Ratio is better understood when practically demonstrated and applied, so start with an activity of making egg sandwiches and watch the maths roll on. This could be part of a themed maths week for Easter and include other challenges too. It also shows how maths is useful in everyday life and how ratios are used in cafes and kitchens to calculate quantities of ingredients.
Ratio and Egg Sandwiches
You will need:• 1 hard boiled egg per child
• 1 large jar of mayonnaise for the whole class
• 2 slices of bread per child (buy slices that are as close to a square as possible)
• small bowl, teaspoon, dinner-knife and fork for each group.
• a teaspoon for each child for tasting.
Children work in small groups of 3s or 4s
Task 1: Find the best ratio of egg to mayonnaise
1 egg is mashed with a fork and 1 level teaspoon (tsp) of mayonaise is added at a time until the group decides on the best flavour.
Record results as 1 egg : __ tsp mayonnaise
The group repeats this ratio for the remaining eggs. ___eggs : ___ tsp mayonnaise
Task 2: Find the best ratio of egg to slices of bread
Ask the group to make one set of sandwiches with a ratio of 2 : 1 slices of bread to eggs.
Slice the round into quarters.
What other ratio of slices of bread to eggs does the group want to try?
Slice a round into quarters, but make the 4 parts look different to the first sandwich.
Teaching notes:
Eggs and mayonnaise can be kept out of a fridge for up to 2 hours. Do not eat if out of a fridge for a longer period.
Each child has a teaspoon for tasting the egg and mayonnaise mix. Use the handle to take a small amount and wash it up between each tasting session.
Butter or margarine is not necessary.
Eggs and mayonnaise can be kept out of a fridge for up to 2 hours. Do not eat if out of a fridge for a longer period.
Each child has a teaspoon for tasting the egg and mayonnaise mix. Use the handle to take a small amount and wash it up between each tasting session.
Butter or margarine is not necessary.
Cafe calculations
Using your ratios calculate the amount of ingredients needed for each of these.
• If a box of 6 eggs is used to make sandwiches, how many teaspoons of mayonnaise will be needed? How many slices of bread will be needed?
• How many eggs will be needed to make sandwiches using a loaf of bread with 24 slices? how many teaspoons of mayonnaise will be needed?
• 16 children at a party will each have 3 small quarter sandwiches each. How many slices of bread and eggs will be needed?
Easter Maths Activities
Repeated Patterns on Painted Eggs
Use repeating colours and shapes.
What patterns can you make with
2 colours? 3 colours? Dots and lines?
Easter Egg Tangrams
How many differnt shapes can you make?
How many birds can you make?
Can you put the egg together again?
Easter Egg Rolling
Opportunities for measuring length
and collecting and sorting data.
