# Math

• ## Most Topular Stories

• ### The Mean, Median and the Mode

19 Nov 2013 | 10:10 pm
I'm amazed every year to find a question about the mode on the third grade standardized assessment.  Think about it, an eight year old in the third grade. What is the relevance of mode to this younster?  Unfortunately, it's become one of my pet peeves, why not stick to the main themes in math? How important in the bigger scheme of things is the mode to an eight year old? What I've discovered is that it's really about vocabulary and whether or not the child makes sense of the mode, one thing they do is memorize 'mode means most', then they attack the question. If you've forgotten…
• ### Christmas Worksheets

4 Dec 2013 | 10:52 am
It's always fun for learners to link math activities to the current theme which is Christmas!  Here are some Christmas worksheets suitable for younger learners. Another Christmas activity I like learners to do is to calculate the cost of the 12 days of Christmas. Using the current prices of the 12 days of Christmas items (partridge in a pear tree, 2 turtle doves, 3 french hens ...) have students look up the prices and calculate the total cost of the true love's gifts this year.
• ### 2013 Advent Math from Nrich

Let's Play Math!
1 Dec 2013 | 5:23 am
Click the images below to visit the Advent calendars, and your children can play with math every day until Christmas! You may also enjoy: Christmas Math Puzzles and Activities Days of Christmas with Vi Hart Nrich Advent Math from past years Primary Advent Calendar “This Advent Calendar has a new activity for each day in the run-up to Christmas. All the activities are based on the theme of Planet Earth.” Secondary Advent Calendar “Behind each door of the Advent Calendar is one of our favourite activities with videos. Watch and enjoy!” Get all our new math tips and…
• ### Is it divisible by 7? Death by regular expression

7 Jun 2013 | 8:33 am
Here is a fun question at Quora: How does one determine whether a number is evenly divisible by 7? There are some remarkably geeky answers. Those of you who write code might enjoy the second answer, by Anders Kaseorg. Enjoy!
• ### Book Review: Beautiful Geometry

Scientific American - Math
22 Nov 2013 | 6:40 am
Beautiful Geometry [More] -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
• ## MATH - Google News

• ### Utah students need better math preparation, lawmaker says - Salt Lake Tribune

10 Dec 2013 | 2:46 pm
Deseret NewsUtah students need better math preparation, lawmaker saysSalt Lake TribuneSome 72 percent of Utah high school graduates aren't ready for college math and that sabotages their ability to finish college, the St. George Republican told fellow lawmakers on the Legislature's Education Task Force Tuesday. Tweet. At a glance. —.Math the 'graveyard' of Utahns trying to graduate from collegeEl EstándarDo Utah high school students need four years of math?Deseret Newsall 3 news articles »
• ### Results a sign math program on right track - Yuma Sun

10 Dec 2013 | 2:32 pm
Results a sign math program on right trackYuma Sun Tue Dec 10, 2013. Results a sign math program on right track Yuma Sun editorial Yumasun.com. Some parents of Yuma Elementary School District 1 students are feeling frustrated, thanks to the district's new math curriculum. The program, known as and more »
• ### Is Everyday Math The Worst Math Program Ever? - Forbes

10 Dec 2013 | 1:42 pm
Is Everyday Math The Worst Math Program Ever?ForbesIf you're the parent of an elementary school-age child, chances are good (about one in ten) that you've encountered Everyday Math. Chances are reasonably good that you hate it. The math program, developed by educators at the University of Chicago,
• ### Sorry, New York Times: Math Has to Be at Least a Little Boring - Slate Magazine (blog)

10 Dec 2013 | 10:54 am
Slate Magazine (blog)Sorry, New York Times: Math Has to Be at Least a Little BoringSlate Magazine (blog)This weekend, after American students failed to impress on the international PISA exams, the New York Times editorial board ran a piece asking “Who Says Math Has to Be Boring?” By “boring,” the Times apparently means any math that is substantive in a and more »
• ### A critique of Common Core math standards - Washington Post (blog)

10 Dec 2013 | 9:34 am
ThetribunepapersA critique of Common Core math standardsWashington Post (blog)I recently posted a piece on the future of high school math education and the Common Core State Standards on math, which was the work of a coalition of mathematicians, statisticians, teachers and curriculum developers, that elicited a lot of interest.Is This Common Core Question The Worst Math Question In History?Fox News (blog)Common Core: Parents sample math, English testsSioux Falls Argus LeaderCommon Core – Not a Healthy CandyThetribunepapersPoughkeepsie Journal -Florida Trendall 125 news…

• ## Search for "math OR mathematics"

• ### Toca Boca CEO Bjorn Jeffery: Adults Don't Understand How Kids Play

10 Dec 2013 | 3:40 pm
The Swedish-born CEO of children's game company Toca Boca was shopping at Whole Foods recently when he saw, on a box of measuring cups, the claim "Teaches your kid math!" And that's all wrong, he said.
• ### Halesowen College whizkids clinch maths challenge success

10 Dec 2013 | 3:38 pm
Bronze awards were gained by John Jain, aged 19, James Cole, aged 18, James Bateman and Emma Cooper, both aged 16. It was the first time students from the college had entered the event, set by Leeds University in conjunction with the Actuarial Society.
• ### Dann Florek to Depart LAW & ORDER: SVU

10 Dec 2013 | 3:34 pm
Dann Florek, who has been with NBC's long-running crime procedural since it premiered in 1999, has confirmed he'll be leaving the series at the end of this season.
• ### Microsoft's 'Hour of Code' teaches students at...

10 Dec 2013 | 3:34 pm
Third-grade students maneuvered through mazes in the popular "Angry Birds" video game Tuesday, Dec. 10, at Brownell/Holmes Elementary.
• ### Extra Credit - Heat transfer for a 3-D box. Temperature distribution. Boundary Value Problem

10 Dec 2013 | 3:34 pm
Extra credit problem given for analysis class. I don't really know how to set it up since I have no familiarity with heat transfer, but my teacher suggested that it would be easier to solve using a math program such as Maple, which I happen to own.
• ## ScienceDaily: Mathematics News

• ### Math models enhance current therapies for coronary heart disease

9 Dec 2013 | 9:45 am
Coronary heart disease accounts for 18 percent of deaths in the United States every year. The disease results from a blockage of one or more arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle due to an inflammatory condition called artherosclerosis, leading to progressive buildup of fatty plaque near the surface of the arterial wall. A paper published proposes a mathematical model to improve currently-employed treatments of coronary heart disease.
• ### The oracle of the T cell

5 Dec 2013 | 6:22 am
A new online platform predicts how the human immune system reacts to foreign substances.
• ### In the case of wholesale food distributors, it's all about location

4 Dec 2013 | 3:22 pm
In all but the shortest supply chains, food travels through wholesale distribution centers on its way from farm to consumer, and the location of these distributors can have a big impact on the efficiency of a food system. Now, a new mathematical model can help business owners and policy makers determine the optimal locations for such distributors.
• ### Can iPads help students learn science? Yes, study shows

4 Dec 2013 | 9:37 am
A new study shows that students grasp the unimaginable emptiness of space more effectively when they use iPads to explore 3-D simulations of the universe, compared to traditional classroom instruction.
• ### Study highlights massive benefits of HIV treatment in South Africa

4 Dec 2013 | 6:09 am
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) for the treatment of HIV infection has saved 2.8 million years of life in South Africa since 2004 and is projected to save an additional 15.1 million years of life by 2030, according to a new study published. The analysis suggests these dramatic benefits could be even greater if more aggressive HIV testing and treatment strategies are implemented.

• ## Scientific American - Math

• ### Dispute over Infinity Divides Mathematicians

3 Dec 2013 | 8:00 am
From Quanta  (Find original story here ). [More] -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
• ### Book Review: Beautiful Geometry

22 Nov 2013 | 6:40 am
Beautiful Geometry [More] -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
• ### Are XPRIZEs the Future of Scientific Discovery and Exploration?

19 Nov 2013 | 4:00 am
Just over three years ago, engineer and entrepreneur Peter Diamandis took the winners of his Progressive Auto XPRIZE competition on a victory lap through New York City. There was cause for... -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
• ### Stepping Science: Estimating Someone's Height from Their Walk

14 Nov 2013 | 7:00 am
Key concepts [More] -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
• ### Cocktail Accessories Modeled after Nature s Survival Mechanisms

10 Nov 2013 | 5:30 am
Finding a bug in your drink is an unpleasant surprise, but researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created a fanciful cocktail accessory based on the mechanics of water bugs--and... -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
• ## NYT > Mathematics

• ### Inspiring Students in Math and Science

9 Dec 2013 | 9:00 pm
Readers react to an editorial on ways to improve the teaching of STEM subjects.
• ### O.E.C.D. Warns West on Education Gaps

8 Dec 2013 | 9:00 pm
Western countries should not comfort themselves with the myth that Asian students perform well because of systems that favor memorization over creativity, the organization’s education chief said.
• ### Who Says Math Has to Be Boring?

7 Dec 2013 | 9:00 pm
It’s time to overhaul the way math and science are taught.
• ### Q. & A. With Anthony P. Carnevale

7 Dec 2013 | 9:00 pm
An outspoken advocate for changing the education system to produce more graduates with tech skills.
• ### American 15-Year-Olds Lag, Mainly in Math, on International Standardized Tests

2 Dec 2013 | 9:00 pm
Students in the United States scored in the middle of the developed world in reading and science, but lower in math, according to results released on Tuesday.

• ### Martin Gardner undiluted

22 Nov 2013 | 11:54 am
Princeton University Press recently published "Undiluted Hocus-Pocus: The Autobiography of Martin Gardner." I've not reviewed the book since these days I pretty much only interview authors and living authors at that. So, no review from me, but I highly recommend Shecky's review and Shecky's first impressions at Math Tango. What inspired to blog this afternoon was an email I received from Andrew S. DeSio, Director of Publicity for Princeton University Press. Andrew has asked me to help spread the word that Martin Gardner really did write his own autobiography. Here's an excerpt from Andrew's…
• ### Colm Mulcahy – Inspired by Math #32

21 Sep 2013 | 10:56 am
I had the pleasure of interviewing mathematician and mathematical card magic innovator Colm Mulcahy. Dr. Mulcahy just published a book, Mathematical Card Magic: Fifty-Two New Effects. We spent a delightful hour discussing his book, his love of math and magic, and the inspiration behind writing the book. Plus, Dr. Mulcahy shares a few challenges listeners might enjoy chewing on, sprinkled throughout the interview. And, we discuss Martin Gardner, who Colm Mulcahy knew for the last decade of his life and met with several times. You may also enjoy Shecky's text interview with Colm Mulcahy at Math…
• ### Kiki Prottsman – Inspired by Math #31

14 Jul 2013 | 7:17 am
When I interviewed Ken Fan of Girls' Angle I learned about Kiki and her wonderful work. Kiki is passionate about improving people's relationships to computers, beyond basic literacy to programming and understanding how computers think. While our interview was largely about computers and not math, we both realized that at the core of both is a blend of logical and creative thinking. Kiki's passion for changing experiences, especially those of young girls, is contagious. Listen and tell us if you agree. About Kiki Prottsman Determined to change the face of STEM in a positive way, Kiki is a…
• ### Is it divisible by 7? Death by regular expression

7 Jun 2013 | 8:33 am
Here is a fun question at Quora: How does one determine whether a number is evenly divisible by 7? There are some remarkably geeky answers. Those of you who write code might enjoy the second answer, by Anders Kaseorg. Enjoy!
• ### Carnival of Mathematics #99

2 Jun 2013 | 3:55 pm
Welcome to Carnival of Mathematics #99. Wikipedia provides some nice trivia about the number 99. 99 is the ninth repdigit, a palindromic number and a Kaprekar number. It is the sum of divisors of the first eleven positive integers. 99 is the sum of the cubes of three consecutive integers: 99 = 2^3 + 3^3 + 4^3 And, I personally like that 99 is the difference of two squares: 99=10^2-1^2. Now, onto the carnival articles. John Cook shares Recognizing numbers. For Python users, SymPy is a symbolic math package that "takes a floating point number and tries to simplify it: as a fraction with a small…
• ## Loren on the Art of MATLAB

• ### Getting Data from a Web API in Parallel

9 Dec 2013 | 7:44 am
I'd like to introduce this week's guest blogger Edric Ellis. Edric works for the Parallel Computing development team here at The MathWorks. In this post he will talk about using the parfeval command in Parallel Computing Toolbox.In release R2013b, we introduced a new function parfeval to Parallel Computing Toolbox which allows you to run MATLAB® functions on workers in a parallel pool without blocking your desktop MATLAB. This allows you to create parallel programs that are more loosely structured than those using either parfor or spmd. You can also have your desktop MATLAB process the…
• ### Annual Meeting of the American Geophysical Union 2013

25 Nov 2013 | 7:56 am
MathWorks will have a booth at the annual AGU (American Geophysical Union) meeting this year, where you can expect to see me, Sarah Wait Zaranek, and Shyam Yadati. We will all be happy to show you some of the newest advancements in MATLAB and other MathWorks products. In addition, I will be speaking on Thursday from 1-1:30 PM at the Exhibit Hall Product Theater. My talk is entitled What's new in MATLAB for Earth & Ocean Sciences.ContentsWe're Back!Concepts in the TalkBooth Demo TopicsWill We See You There?We're Back!After several years of hiatus, MathWorks is back at AGU! Please join us…
• ### In-memory Big Data Analysis with PCT and MDCS

11 Nov 2013 | 5:05 am
Ken Atwell in the MATLAB product management group is guest blogging about using distributed arrays to perform data analytics on in-memory "big data".Big data applications can take many forms. Unlike unstructured text processing, common in many business and consumer applications, big data in science and engineering fields can often take a more "regular" form, either a lengthy data set of observations or time series data, or a monolithic, multi-dimensional matrix capturing some problem space.64-bit MATLAB is fundamentally well-suited to processing data of these types, as long as the data fits…
• ### Function is as functiontests

15 Oct 2013 | 11:36 am
Today we have a post from guest blogger Andy Campbell to highlight a function-based approach for writing tests in MATLAB. We will be demonstrating how you can write simple functions that aid you in designing a physical system. This approach allows you to iterate quickly and improve your designs while protecting you from violating requirements met by earlier solutions.With that, let's jump right in!ContentsProblem StatementEnter functiontestsWhat is functiontests?What is localfunctions?The First TestThe First DesignThe Second TestThe Second DesignThe Final DesignConclusionProblem…
• ### Timing Code

22 Sep 2013 | 6:30 am
and Revisiting Fibonacci Festival from 2006I originally wrote about Fibonacci numbers in 2006. Today, along with Sarah Wait Zaranek, we'd like to discuss some of those same ideas, but focus only on execution time. In R2013b, MATLAB includes a new timing function, timeit, one that I mentioned in some earlier posts when it was only available on the MATLAB File Exchange.ContentsUsing timeitFour AlgorithmsStraightforward for-loopfor-loop with PreallocationRecursive FunctionUse filter to Calculate the SequenceCompare Computation TimesDo You Do Lots of Timing?Using timeitTo use timeit, you simply…
• ## Homeschool Math Blog

• ### Snowman math!

5 Dec 2013 | 5:40 am
Ready for some snowman math? I checked around on the web and found some neat activities for your little ones.Making Learning Fun has many snowman activities and printables for preschool and kindergarten folks, such as counting, color by number, or simple addition. MathWire has a whole page dedicated to snowman math activities, for about K-2nd grade level.Check for example the estimation activity on that page, or count by fives printable. Another good one is snowman combinations - children figure out how many different kinds of snowmen can be built with a certain number of possible 'parts'.
• ### Currclick Cyber Week sale

2 Dec 2013 | 11:05 am
Currclick is having Cyber Monday - or actually Cyber Week - sale.Lots of deals, including you can get Math Mammoth products at 20% off.Enjoy!
• ### Carnival time again

29 Nov 2013 | 3:06 pm
Amidst all the shopping frenzy, hopefully you have time to stop by at Math Teachers at Play carnival - it is a small carnival this time, but enjoyable and with a nice variety of posts for all grade levels.
• ### Happy Thanksgiving!

28 Nov 2013 | 1:59 am
• ### How (m^2)/(n^2)=(m/n)^2 is Fundamental to Geometry!

27 Nov 2013 | 8:14 am
OVERVIEW The Common Core stresses the importance of students developing a deeper understanding of fundamental concepts and to discover/uncover the interrelatedness of mathematics. The discussion below can be used to demonstrate how a basic law of exponents is tied to the geometry of similar figures.THE PROBLEM/INVESTIGATION 1) If the sides of 2 squares are in the ratio 2:1, show that their areas are in the ratio 4:1 (a) visually (b) numerically by examining particular cases (b)  algebraically2) If the sides are in the ratio 3:1, do you think the areas will be in the ratio 6:1 or 9:1? Now…
• ## Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science

• ### Driven to Abstraction: Strengthen Your Thinking Skills with Computer Science

4 Dec 2013 | 10:00 pm
IMACS is proud to be a Partner for CSEdWeek, December 9-15, 2013. Have you registered for the Hour of Code? Do it now! Abstract reasoning ability entered the national conversation this year as the Common Core State Standards in mathematics were broadly implemented in the United States. In particular, one of the eight Standards for Mathematical Practice is to “reason abstractly and quantitatively.” The so-called STEM subjects — science, technology, engineering and math — are well-known for emphasizing this skill. Given that STEM-related fields are where most…
• ### Thanksgiving Wishes from IMACS

27 Nov 2013 | 10:00 pm
Image: freepik.com IMACS hopes this Thanksgiving day finds you with much to be thankful for as you enjoy the company of friends and loved ones. To our students, parents, instructors, staff and partner schools — you have our deepest appreciation for making this another fun-filled year of learning and achievement! The IMACS Blog will return next Thursday, December 5, with a regular feature article. Happy Thanksgiving! Give the gift of an IMACS education! Enroll your child in our gifted math and online computer science courses. Like IMACS on Facebook to get weekly IMACS logic puzzles.
• ### Baby Don’t Forget My Number:Talking Number Sense with Infants

30 Oct 2013 | 10:00 pm
A recent study found that number sense in infants is a predictor of how well they later learn the symbolic math typically taught in school. Researchers observed how long 6-month-old infants looked at a screen with a changing number of dots compared with how long they looked at a screen with a constant number of dots in changing patterns. (See video above.) Three years later, these children were given an IQ test and several types of math tests. The infants who looked longer at the screen with a changing number of dots, which is indicative of stronger number sense, subsequently scored higher on…
• ### What Will Common Core Mean for Mathematically Talented Students?

2 Oct 2013 | 10:00 pm
The new school year is now a month old. By this time, most children who attend a public K-12 school in the US will have experienced the new Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CCSSM). On the one hand, IMACS is pleased to see that key elements of the teaching philosophy we have lived by for more than 20 years are reflected in the Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice. For a variety of reasons, however, we maintain a healthy amount of skepticism about whether the implementation of the CCSSM will lead to meaningful, positive change in mathematics education, particularly for our…
• ### Student Profile: Fiona Brady Talks Homeschooling, Early College and Not Being Afraid to Ask Questions

4 Sep 2013 | 10:00 pm
eIMACS student, Fiona Brady, with two of her family’s three dogs. This month the IMACS Blog speaks with IMACS student, Fiona Brady. According to Fiona’s mom, Susan, “IMACS was the first time Fiona had encountered a community of teachers and learners who were excited to hear her ideas and creative ways of problem solving.” After the Brady family moved out of the area, Fiona continued taking courses through our distance-learning program, eIMACS. Having studied University Computer Science and AP® Computer Science through eIMACS (and scoring a 5 on the AP® exam),…
• ## mathrecreation

• ### euler spirals in Fathom and TinkerPlots

26 Nov 2013 | 7:07 pm
A nice post on mathen inspired me to construct some Euler spirals using Fathom and Tinkerplots. I like using these tools for this sort of playing around - they are intended for middle and high-school data management activities, but are, effectively, simple quasi-programming environments. The results are not as pretty as those from mathen, but are nice enough and very easy to generate.To recreate images like these in either Fathom or Tinkerplots you need two sliders - I called them magnitude and delta.You then create a collection (or card set in TP) with four attributes (n, x, y, and theta).
• ### snowflake construction in GSP

19 Nov 2013 | 7:30 pm
Here are instructions for making a snowflake iteration similar to the one shown in the previous post using Geometer's Sketchpad. I generally don't put useful things like instructions on this blog, but I thought I would make an exception: these fun and easy constructions are worth doing because they are pretty, and they illustrate some important concepts associated with recursion. GSP is a great tool for playing with these sorts of things - I haven't explored Geogebra at all, so I can't comment on what similar sorts of things can be done with that tool.1. Draw a line segment AB (using the…
• ### snowflake series

16 Nov 2013 | 8:35 pm
Just continuing with more iterations in GSP - similar to those here and here.Update: instructions for how to construct this in GSP are here.
• ### square iteration series

11 Nov 2013 | 8:42 pm
Going through some old files, I found this bunch of GSP iterations based on a square - very similar to this post from 2 years ago today. These reminded me of the designs in Wucius Wong's 1972 book Principles of Two-Dimensional Design - previously mentioned here.
• ### Counting paths

9 Nov 2013 | 7:59 pm
A favorite counting puzzle is finding the total number of paths through some diagram. In puzzles like the one above, you are asked to find how many different paths will take you from one end of the diagram to the other, always following the direction of the arrows. To count the paths easily, you should apply the rule of sum and the rule of product.In the diagram above, the rule of sum comes into play in getting around a single square. You can go around the top (1 choice) or around the bottom (1 choice), this gives you 1+1 = 2 choices. Getting around the first square and the second square and…

• ## Maths Tips From Maths Insider

• ### Check out These Challenging Online Math Tools for Gifted Kids

3 Dec 2013 | 1:28 am
This is a guest post by Joseph Rodriguez While many educators agree that it is essential to improve the quality of math education in our public schools, a debate persists about how it should be done. Do we work with the students who are struggling, so that they can do better? Or do we push the students who are excelling, so they can move on to even greater things? Budgets are tight and many schools are pushed to decide one path or the other. Fortunately, many online resources can challenge gifted math students with new coursework and an outlet for their ingenuity. Here’s what you…
• ### Holiday Math and More

28 Nov 2013 | 1:12 am
If you’ve read my Tabtor vs Kumon blog post a few months back, you’ll know that I’ve been working with Tabtor Math, the personalized iPad based math program. I’m Tabtor’s instructor for many of their international students, and I’m also recording instructional videos which accompany each of the Tabtor worksheets as well as writing articles for their blog. As a result, It’s been a bit quiet here at Maths Insider but after the holiday I’ll hopefully be back here with a vengeance. I’ve still got plenty of ideas to share with you on Maths…
• ### Educator.com – A Great Math Program for Self Motivated Teens

17 Oct 2013 | 6:11 am
This is a guest post by Stephanie from houstonnanny.com. For those who need a math education program that can allow high school students to work at their own pace, Educator.com may be what you’re looking for. Subject material from basic math skills to more advanced forms of linear algebra are present and ready for you to explore, as well as science and computing courses. While there are some materials that can be tested for free, a subscription is needed in order to take advantage of the courses at this website. How Detailed are the Courses? Each course is divided among several…
• ### Pretend Mind Reading – A Way Of Learning Algebra by Lawrence Ball

30 Sep 2013 | 11:49 pm
This is a guest post by Lawrence Ball Here’s a way to pretend you read someone’s mind. It’s also a way to get familiar with algebra. I want you to do some calculations for me, are you ready?   Think of a number between 1 and 5, don’t tell me what it is, but remember it for later. OK? Got one? Now double it. OK? Now add 10. Now halve it (or divide it by 2 – same thing) Now take away the number you started with. Your answer is 5. Well it should be, if it isn’t you made a mistake! Lets try another one. Think of a number between 1 and 5 The reason I keep…
• ### Start Celebrating Maths: 5 Fun Resources for Learning Maths

24 Sep 2013 | 11:05 pm
This is a guest post by Clare Evans Maths. It’s one of those subjects your children either love or hate. For some, getting their head around number patterns, learning their times tables, and mastering long division is just too much to bear. But maths has been considered ‘boring’ for far too long. It’s such a valuable subject, that teaches your children skills for life. Skills they will need to employ almost every day in their adult life. So it’s time to start a revolution. It’s time we started celebrating maths and making it fun. Here, are five fun resources you can use –…
• ## MathFour

• ### Recipe Math – Eggnog

10 Dec 2013 | 1:58 pm
Note: this is a booze infused recipe – not appropriate for children. We make Grandmother Kathrine’s Eggnog every year during the holidays. And it’s always a math problem. The recipe calls for 6 eggs. But for my family, they require a second batch almost as quickly as we get finished making the first batch. It takes significant time to make, so it’s best to maximize each batch – which means scaling the whole thing up. Using all the eggs. The first year the family acted like zombies at a brain buffet with the eggnog. So we wanted to make the second batch as big as…
• ### Making Up Numbers: Eleventeen & A-Dollar-Two-Ninety-Eight

6 Dec 2013 | 2:30 pm
There are made up numbers and there are made up numbers. Sometimes we make up numbers (statistics) to sound good, like Dilbert here. Fake statistics are often understood as based on actual data. Statistical liars aren’t much into sharing their untruths like Dilbert. This is bad number making. No fun, pretty evil and there’s not much anyone can do to retaliate. The other made up numbers… My grams used to quote the unknown price of an item as “a-dollar-two-ninety-eight.” It doesn’t give misinformation at all. It’s clear that it means “I…
• ### Rush Hour Traffic Jam Game – Low & High Tech

6 Dec 2013 | 5:08 am
This post contains affiliate links.  I wrote about the Rush Hour game before. It’s an awesome game with lots of logic and math going on. That article was about the game and the math. This one is about a strategy I use to solve it and how I use both the low tech and the high tech versions to do it. First, cheat. Okay, not really. But kind of. I start with the high tech game. Then I use the low tech version to see what the final solution must look like. Here’s the start: I notice that the yellow truck needs to get out of the way. So I see where it can go. Turns out there’s…
• ### Number Practice with ELF on the SHELF or Advent Calendar

23 Nov 2013 | 12:07 pm
Whether you’re doing ELF on the SHELF or a standard Advent Calendar this year, you can integrate some number and shape practice in your holidays. Use this activity to track your ELF on the SHELF, or as an Advent activity to count up or down the days to Christmas! Supplies Construction paper (brown, green and yellow) Old file folders Scissors Glue Sharpie or dark crayon Template (download it FREE here) Step 1: Cut the shapes. Use the template shapes to trace onto construction paper and cut them out. Cut out a piece of the bottom of an old file folder to make the stand. Step 2: Glue the…

21 Nov 2013 | 2:34 am
Introduce a little set theory into your classes this week. Try this Thanksgiving Venn Diagram! The sets are: A = {x | x is a food that I totally LOVE } B = {y | y is a food that will be at my family’s Thanksgiving dinner } So the intersection A∩B is the set of all food that I’ll eat on Thanksgiving day! Supplies Scissors Glue Magazines or newspapers Construction paper FREE downloadable template Step 1: Prep Have your students trace the pumpkin shape on orange construction paper and cut out. Use brown construction paper for the stems. Glue this on a blank piece of white…
• ## CSE Blog - quant, math, computer science puzzles

• ### Picking K elements randomly

9 Dec 2013 | 10:12 am
Problem 1: Consider the problem of picking K elements randomly from N elements. Suggest an algorithm. What is the time and space complexity of your algorithm?Problem 2: Now consider that the stream is infinitely long (i.e. N is unknown). Now how do we pick K elements randomly.
• ### Technical Interview Brain Teaser - IBM Ponder This - Neighbour Configuration

24 Nov 2013 | 6:53 am
Source: IBM Ponder This Dec 12 ( http://domino.research.ibm.com/comm/wwwr_ponder.nsf/challenges/December2012.html ) - Mailed to me by Aashay Harlalka (Final Year Student, CSE, IITB)Problem:36 people live in a 6x6 grid, and each one of them lives in a separate square of the grid. Each resident's neighbors are those who live in the squares that have a common edge with that resident's square.Each resident of the grid is assigned a natural number N, such that if a person receives some N>1, then he or she must also have neighbors that have been assigned all of the numbers 1,2,...,N-1.Find a…
• ### Two Coin Tossing Puzzle - Expected Number of Tosses

22 Nov 2013 | 8:24 pm
Source: Mailed to me by Vashist Avadhanula (PhD Student at Columbia Business School, EE IITB 2013 Alumnus)Problem:Consider a case where you flip two fair coins at once (sample space is HH, HT, TH & TT) you repeat this experiment many times and note down the outputs as a sequence. What is the expected number of flips (one flip includes tossing of two coins) to arrive at the sequence HHTHHTT.
• ### Calculus Limit Puzzle

7 Nov 2013 | 8:50 pm
Source: Mailed to me by Sudeep Kamath (PhD Student, UC at Berkeley, EE IITB Alumnus 2008)Problem:Tricky Question.Let f be a continuous, real-valued function on reals such thatlimit_{n \rightarrow \infty} f(nx) = 0 for all real x.Show limit_{x\rightarrow \infty} f(x) = 0.
• ### Weighing Problem - Discrete Mathematics Puzzle

2 Nov 2013 | 1:53 pm
Source: Sent to me by Aashay Harlalka (Final Year Student, CSE, IITB)Problem: For a given positive integer n, what would be the minimum no. of weights required so that we can weigh all positive integers <= nFollow up Generalized problem:If we have k copies of each distinct weight, then what is the minimum no. of distinct weights required ?Old Related Puzzle:There is a very different popular problem but knit in the same story (posted 4 years back on the blog): Weighing Problem Note : Weights are of integer values only.

• ## COOL FUN MATH GAMES 4 KIDS

• ### 9 Dec 2013 | 12:10 am

9 Dec 2013 | 12:10 am
How to Get a Good Grade on a Math Test from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit Many students find that math is the hardest subject in school probably because you learn a lot of things in a small amount of time, and because numbers are “another language” and your horizons on this language are constantly expanding. A few tips for improving your grade in Math are listed below, so read on! Steps Go to class. Especially if you’re in college, you may find it tempting to skip a class now and then. While you can get away with that in some subjects, math is like a…
• ### L.A. Teacher Teaches Math Through Hip-Hop

11 Nov 2013 | 10:01 pm
LOS ANGELES – The class of eighth graders at a Los Angeles middle school tap their rulers and nod their heads to the rhythm of the rap video projected on a screen. It’s not Snoop Dogg or Jay-Z. It’s their math teacher, LaMar Queen, using rhyme to help them memorize seemingly complicated algebra and in the process improve their grades. “It gets stuck in your head,” says Cindy Martinez, a 14-year-old whose math grade went from a C-average to a B. Queen, 26, is now known at Los Angeles Academy as the rap teacher, but his fame has spread far beyond the 2,200-student school in this…
• ### An Electric School Bus Could Be Coming To A School Near You

9 Nov 2013 | 6:34 pm
From Mother Nature Network’s Russell McLendon: American school buses have long run on diesel, pumping out toxic exhaust around children who are particularly at risk from such fumes. They also burn up costly, carbon-emitting fuel as they cruise around a limited area, often idling while kids get on and off. All this makes school buses ideal candidates for electric motors, since they tend to idle and would rarely need to drive very far from a central charging station. Yet while a variety of fully electric cars are now available, the U.S. still has no all-electric school buses. That may be…
• ### Easy Tips To Make Math fun For Kids

23 Oct 2013 | 9:36 pm
These great worksheets for kids offer a vast opportunities to practice key skills. Try these printable worksheets below to keep your kids active. Math Board Games Fractions Made Easy
• ### Elementary Halloween Games

8 Oct 2013 | 9:58 pm
There are many inventive ways to make math fun for your students and child. In Truth, playfulness can serve as in retention that leads to memory of material. Here are some creative ideas  for you  to used for students. Halloween Puzzles  Making Math More Fun – Math Games Package