Key Stage 1 Maths

Different Coloured Objects Challenge

Charlie has three cubes.

Each one is a different colour.

He wants to stack them one on top of each other like this.

How many different ways could he stack the coloured cubes so that no stack looks the same?

He could begin with the red cube at the bottom, then place the blue on top of the red cube and finally put the yellow cube on the top, like this:

You could record this as R B Y or use colours to draw squares.

Or he could start with the red cube at the bottom, then place the yellow one on top of the red cube and finally put the blue cube on top like this:

You could record this as R Y B or use colours to draw squares.

Now think of one of the other colours to start your stack.

Choose a way to record your different combinations.

What if we added a green cube?

How many different stacks can Charlie make now?

Think about how you could record your stacks each time.

You could use letters, one for each colour R B Y G or draw squares to represent the different colours and stacks.