GEM Challenges! for 11-14 year olds
We know what a gem is but what is a GEM?
‘Intelligent Australia’ is proud to introduce GEM Study Sheets - a new concept in learning - into Australian classrooms.

Each GEM worksheet contains exercises in General Knowledge, English and Maths.
This book, ‘GEM Challenges! for 11-14 year olds’ features Type 1 GEM Study Sheets.
Type 1 GEMs involve students in research. Ready access to the internet and/or library reference books is needed in order to complete each GEM Study Sheet.

These GEMs are most useful in classrooms, libraries or computer rooms that are set up with a large bank of computers. Alternatively they have excellent value as home
study assignments.

Some of what your students will learn:
• White light is made up of many colours.
• The brain stem helps us to pay attention and remain conscious.
• There are violent storms on Planet Saturn, with winds of up to 1800 km/hr.
• The Viking god ODIN was the god of magic, poetry and war.
• Florence Nightingale -the Lady with the Lamp- was a nurse who helped many people, especially the very poor.
• In 1066 there was a great battle in Britain.
• Maria Mitchell looked through a telescope in 1847 and discovered a comet.
• In ancient Greece men and boys exrecised, ate the right foods and oiled their skin.....they wanted to please the gods by having beautiful bodies.
• Muslims believe in fasting during the month of Ramadan, giving to the poor, and making a pilgrimage to Mecca once in their lifetime if they can afford it.
• Charles Dickens used to read his books to the public.
• The city of London experienced a great fire in 1666.
• The octopus is so intelligent it can find its way through a maze.
• Zu Chongzhi was a brilliant Chinese mathematician who lived over 1600 years ago.
• The great Italian artist Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel in Rome... but he didn’t want to.
• Some people think that albino squirrels bring good luck.
• Spyhopping and lobtailing are things that whales do.
• Nicolaus Copernicus was the first to discover that the earth goes around the sun (not the other way around).