Dealing with waste  |  57 views  |  home  | Dutch version |  Classroom materials,
motivating pupils for math and science
The activity



Dutch Mathematics day Contest 2022 (age group 15 years old)		Dealing with waste

In the Netherlands, deposits will be introduced on small plastic drinks bottles in 2021, so that fewer end up in the sea. But waste can also be a problem closer to home and school: chewing gum and cigarette butts in the street, litter around schools and supermarkets, food scraps that attract rats, and so on. Waste can also be dealt with in a positive way: by collecting it separately, a lot of material can be reused (recycled). Then waste becomes a valuable raw material. In this assignment, you will investigate the situation of household waste. First you look at data about the Netherlands, then you do research in and around your school. You will collect and analyse the data. Finally, you make a plan for your school to deal (even) better with waste.
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)