Mathematics
Intermediate
50 mins
Teacher/Student led
+95 XP
What you need:
IWB/Projector/Large Screen

Tables of Values: Input to Output

Explore how function machines transform numbers using rules. Build tables of input-output pairs for one-step rules, two-step rules, and decimals, then discover that one pair is not enough to identify a rule.

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    1 - Getting Started ~4 mins

    Picture a machine on a conveyor belt. You drop a number in one end, the machine does the very same thing to it every single time, and a new number rolls out the other end. Today the machine's rule is × 3.

    If we drop a 4 into this × 3 machine, what number do you think rolls out the other side?

    2 - Watch and Notice ~10 mins

    × 3 machine

    Watch a × 3 machine at work. Each number that goes in gets tripled before it comes out. Notice what happens when we drop a 0 in.

    + 5 machine

    Now a different rule: this machine adds 5 to every number. The output is always a little bigger than the input, by exactly the same amount each time.

    × 2 then + 1 machine

    This machine does two jobs in a row. First it doubles, then it adds 1. The number has to pass through both steps before it can leave.

    × 10 machine

    This time the input is a decimal. Watch what 0.5 turns into when it goes through a × 10 machine.

    3 - Try It Together ~9 mins

    Today we work through one machine together: the × 3 machine. We will feed it numbers one at a time and write each input-output pair into a table on the board. You call out the output, we check it, and we add the row.

    Build the × 3 table

    4 - Draw the Tables in Your Copy ~3 mins

    COPYBOOK MOMENT

    In your maths copy, draw a four-row input/output table for each of these four rules and fill in four pairs for that rule. Put the rule label at the top of each table.

    • × 3
    • + 5
    • × 2 then + 1
    • × 10

    5 - Work Backwards Together ~8 mins

    So far we have always known the rule and worked out the output. Now we work the other way. First we build a full table for a two-step machine, the × 2 then + 1 machine, together. Then we play detective: I will show you a pair, like input 3 gives 7, and we will try to find the rule.

    The rule today

    Here is the catch. A + 4 machine also turns 3 into 7. So does × 2 then + 1. One pair fits both rules. To tell them apart, we send a second number through: try 5. The + 4 machine gives 9, but the × 2 then + 1 machine gives 11. Now we can see which rule really fits.

    Build and test the rules together

    6 - Class Challenge ~8 mins

    Now we work through these rules and complete a full table of four pairs for each one. The last rule is a two-step machine, and one round asks you to work backwards: given an input and its output, find the rule that fits.

    Tip

    Remember to test a second pair before you commit to a rule.

    Complete each value table

    7 - What Did We Notice? ~5 mins

    MATHS TALK

    If two different rules both give the same answer for input 3, what input could you try next to tell them apart?

    8 - What's Next ~3 mins

    What we did today

    • We saw a function machine take an input, do the same rule every time, and give an output.
    • We built tables of input-output pairs for one-step rules, two-step rules, and a decimal input.
    • We learned that one pair is not always enough to be sure of a rule, so we test a second pair.

    Coming up

    Coming up

    Next we turn this around fully: given a table of pairs with the rule hidden, we work out what the machine is doing.

    Pupil practice
    Module 8 · Algebra: Patterns, Expressions and Equations Algebra
    Lesson 103 · Tables of Values: Input to Output
    Download Activity Book page (PDF)
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