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motivating pupils for math and science
The activity



Dutch Mathematics day Contest 2020 (age group 15 years old)		Urban heating

More and more is being built in cities. More and more streets, squares and parking spaces are being constructed. People are also increasingly putting tiled pavement in their gardens. When the weather is warm, these paved areas in cities cause more heat in the city than in the surrounding areas. Stones store the heat. This is called the heat island effect. In large cities, the temperature is on average 3 degrees Celsius to sometimes 8 degrees Celsius higher than in the rest of the country. This influences people's health, among other things, as well as energy consumption and water quality. Fortunately, there are measures and activities that can make cities less warm.
Background information

Dutch Mathematics Day Contest

During the Dutch Mathematics Day Contest students work in teams of about 3 to 4 members on an open mathematical problem solving task during a couple of hours. The product of this work is a report (and sometimes a presentation).


Dutch Mathematics Day Contest 		Using your skills in a new setting
  • The task gives the students the opportunity to show what they have learned from mathematics and how they can use the knowledge and skills in a new situation.
  • Students can try, analyze, reason, calculate en design;
  • The (context of the) task is authentic, while the mathematics knowledge is easy to (re)use in this new situation;
  • Different teams can work 'on their own level' and this gives opportunities for differentiation;
  • There is a structure in the task from 'easy first steps' to a more complex end task.

Online learning objects from the Freudenthal Institute (Utrecht University)