Coding and technology · Maths CAS idea
Simulate the canteen queue
CreativityServiceProject-ready
Time the canteen queue, build a simple simulation and use it to suggest changes to the catering team, then check the result.
Where the maths comes in
Arrival rates, random numbers and simulation; comparing a model with reality.
Which CAS strand it fits
- Creativity: The arts, and other experiences that involve creative thinking.
- Service: Unpaid, voluntary work with others that also has a learning benefit for you.
Your CAS coordinator decides how an experience counts at your school. Strand summaries are provisional (our words, being checked).
How to run it
- Measure arrival and service times with staff permission.
- Code a simulation and check it matches what you observed.
- Test changes in the simulation (an extra till, staggered times).
- Present to staff and measure any change they make.
This can grow into a CAS project if your CAS coordinator agrees: see planning a maths CAS project.
How to evidence it
- Data and code
- Simulation results
- Staff response and follow-up data
Date everything and keep it in your school's CAS portfolio as you go. More on what counts as evidence.
Reflection prompts
Questions to think about, not answers to copy. Write your reflections in your own words, in whatever form your school accepts.
- Where did your model not match reality, and why?
- How did you present uncertain results?
- What did the catering staff know that your model did not?
Learning outcomes this often gives a chance to show
- Challenge and new skills. What could you not do at the start that you can do now? Which moment felt most uncomfortable, and what did you do next?
- Collaboration. What did someone else bring that you could not have done alone? Describe a disagreement or a mix-up in the team. How was it resolved?
- Initiative and planning. What did you plan, and what did you have to change once you started? Who did you need to ask for permission or help, and how did you go about it?
Whether you meet an outcome depends on what you actually do and reflect on, not on the idea. Outcome labels are our short summaries, being checked.
Safety and ethics
- Time queues without recording who is in them.
Agree every plan with your CAS coordinator first. Safety and ethics for maths CAS.
Check the maths behind your code in the free online grapher.