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Coding · Ages 8+ · Set A
The tower contest
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Goal: 15 min
Score/ 11
Remember: To find the biggest, look at each one in turn, remember the biggest so far, and swap it when a bigger one comes. When you run out, the one you remember is the biggest.

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One tower at a timeAt the robot club's tower contest, six block towers stand in a row in a dark hall. Maya must tell Ms. Park which tower is the tallest, but Bo can peek at just one tower at a time. Bo has a little memory box that can hold one tower. Tower one has four blocks, so the box holds four. Tower two has nine, which is bigger, so Bo swaps it in. Tower three has three, which is smaller, so the box keeps nine. Tower four has twelve, bigger again, so the box holds twelve. Towers five and six have seven and five, so the box keeps twelve. Bo has seen every tower, and the biggest is twelve.
1
Bo keeps the biggest tower so far in his memory box. Tower 1 has 4 blocks, and tower 2 has 9. What does the box hold after tower 2?
4139
2
Tower 3 has only 3 blocks, so the box still holds .
3
Bo swaps the box when the next tower is bigger than the box.
TrueFalse
4
Which tower makes Bo swap the box to twelve?
Tower 3Tower 4Tower 5
5
Which list shows what the box holds after each tower, from tower 1 to tower 6?
4, 9, 9, 12, 12, 54, 9, 9, 12, 12, 124, 9, 3, 12, 7, 5
6
The last tower Bo sees is always the biggest.
TrueFalse

Use the memory box

7
Join each moment to what Bo does.
  1. 1the next tower is bigger than the box
  2. 2the next tower is smaller than the box
  3. 3there are no towers left
  4. 4Bo peeks at a tower
  • Aswap it into the box
  • Bjust one at a time
  • Ckeep the box the same
  • Dsay what is in the box
8
Put Bo's plan in order.
  • Go on until no towers are left
  • Look at the next tower
  • If so, put it in the box
  • Ask: is it bigger than the box?
  • The box holds the biggest tower
9
Bo puts tower 1 in the box without a swap. After that, for these six towers, he swaps the box times.
10
Mix-up to fix: Maya looks at four towers with 6, 3, 9 and 4 blocks. She picks the last one she saw and says 4 is the biggest. What should she do instead?
Keep the biggest so far in a box: that is 9, so 9 is the biggestPick the first tower, 6Pick the smallest tower, 3
11
Stretch: after three towers the box holds nine, so Bo can stop and say nine is the biggest of all six.
TrueFalse
12
Write six numbers on six cards and turn them over one at a time. After each card, write the number in your hand.
13
Draw Bo's memory box holding the biggest tower after tower 4.
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