Balance all the loose nails on the one

Balance all the loose nails on the one nail. Rules No loose nails can touch any part of the wooden block and must be free standing Tuesday, November 10, 2020 Created by Mr Lafferty www. mathrevision. com 1

Hints / Solution 1. Forget about the wooden block. 2. Arrange the nails in a symmetrical pattern. 3. The first nail goes in this direction. 4. The second nail goes downwards like this. Continue the symmetrical pattern leaving one nail spare. 5. The last nail goes in the opposite direction to the first. 6. Finally, holding both ends, carefully lift up all the nails and place on the single nail. You will need to get the ‘feel’ for the balance point. Tuesday, November 10, 2020 Created by Mr Lafferty www. mathsrevision. com 2

Hints / Solution 1. Forget about the wooden block. 2. Arrange the nails in a symmetrical pattern. 3. The first nail goes in this direction. 4. The second nail goes downwards like this. Continue the symmetrical pattern leaving one nail spare. 5. The last nail goes in the opposite direction to the first. 6. Finally, holding both ends, carefully lift up all the nails and place on the single nail. You will need to get the ‘feel’ for the balance point. Tuesday, November 10, 2020 Created by Mr Lafferty www. mathsrevision. com 3

Balancing Method www. mathsrevision. com Solving the nail puzzle helps us to solve algebraic equations Tuesday, November 10, 2020 4 4 Created by Mr Lafferty www. mathsrevision. com 4 4 4