Cheeses
Loading Images
Approach:  Independent
ACCESS
Level: Year 4 and year 8
Focus: Identifying shapes of cross sections  
Resources:
Answer booklet
246kb
Questions/instructions:  

The cheese has been cut through with one straight cut. The cut made a square shaped cross section.
Look at the pictures. They show the places where the different cheeses have been cut.
Draw the cross section for each cheese.
   
 
% responses
2009 ('05)
y4
y8
1.         
 
Drew: circle
77 (68) 85 (80)
2.         
 
Drew: rectangle
18 (7) 47 (46)
  triangle 40 (43) 27 (18)
3.        
 
Drew: triangle
55 (51) 77 (71)
4.        
 
Drew: rectangle
18 (10) 52 (54)
  curved shape 50 (49) 29 (23)
  (semicircle, circle, etc)    

Total score:
 4
9 (2) 40 (40)
3
14 (11) 17 (18)
2
33 (35) 20 (12)
1
24 (24) 10 (13)
0 20 (28)
13 (17)
Subgroup Analysis [Click on charts to enlarge] :
Year 4
Year 8
Commentary:
The second and fourth shapes caused greater visualisation problems than the other two, with many students seeing the surface rather than the cross section. Year 4 students scored a little higher in 2009 than in 2005, but there was little change for year 8 students. Year 4 Pakeha and Mäori students performed similarly.