The Christmas When Santa's Cards Got Stuck In The Letterbox

The Christmas when Santa's Christmas cards got stuck in the letterbox, Santa received no mail at all. Christmas cards blocked the door and you could hardly see Santa in the hall. One by one, the mail piled up on the step - you could hardly see Santa beneath a papery mess. So Santa got busy sorting them out - some of the gnomes came to help him out. He put the cards into the following categories - cards from abroad, from his family and cards from friends (he thought he'd never get to the end). His stamp collection would grow quickly, he was sure - once he'd picked up all the cards from the floor. Along came the Christmas fairy, bringing milk from the dairy. On the step, there wasn't much room, so she went to sweep the cards up with a broom. The snowman waded in from the garden with a spade and helped the fairy clear the glade. From outside, she pushed and pulled - but the letterbox was still quite full. Inside, Santa tugged the letters, hoping this would make the problem better. But it was hopeless, they were completely stuck - you wouldn't believe the time it took " Heave - ho, why did they move so slow ?" ... then suddenly Santa realised why the cards didn't go. Whilst he'd been pulling with all his might, on the other side of the door, the fairy was clinging on tight. No wonder that the cards didn't budge one bit - Santa was pulling, while the fairy was holding it. Soon, as the card was tore in a Christmas tug of war, bits of paper scattered all over the floor.

Maths Tug of War

Each side of the equation signs rope, is a mathematical sum in a tug - of - war. The winning team has the greatest number. Work out the answer to each of the two mathematical equations then decide which side wins. Which is greater ? (If the scores are equal, no one team wins and put 0). Work out the numerical difference between each side. Then as a final test, add them up - this should leave you with one final score for the tug - of - war - what is it ? Example -

TEAM A - TEAM B 4 x 5 === 20 - 8 20 === 18

Therefore, team B.

1. 3 x 3 ====== 2 x 2 x 2

2. 100 / 2 ====== 10 x 6

3. 3 X 30 ====== 100 - 15

4. 20 x 2 ====== 50 / 5

5. 80 - 20 ====== 50 + 30

6. 40 x 3 ====== 150 - 30

7. 45 + 5 x 2 ====== 30 x 3

8. 9 x 9 x 10 ====== 1000 - (60 x 3)

9. 5 x 5 x 5 ====== 150 - 20

10. 100 / 20 x 3 ====== 3 x 4

11. 20 x 3 ====== 50 + 10

12. 4 x 4 - 2 ====== 2 x 7 + 2

13. 75 / 3 ====== 5 x 4

14. 30 / 3 x 2 ====== 3 x 6

15. 50 - 2 ====== 7 x 7

16. 9 x 10 + 12 ====== 120 - 10

17. 40 - 2 ====== 6 x 6

18. 30 - 6 ====== 100 / 4

19. 100 - 40 - 10 ====== 15 x 3

20. 10 x 5 ====== 60 - 20

* Teacher's note - you can adapt this game, by comparing different weights, pressure strengths, heights of team players etc.

© Jacqueline Richards 2008

Answers : 1. B - 1 2. B - 10 3. A - 5 4. A - 30 5. B - 20 6. Equal - 0 7. A - 10 8. B - 10 9. B - 5 10. A - 3 11. Equal - 0 12. B - 2 13. A - 5 14. A - 2 15. B - 1 16. B - 8 17. A - 2 18. B - 1 19. A - 5 20. A - 10 Total score - 130