The maypole problem can be classified as a modelling problem.Am individual mental model of given situation has to be constructed when the problem is read and the picture is viewed.In the situation model important data like the distance from one the of the ribbon to the ground are missing and have to be assumed for constructing the real model. The problem solver can assume that the dancer hold the ribbons at 1 m high. An idealised ribbons is 15 m long and the stem is 8 m high. The real model has to be mathematized using a right-angle triangle as a mathematical model. The distance from the dancer to the maypole corresponds here to one leg of the triangle and has to be calculated Using Pythagoras's theorem. The calculated distance can be validated using the information from the picture of the dance around the maypole