had a go at last week’s problem about finding the length of a bird. It’s a great example of how different parts of a problem can depend on each other.

The key to solving it is to carefully follow how the head, body, and tail are linked. We are told the head is 9 cm, the tail depends on the body, and the body depends on the tail. This circular relationship can feel tricky at first, but the best approach is to take one part (for example, the body) and express everything in terms of it.

If we let the body be the main unknown, we can use the information step by step. The tail is the head (9 cm) plus half the body, and the body is the head (9 cm) plus the tail. Substituting one into the other allows us to simplify the relationship and find that the body must be 36 cm. From there, the tail is 27 cm, and adding all three parts together (head + body + tail) gives a total length of 72 cm.

A helpful takeaway from this problem is that when quantities depend on each other, it’s often useful to focus on just one variable and gradually substitute until everything becomes clear.

Wishing everyone a restful and happy Easter holiday.

Solutions will be published in the following week’s edition of the Barrow Hills Bulletin.

Problem for the Easter Holiday 2026

For the Easter holiday, I have an absolutely diabolical problem. There is a definite answer to the problem below, but getting to it is a real mind-bender. Good luck!