Coloured Cubes

The Ministry is migrating nzmaths content to Tāhurangi.           
Relevant and up-to-date teaching resources are being moved to Tāhūrangi (tahurangi.education.govt.nz). 
When all identified resources have been successfully moved, this website will close. We expect this to be in June 2024. 
e-ako maths, e-ako Pāngarau, and e-ako PLD 360 will continue to be available. 

For more information visit https://tahurangi.education.govt.nz/updates-to-nzmaths

Nine coloured cube blocks fit exactly in the bottom of a square based box.

If 1 cube is red and 8 are white, then there are only 3 different ways that the 9 cubes can be put in the box. We show these patterns below. This is because if you put a cube in one corner you can rotate the box so it is in any corner. The same happens with the middle side cube.
 
 cubes.
 
In how many different ways can 2 red cubes and 7 white ones be put into the box? (Remember to think about what happens when you rotate the box.)