Can You Guess This Number?
Learners try to guess their partner’s number by asking the least number of ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions.
What You Need
- Writing tool
- Number chart template (optional)
- Alphabet chart template (optional)
Guide:
Safety Notes
Ensure you are familiar with Let's Talk Science's precautions with respect to safe delivery of outreach to youth.
What To Do
- Give learners a range of numbers. Depending on the age of the learners, this range could be from 1 to 10, or from 1 to 1000.
- Task students with picking one number from within the provided range. Encourage them to write it down somewhere that is not visible to others, so they don’t forget!
- Ask educator to spilt learners into pairs.
- By asking only ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions, partner one must try to figure out what partner two’s number is. Example questions can include: is it less than _____? Is it greater than _____?
- Keep track of how many questions were asked to properly guess the right number.
- Optional: use the number chart template provided to track questions and to cross out numbers as question are asked.
- Partners switch, and partner two tries to solve for partner one’s number.
Discovery
By trying to solve for the mystery number, learners are using critical thinking and evaluation skills to decide which questions to ask next and which answers to give. Learners also use decomposition to guess the specific number.
As technology advances, it is more important than ever that people contribute to the digital world. Building computational thinking skills, critical thinking, testing and evaluation skills better prepare learners for the real and the digital world. By asking questions and then adapting to the answers, learners can ask more precise questions to solve the problem.
Critical thinking involves addressing complex problems by interpreting information to make informed judgments. This activity required learners to analyze the problem and decide what to do with the information they received. Being able to think critically is an important skill to have that helps learners become constructive citizens and interact with the world in meaningful ways.
- Create a new challenge using letters, instead of numbers (see optional materials).
- Increase the range to make the activity more challenging.
- Challenge older students to incorporate what they are learning in math to their questions (e.g., Is it an even number? Odd number? Is the number divisible by three? Etc.)
What's Happening?
By trying to solve for the mystery number, learners are using critical thinking and evaluation skills to decide which questions to ask next and which answers to give. Learners also use decomposition to guess the specific number.
Why Does It Matter?
As technology advances, it is more important than ever that people contribute to the digital world. Building computational thinking skills, critical thinking, testing and evaluation skills better prepare learners for the real and the digital world. By asking questions and then adapting to the answers, learners can ask more precise questions to solve the problem.
Critical thinking involves addressing complex problems by interpreting information to make informed judgments. This activity required learners to analyze the problem and decide what to do with the information they received. Being able to think critically is an important skill to have that helps learners become constructive citizens and interact with the world in meaningful ways.
Investigate Further
- Create a new challenge using letters, instead of numbers (see optional materials).
- Increase the range to make the activity more challenging.
- Challenge older students to incorporate what they are learning in math to their questions (e.g., Is it an even number? Odd number? Is the number divisible by three? Etc.)