Two pictures, one description

Can two different pictures have the same short description?

Make your own investigation

Create two different pictures that share a count; then design a better description.

Count filled squares and compare row counts. Different pictures can share one or both summaries.

Case cards

Cut these cards apart. Use the original example first, then let a partner supply a changed case. Keep sealed/final cards with the teacher until the learner commits a rule.

Case 1

Picture name: diagonal

16 squares: 0 or 1: 1000010000100001

My prediction and reason:

Case 2

Picture name: top row

16 squares: 0 or 1: 1111000000000000

My prediction and reason:

Case 3

Picture name: corners

16 squares: 0 or 1: 1001000000001001

My prediction and reason:

What this cannot establish

A compact representation discards information; even row counts do not uniquely encode every image.