Zoo Maths - thanks to Mrs Madden!

Hippo Maths - October 2016

Photographer William Warby snapped these 2 kissing hippos at the Whipsnade Zoo in England. Actually, it's hard to tell whether they're playing, kissing, or just shoving each other out of the way. Hippo is short for "hippopotamus,' which means "river horse."

These round, grey lumps are the 3rd largest land mammal, after the elephant and the white rhinoceros. The funny thing is, their closest cousins are another set of chubby mammals: whales and dolphins! Well, hippos love water just like they do, and it looks like they love to play, too.

Questions:

1 : Hippos need to breathe every 3 minutes. If a hippo swims for 3 minutes, comes up for 1 minute, then goes under for 3, how many minutes does that take?  

Bonus: If it keeps up that pattern, is the hippo swimming or breathing at 10 minutes?

 

Extension : A hippo can live until 45 years. If a hippo's grandchildren are all ages that divide neatly into 45, with 1 hippo of each age, at least how many grandchildren must it have?

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