Title of challenge: Recycling Music Challenge

Scenario:
A group of friends are stranded because their money has been stolen. They decide to earn it by busking using discarded packaging items to make instruments.

Task:
Get into teams of four. You need to make at least four musical instruments and play a designated tune (e.g. Twinkle, twinkle little star.)

Conditions:
There are no set materials, but you must not use real instruments. Each team member must play
one instrument, and the tune may be played for at least 30 seconds.

Judging:
Teams will be judged by the standard of music, the variety of instruments and audience reaction.

Videoed:
Entries will be videoed and put on this blogsite. Others may judge your performance differently.

Thanks to the BP challenge for this idea. See BP Challenge for their website.

I love this one. Thanks Ethan for your email. Here it is. Who can solve it?

Ethan says, “Hey Mr… This is random

Ok. Assume last year a girl began with no money. Every month she gets an allowance for a whole year.  Then she spends 1/2 of her money on clothes, then 1/3 of the remaining money on games, and then 1/4 of the remaining money on toys. After she bought all of that, she had $7777 left. Assuming she only gets money by allowance, how much money does she earn every month?”

No, Paddy, it can’t be $0. How could she end up with $7777 if she gets nothing each allowance?

No one was prepared to have a go. So, as a class we worked it out by “trial and error.” Our first attempt was $100. We were no where near. So we then tried $1000. We were still not close enough. Samantha noticed that the answer was always half the number we thought of. This made it easy. The answer has to be $7777 x 2.     $15554

Here’s another challenge for you to attempt. Can you design and make a container to carry water from one place to another using only 2 pieces of newspaper? Fold 2 pieces of newspaper into a water carrying device. You cannot use any other materials. Will your container look like a bucket? A bag? A cone?

We will have a water carrying competition at school on Friday 12 June. We will see who can carry the most water from 1 container to another container 10m away. You can keep carrying water until your container disintegrates. The winner will be the person with the most water in their bucket.

You must enter by enrolling on the comments.

Competitors are… Tiri, Geleta, Shaquille, Ethan, Joy, Lucy, Lesieli, Geleta and Joanna.

I am famous.

I was a leader.

No, I am not a New Zealander.

Yes, I am dead.

I am male.

Hey Ali. Nice to hear from you. Paddy in my room is running this Who Am I, so I hope he gets into gear and answers your question for you. Have a nice holiday.

I am not Australian. I am famous for helping many people (so no, I am definitely not Adolf Hitler).

Yes, I did help the poor.

Geleta wants to know if I was a president and Samantha wants to know if I come from England or America? No, I am not a President, a Prime Minister, or American. Yes, I am English. So therefore, I can’t be President Lincoln on two counts.

Ilyas wonders if I committed suicide and Shaquille thinks I may be Henry the Eighth. No to both.

Ethan wonders if I did good to everybody.

Paddy says I’m not a scientist either. Scientists do good for other people by improving their lives with their inventions and discoveries.

Mrs Karaka wants to know if I was a sportsman????? The answer is…. Nooo!!!

Ethan wonders if you created a place for the poor? Yes, I did.

Joy asked me if I had kids? no Joy, I didn’t have kids.

Joanna wants to know if you were married. Joy wants to know when you died.

Paddy says “Yes I did attend a war. And I repeat, I had a wife but no kids…”

I fought in battles in another country… I did save lives but can’t tell you how many.

Joanna wants to know if you freed people from jail. She also wants to know if you can speak Spanish. Yes, I did free people from jail. No, I don’t speak Spanish.

Joanna wants to know if your parents or cousins went into battle with you?

Joana asked me these questions… did you have any cousins with you in the battle? No

and were your parents there when you fought in a battle? No,

My father was killed while I was away fighting.

Ilyas asks, “were you born in the 18th Century or the 19th Century? Were you a leader of the United Kingdom during WW2? Where in England were you born ?”

Joanna also wants to know if you took photos during the war.

I was born in the 13th century in Nottingham (in England). So no, I did not take photo’s during the WW2. My merry men fought in battle with me.

Moeez thinks I might be Friar Tuck, Billy, Robin Hood, Yorkshire, or Henry Ireton. Surely I must be one of these people…

At long last. Moeez has come up with the answer. I am Robin Hood. A great character to pick for a who am I, Paddy. I am sorry Room 20 took so long to narrow it down. It just shows, if you don’t ask good questions you are less likely to get the answers you need.

Ethan has questioned whether Moeez won or wheter he did. The judge’s decision is final. Moeez won by a nose. Moeez answered on 4.32pm on the 16th June and Ethan answered at 4.11pm on the 17th June.

Paddy let the cat out of the bag when he let it slip that he was Osama Bin Laden. So he is researching a new one. So while we wait, try this one…

I am famous for doing good. This makes a change from people famous for their infamy.

Paddy’s in first. No, I am not a male.

Celia asks if I was a US President. I guess answering Paddy’s query also answers Celias.

Samantha wonders if I am Sir Edmund Hillary. Once again, I think my answer to Paddy’s question kills that suggestion.

I am English.

It has been suggested that I may be Queen Elizabeth. No, I am dead. I won’t say what I did that made me famous because that would give it away.

Tiri thinks I may be Princess Diana. She was English and she is dead but no, I am not Princess Diana.

Samantha has it. I am Florence Nightingale “The Lady With The Lamp.” Once again, research what I did that made me so well known 99 years after my death in 1910. What questions using the seven servants can you think of to ask about her life?

Samantha’s prize, apart from the glory of victory, is to prepare the next “who am I” after Paddy.

I am infamous in history, but failed in what I set out to achieve.

1. Tom thought I might be Hitler. No!

2. Paddy thinks I might be Guy Fawkes. Blast!! I was Mr Guy Fawkes.

So I will reinvent myself because that was too easy. I am still infamous and I still failed in what I set out to do. I was responsible for many deaths.

3. A very interesting question from Samantha. Am I George Bush? Which one? George Bush Senior or George Bush Junior? Both past American presidents of course. Some of these president’s decisions did get people killed. But no, I’m not American.

4. Wow, Moeez wants to know a lot about me.

1. Yes, I am dead.
2. Yes, I am famous, or rather, infamous.
3. Yes, I am male.
4. Yes, I was responsible for many deaths because I tried to force many people to live a new and different life style that they weren’t use to. Many people died of starvation or sickness in my homeland. I also executed many people who tried to speak out against what I was doing.
5. Did someone else achieve what I failed to do? No, what I was doing was madness!!

Paddy has done it again He is the undisputed champion.

Yes, I am Pol Pot. A madman who killed millions of his own people. Who can tell me…

• Why Pol Pot killed so many of his own people?
  
• How Pol Pot killed so many of his own people?
• When Pol Pot killed so many of his own people?
• Where Pol Pot killed so many of his own people?
• How did Pol Pot die?
  

Paddy, you are a champion. I am going to ask you to write the next Who Am I.

Fabulous! Samantha has been doing a bit of research. She has found out that… Pol Pot died at the age of 73.
Real name: Solath Sar.
The number of people he killed: 3 million (between a quarter and a third of Cambodia’s population!).
Home country: Cambodia.
Pol Pot died because of heart failure At 7:27am, on April 16 1998.

Paddy found out that…“He died in his sleep in April 15^th 1998. He was being held prisoner near the Thai-Cambodian border. He was going to be put on trial for genocide but he died before he could be tried.” We have a discrepancy (difference) in the time of death. Why? Which one’s right?

Congratulations Samantha and Paddy who both went back to their sources to verify their information. I have also checked the sources and think the discrepancy has arisen because Pol Pot died on April 15th but many forms of media at the time didn’t report it until April 16th. Thanks Paddy and Samantha for your sterling work.

Killing 3 million people is hard to comprehend. You can see photos on the internet of skulls stacked up in piles. Some people would say it is sad that Pol Pot lived to such an old age when so many of his countrymen died so young. How did he kill so many Cambodians?

Join in the Room 20 Great Egg Drop.

The challenge is to design a way of safely dropping an egg from the top of the school playground without it breaking.

• You can only use items from your recycling bin at home.
• Your invention can not be more than 30cm big.
• The great egg drop will be on Wednesday 25 March.

You need to consider cushioning your egg and slowing it’s rate of descent (fall). Good luck with your design.

Celia asks if you can use string. Yes, and sellotape but not too much.

Our first competitior to sign up is Tiri S. You go girl!!

Celia, Geleta and Paddy have also joined the challenge.

Congratulations to Paddy, Celia, and Tiri who all made successful egg dropping inventions. We will post a video about the day soon. Tiri had a great day… Her and Celia think their reward should be a chocolate Easter egg, or a chance to throw an egg at me!! What do you all think?
Huh! Celia’s Mum says I should be egged and Celia gets a chocolate one? I want proof that that was Mum’s opinion and not Celia pretending to be Mum.

Horray! Some common sense at last. Carolyn, Paddy’s Mum, says it would just be a cheep laugh to waste an egg by throwing it at me. She thinks Paddy should spend some of his pocket money and buy a chocolate egg to throw my way. Thank you Carolyn for your intelligence and wise counsel. P.S. Room 20, did anyone spot the pun?

Samantha’s spotted the cheep/cheap pun. Her Mum Lynette, thinks the whole class should get a chocolate egg and throw them at me. This could break the school’s healthy eating policy.

The pressure is building for some sort of chocolate egg after school on Thursday (see comments)… Will I crack under the pressure of expectation?

In the widget at the bottom of the left hand column you will see Room 20’s Homework. Click on the sudoku challenge and download it onto your computer. Who can be the first person to successfully complete the sudoku and email me a copy? Maybe you could also do the missing addend sheet.

Have a go…

Ethan knows more about the school’s staffroom than me. He wants to know if this Sudoku is from the staffroom. No it isn’t, but I didn’t even know there was one in the staffroom. I had better open my eyes and be a bit more observant I think…

I am a famous woman. Who am I?

Nicki wants to know if she is the person?? Ha Ha, I said famous. I am as well known in England, France, Pakistan, Canada or anywhere else. Nicki isn’t well known in Portugal and Sweden.

Moeez wants to know if I am dead. Yes I am. As dead as a door knob.

Both Moeez and Celia ask if I am a queen. No I am not. In fact, the country I come from doesn’t have it’s own  queen but is part of the British Commonwealth.

Rohaib thinks I may be Lady Diana. I’m not English. I didn’t die in a car accident but my death was violent and tragic.

Yes Ethan,I was murdered.

Paddy hits the jackpot. I am Indira Ghandi, India’s Prime Minister for fifteen years. I was assassinated by my own body guards in 1984. Sadly, my son Rajiv also became Prime Minister of India and also got assassinated. It can be a very dangerous job leading your country!!

In 1999, I was voted the greatest woman of the past 1000 years in a poll carried out by BBC news, ahead of other notable women such as Queen Elizabeth.

What can you find out about Indira Ghandi? Why was she assassinated by her own guards?

Paddy and Ethan found this out about her death in wikipedia…

We both found out how she got killed. But we don’t know why…

She was walking down a path to get interviewed when her guard got out his pistol and shot her then Beant Singh got out his sten sub-machine gun and gunned her up.
After the assassination she was sent to a hospital in Delhi & they took 7 of the 19 bullets that were in side her out and she died 1 hour later the guard where killed by her trusted guard. He also died later on.

Nicki thought it might have been another woman leader from Asia, Benazir Bhutto who was assassinated last year in Pakistan.

1st prize is more computer time in class.

Work out either of these problems…

1.  What do all the numbers from 1 to 100 add up to? See if you can find a quick and easy way of adding them all together.

First prize goes to Moeez who has worked out the answer 5050. Does he know the quick way of doing it or did he add all the numbers one at a time??

Don’t forget the rectangle problem. Who can work it out. More free computer time on offer…

2.   Here are 8 rectangles. How many rectangles can you see in all? The answer is not 8. For example, 1 and 2 joined make a rectangle. Squares also count as a rectangle.

Segun thinks there are 9 rectangles. There are a lot more than that. Some rectangles are 1 square big. Some are 2 squares. Some are 3 squares. Some are 4 squares. etc.

Segun and Sekeriye are working hard on this problem. No one is right yet. You need to work out how many rectangles you can make with 1 rectangle, then 2 rectangles, 3 rectangles, 4 rectangles, 6 rectangles, and 8 rectangles. You can’t make any using 5 or 7 rectangles.

Congratulations Segun. The answer is 30 rectangles. There are 8 rectangles made with 1 rectangle, 10 rectangles made with 2 rectangles, 4 rectangles made with 3 rectangles, 5 rectangles made with 4 rectangles, 2 rectangles made with 6 rectangles, and 1 rectangle made with 8 rectangles.

First correct answer gets a free session on Mathletics during schooltime.

The first human being to ever do this? Others have done it since but being first is special. No none remembers second. First is what counts most… Who am I and what did I do???

Lili asked an excellent question to start us off. She asks, “Are you Neil Armstrong the first person to ever stand on the moon with Buzz Aldrin following in your footsteps.” No, I am not Neil Armstrong. What I did happened a bit earlier than 1969.               

Segun wants to know if I was involved in a sport or if I was a leader. I was involved in sports. The first sportsman to achieve a very special milestone. The first to do what?

Once again Segun asks if I am Sir Edmund Hillary. No I’m not. I did what I did not long after Hillary conquered Everest in 1953. My sport is a lot less adventurous and not nearly as dangerous.

Ethan wants to know what sport I competed in. I am a runner. I am still famous because I was the first to do something that many runners have done since.

Congratulations to Sekeriye. I am Roger Bannister. Zack wins a free day on Mathletics.

Someone else can earn a free session on Mathletics as well if they can tell me what famous barrier or milestone I broke in 1954 that had never been done before?

Well done again, Segun. Roger Bannister was the first human to run a mile in under 4 minutes. It had never been done before. Now, all world class runners do it easily. The next big barrier runners are trying to break is to run a marathon in under two hours. It looks an impossible task but will probably be done one day.

I am reading Louis Sachar’s novel “Holes” to Room 20. Here is a hole problem I solved on Mr Lund’s blog from Springfield. I’m sure he won’t mind if I borrow it for Room 20.

A weta was stuck down the bottom of a 2m hole. It climbed up 1/4m each day and slipped down 1/8m each night. How long did it take the weta to climb out of the hole?

First correct answer submitted with your parent’s name attached gets an hour on Mathletics during schooltime.

Moeez has worked out the answer to be four days. I’m afraid not. That would only get the weta 1/2 metre.

Ethan thinks 5 minutes. I don’t think he has read the problem very closely. I don’t think he knows what the weta has to do to get out.

Segun thinks it will take 16 days. I think he needs to sketch the weta’s progress on paper to check his answer.

Segun is still at it. He says “if the weta moves 1/4m up every day and slides 1/8m every night. That means the weta moves up by 1/4-1/8=2-1=1/8. Therefore the weta moves up 1/8m every day. So to reach
2m it will take 2 divided by 1/8= 2 times 8/1= 2 times 8= 16 days.” Helped by: Mum and sister.:)

I agree Segun, the weta does climb 1/8m a day. After 8 days he has climbed 1m. You’re right. But the final stage is what is confusing you. Draw a hole 2m deep. Make marks at 1/8 intervals. Now go up 1/4, down 1/8 etc. etc. At what point does weta touch the top of the 2m hole?

Congratulations! We have a winner. Segun has worked out that the Weta takes 15 days to get out of the hole. He will explain why to us on Tuesday…

Who am I?

• I am a New Zealander who is also an Australian…

• I died in very mysterious circumstances. Accidental? Murder? Who really knows?

• Ali asks what gender I am. I am a male.

• Segun asks where I was born. Timaru, South Island of New Zealand.

• Ali asks if I am famous. Yes, probably I am the most famous of my type ever. Aussies and kiwis still argue about me.

• Nicki wants to know if I am a sportsman. Yes, I did earn my fame in sporting endeavours.

• Ilyas wants to know what sport I played. I was one of the world’s best at racing.

• Miss W. from Australia knows who I am but isn’t giving it away. Yes I have a big heart and no  I am not human.

• Segun wants to know if I am an animal and if you can see me in the zoo. Yes, I am an animal but I have never seen one at the zoo.

• Sekeriye asks when I died. I died in the USA in 1932.

• Ali asks if I am a horse. Yes I am. He also sets the record for the latest comment sent in by Room 20. 11pm! Lucky there’s no school tomorrow Ali.

• Well done again Moeez. I am Phar Lap. Phar Lap is a national icon in both Australia and New Zealand. He died of a mysterious poisoning. His skeleton is Te Papa in Wellington, his enormous heart that was twice as big as a normal racehorse’s heart is in the National Museum in Canberra, and his coat/hide/skin is in the Melbourne Museum.

A new challenge. Who am I?

1. I am not a New Zealander.

Segun bombarded me with questions and I would get writer’s cramp if I tried to answer them all. I will answer some and narrow it down a bit.

1. I am male.

2.  I was born in Chicago in the USA.

3. I am now dead.

4. I became famous for playing a sport very briefly.

5. People thought it was very strange when I did play my sport because I was the first of my kind to do so.

 Hope that’s not too confusing Segun but you did exhaust me with all those questions…

Thankyou Ethan, Segun and Moeez  for your questions. I will try and answer tham all.

1. No I am not in the Olympics, tennis, or American Football. Yes I did play Baseball: for 1 game only. I got kicked out after playing my 1 and only game.

2. No, I have not done anything else famous.

3. No I have not done anything useful to help mankind.

4. No one around the world remembers me (except Mr Waller) but most americans know who I am.

5. I have never heard of Randy Salermo. Is he dead too?

6. I was born in 1925. If I was still alive I would be 83.

No one like me has played professional baseball again. I was the first and last player like me. What was different about me from every other player?

Ethan and Segun. No, no, no, no. Did any of these baseball players only play 1 game? Were any of them the first of their type to ever play professional Baseball?

Another clue. My childhood was hell because everyone laughed at me when I was growing up because I looked so different. When I played my only game of baseball the whole crowd and the other team laughed at me too.

Moeez wants to know what team I played for. I played for the St. Louis Browns.

Segun wants to know if I am the first kid to ever play baseball. Good question but no I am not a kid. I did pop out of a cake when they carried me into the stadium to have my turn at bat. Most kids would love to do that.

Sekeriye wants to know if I am short. Yes I am, in fact, I am a midget. I am only 109cm tall. He also wants to know if I am married. No I didn’t get married.

Congratulations to Ethan who was the first to say that I am Eddie Gaedel. Thanks to all of Room 20 for the fascinating discussion about his short life.

Thank you Segun for sending me the photo you see above. We can see how high the catcher is taking the pitch. No wonder he got walked to first base!!

?     ?        ?            ?              ?        ?

Who?         Why?                What?                                         When?              Where?              How?

Ask me a question to try to work out what I am by clicking on comments…

1. I am man-made.

Kofi wants to know if I am Dan Carter or Helen Clark. The trouble is, I am Man-made. Therefore I am not living.

He also wants to know if I am a robot. No, I am not a robot, but today machines are so clever in what they can do it is getting harder and harder to work out what a robot is.

Thomas wants to know if I am electronic. No, I am not an electronic appliance but I do have electronic componentry (parts).

He wants to know what country I was made in. I was made in the USA.

He also asks what I have done for mankind. If I wasn’t invented the world would be a very different place today. There might be less noise and pollution. The world would also be a harder place to live in.

2. Originally I was made in black only. Nowadays I come in many colours.

Thomas asks if I am ink. No, I’m not. I did say that I have some electronic components in me.

3. I am mainly metallic (made of metal) and use to be painted black. Now I am painted many different colours.

Sekeriye asks if I am a science object. No, you won’t find me in any science laboratory.

Lili asks if I am a car. Aaagghhhh!! Yes I am. But what type of car? I was originally made in the USA and only came in black.

Moeez wants to know if I am Knight Rider. Knight Rider was black but the answer is no. He also wants to know if I am from the olden days. Yes.

Segun thinks I am either a Ford or a Chrysler. Both are American and I am one of them. But which one and which model?

Moeez also wants to know what year I was first made. The answer is 1908. Chrysler wasn’t invented until 1925 so I must be a Ford.

4. My nickname was “Tin Lizzy.”

Moeez wants to know if Model means year. No it doesn’t. Toyota makes different model cars. Like a Corolla, a Corona, and a Camry. These are all models of Toyota. The Model of this Ford car made in 1908 is a letter of the alphabet.

We have a winner!! Congratulations Moeez. Yes, I am a Model T Ford. Invented by Henry Ford. You are the best Moeez.

Famous Henry Ford quotes…                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  “The Customer Can Have Any Color He Wants So Long As It’s Black”. — Henry Ford

“If you think you can or you think you can’t, you will ALWAYS be right.” — Henry Ford

“Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it.” – Henry Ford