Author: Adekola Taylor
November, 2013
In school, pupils are taught how to do addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, and how to apply rules and formulas to solve problems but the creativity and intelligences that brought about all these mathematical operations are often neglected.
For instance, logical-mathematical intelligence is the ability to reason, calculate, recognize patterns and handle logical thinking. It is usually found in researchers, scientists, computer programmers, engineers, mathematicians, doctors, police investigators, accountants, economists, lawyers and animal trackers. Famous examples well-known for logical-mathematical intelligence include: Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell, Marian Diamond, and Bill Gates.
It is crystal clear that the infusion of a wide range of subjects and exercises that could activate and enhance these creative abilities and intelligences during childhood development would go a long way in making our children outstanding inventors in the future. Their creative minds would be activated early enough to drive innovations and inventions through logical thinking and critical reasoning. Without mincing words, the exercises and puzzles presented here would without measure improve children's creative abilities and intelligences.
In other words, children's abilities in handling logical thinking and critical reasoning, their abilities to relate cause and effect within a system and their capacities to recognize patterns and order in occurrences would be improved tremendously. Finally, it is worth noting that some of the exercises in Mathsthoughtbook are designed to engage children in rigorous exercises that demand full concentration and attention, and long focussing ability to improve important analytical and problem-solving skills among them.
An Example of Logical-Event Reasoning for Children
The old witch and the young witch, each with her child, were to cross to the other side of a river with the only
available canoe.The canoe could only accommodate only two people.The old witch could not leave her child with the young
witch because the young witch would kill her child. In the same vein, the young witch could not leave her own child with
the old witch because the old witch would kill her. More importantly, the two children were too young to paddle a canoe.
In such a situation, logically explain how they would cross to the other side of the river using the only available canoe.
Dimurelo Puzzle: A Logical-Mathematical Intelligence Puzzle for Children, 8-12 years
Objectives
- To improve concrete reasoning, linear reasoning, and abstract reasoning among children.
- To improve children's abilities to effectively handle logical thinking and comparison.
- To improve children's abilities in relating cause and effect within a system or occurrences.
Dimurelo Puzzle: Level One
(1) Logically fill in the missing numbers in the Dimurelo puzzle below
| d3 | d4 | d5 | d6 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 18 | 2 | 23 | 21 | 19 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 7 | 14 | 21 |
| 11 | 4 | 15 | 13 | 24 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 10 | |||
| 13 | 22 | 6 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 17 | 23 | 24 | 6 | 13 | |
| 15 | 24 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 22 | 20 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 17 | 1 | 10 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 15 | 16 | 23 | 5 | ||
| 19 | 3 | 12 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 21 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 19 | 1 |
| 21 | 5 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 20 | 1 | 8 | 15 | 22 |
| 23 | 7 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 19 | 4 | 11 | 18 |
(2) Logically fill in the missing numbers in the Dimurelo puzzle below
| d9 | d10 | d11 | d12 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 4 | 6 | 25 | 13 | 18 | 6 | 23 | 8 | 16 | 24 | |
| 10 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 26 | 10 | 15 | 1 | 9 | 17 | ||
| 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 14 | 2 | 20 | 7 | 25 | 2 | 10 | |
| 20 | 22 | 24 | 2 | 27 | 21 | 25 | 12 | 18 | 26 | 3 | |
| 26 | 28 | 15 | 9 | 4 | 22 | 11 | 19 | 27 | |||
| 1 | 6 | 28 | 22 | 16 | 9 | 27 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 20 | |
| 7 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 4 | 29 | 1 | 6 | 28 | 6 | 13 | |
| 13 | 15 | 23 | 11 | 24 | 11 | 29 | 21 | 29 | 6 | ||
| 21 | 23 | 6 | 24 | 16 | 21 | 14 | 22 | 30 | |||
| 25 | 27 | 29 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 26 | 13 | 7 | 15 | 23 | |
(3) Logically fill in the missing numbers in the Dimurelo puzzle below
| d8 | d9 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 10 | 17 | ||||
| 7 | 1 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 1 | |||
| 10 | 11 | 13 | 3 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 6 | |
| 14 | 17 | * | * | * | * | * | * | ||
| d10 | d11 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 11 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 17 | ||
| 3 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 16 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 10 |
| 6 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 15 | |||
| 1 | 17 | * | * | * | 16 | 5 | * | * | * |
(4) Logically fill in the missing numbers in the Dimurelo puzzle below
| d5 | d11 | d17 | d23 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 12 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 12 |
| 3 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 11 | |
| 5 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 5 | |
| 4 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 4 | |
| 9 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 3 | ||
| 2 | * | 2 | * | 2 | * | 2 | * |
| 1 | * | 1 | * | 1 | * | 1 | * |
Dimurelo Puzzle: Level Two
(5) Logically fill in the missing numbers in the Dimurelo puzzle below