Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI)
MEI is committed to improving mathematics education and promotes teaching and learning through different strands of activity. We support teachers through a range of professional development opportunities, including our annual conference. Innovative resources are continually being developed to extend and enrich your knowledge of mathematics, whether teacher, student, undergraduate or member of the workforce.
MEI takes various opportunities to share and discuss with you the changing landscape of mathematics education, including consultation, discussions, social media, and our newsletters. Another way you can get involved is through our membership scheme.
MEI is an independent charity; any income generated through our work is used to support mathematics education. We are a partner in the NCETM consortium, and also manage the government-funded Advanced Mathematics Support Programme.
Maths Item of the Month
November 2020
Fault-free tilings
A fault-free tiling is an arrangment of tiles in an m×n grid such that there are no vertical or horizontal lines that can be placed on the grid without crossing one of the tiles.
In the image above a 6×4 and a 6×8 grid have been tiled with 2×1 dominoes. The 6×4 tiling has 2 vertical fault lines and is therefore not fault free. The 6×8 tiling is fault-free.
Is it possible, using 2×1 dominoes, to find fault-free tilings of:
- a 6×5 grid
- a 6×6 grid
- a 6×7 grid
Maths item of the month archive
A list of Maths Items of the Month categorised by GCSE/A level topics can be seen at: Maths Items of the Month Curriculum mapping.
