Math

  • Most Topular Stories

  • Most math being taught in kindergarten is old news to students

    ScienceDaily: Mathematics News
    16 May 2013 | 7:51 am
    Kindergarten teachers report spending much of their math instructional time teaching students basic counting skills and how to recognize geometric shapes -— skills the students have already mastered before ever setting foot in the kindergarten classroom, new research finds.

  • Recommended: Probably Approximately Correct

    Scientific American - Math
    17 May 2013 | 10:30 am
    Probably Approximately Correct: Nature's Algorithms for Learning and Prospering in a Complex World [More]

  • Fast and painless way to better mental arithmetic? Yes, there might actually be a way

    ScienceDaily: Mathematics News
    16 May 2013 | 9:39 am
    In the future, if you want to improve your ability to manipulate numbers in your head, you might just plug yourself in. So say researchers who report on studies of a harmless form of brain stimulation applied to an area known to be important for math ability.

  • First Proof That Infinitely Many Prime Numbers Come in Pairs

    Scientific American - Math
    14 May 2013 | 8:30 am
    From Nature magazine [More]

  • Making connections

    The Math Less Traveled
    Brent
    20 Apr 2013 | 10:15 am
    Here’s something fun I was playing around with today. I generated 100 random points and connected some of them with lines. Can you figure out how I chose which lines to draw? How about these? (Same points, different lines.) Or these? Here are some more. The first three groups in the grid below correspond to the pictures already shown above.
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    MATH - Google News

  • Could electroshock therapy work — for learning math? - GlobalPost

    18 May 2013 | 8:50 am
    CBS NewsCould electroshock therapy work — for learning math?GlobalPostThe mathematically challenged tend to feel that they're doomed to their fate, but a small study suggests that a mild form of electrical brain simulation can improve student's mental math and memorization abilities — and even more interestingly, the Mild brain shock may improve math skillsCBS NewsBrain Stimulation Can Boost Math Skills - Medical News TodayMedical News TodayA Small Shock To The System May Help Brain With MathNPR (blog)Wired -UPI.com -Forbesall 51 news articles »

  • Some students to receive new math MEAP scores - AnnArbor.com - AnnArbor.com

    18 May 2013 | 8:41 am
    WWMT-TVSome students to receive new math MEAP scores - AnnArbor.comAnnArbor.comSome students will get new Michigan Education Assessment Program math scores after a problem with some questions on the exam. Students in grades 4, 7 and 8, as well as special education students in grades 3-8, can expect new scores, and the scores MEAP Error Means New Math ScoresWSYM-TVSome students to receive new MEAP math scoresminbcnews.comSome math MEAP tests to be regraded after wrong questions discoveredThe Detroit Newsall 6 news articles »

  • Math problem: Lack of skills has effects in region, country - The Keene Sentinel

    18 May 2013 | 5:12 am
    Math problem: Lack of skills has effects in region, countryThe Keene SentinelMath problem: Lack of skills has effects in region, country. Bill Gnade / The Keene Sentinel. Science and math co-teacher Alex Gorokhov assists Tayissa Mullett, 14, with equations involving positive and negative integers at Marlborough School. Math

  • Study says brain shock may improve math skills - wtkr.com

    17 May 2013 | 6:26 pm
    Study says brain shock may improve math skillswtkr.comDo you have trouble with math? One study says they may have a way for you to improve–electric shock. According to CBS News, a new study finds that an electric jolt to the brain actually helped people perform calculations faster than those who did not

  • Kindergarten math lessons are 'old news' - Futurity: Research News

    17 May 2013 | 11:17 am
    Kindergarten math lessons are 'old news'Futurity: Research News"Getting into it more from a policy perspective, there's a structure around reading and a huge knowledge base around early reading," says researcher Mimi Engel. "But it's not clear that there's as much emphasis or knowledge around math in early
 
 
 
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    Wild About Math!

  • I’m hosting Carnival of Mathematics #99

    Sol
    11 May 2013 | 11:23 am
    I'll be hosting the next Carnival of Mathematics. Please check out this URL to learn more about the carnival, to vist past carnivals, or to submit your blog article for #99. Submission deadline is 6/1/13.

  • Michelle Montgomery & Katie Fowler – Inspired by Math #30

    Sol
    24 Apr 2013 | 8:17 pm
    Math contests can be a lot of fun. SIAM, the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, puts on a contest every year for teams of high school juniors and seniors to propose a solution to a pressing real world problem. The contest promotes lots of hard work, collaboration, and smart thinking. And, the winners get a bunch of scholarship money along with a hefty dose of glory. My two podcast guests have key roles in running the contest. It's a great thing that Michelle Montgomery and Katie Fowler are doing to prepare future generations to take on the world's challenges. Enjoy! About…

  • Ken Fan – Inspired by Math #29

    Sol
    21 Apr 2013 | 9:55 pm
    This podcast is an experimental one in that I didn't script the questions the way I usually do. My guest, Ken Fan, and I both decided in advance that we'd go with the flow. And, in my judgment, this is the best podcast I've done -- it felt very natural. Ken is a great guy with a sincere desire to improve girls' experience of math education. And, he's created an organization to manifest his great vision. I absolutely love it when a PhD level mathematician decides that high school education is important enough to dedicate himself to it. If you've never heard of Ken or Girls' Angle you're in for…

  • Lance Fortnow: Inspired by Math #28

    Sol
    12 Apr 2013 | 7:34 pm
    P vs. NP is a problem at the forefront of computer science. Until now there hasn't been a book written for a general audience that introduces the problem and its importance. Lance Fortnow has authored such a book. Lance I discuss the problem, the book, why he wrote it, and what it takes to write such a book in a way that doesn't scare most of us away. And, we take a few detours into talks about computer science and programming early microcomputers. Enjoy! About Lance Fortnow From the author's web-site: Lance Fortnow is professor and chair of the School of Computer Science of the College of…

  • Addendum to the Gili Rusak & Mary O’Keeffe podcast

    Sol
    10 Apr 2013 | 4:19 pm
    Mary O'Keeffe has an article in the Albany Area Math Circle blog expanding on some of the discussion in our recent podcast. And, her daughter Catherine created a transcript of the recording. The transcript is annotated with comments that may be of interest to listeners. Mary's article, Doing justice to describing the work of other math circles that have inspired us elaborates on the contributions and inspiration that Ken Fan and many others have made to help her math circle to thrive. I'll be interviewing Ken Fan for the "Inspired by Math!" series. And, I plan to seek out the other people who…
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    Loren on the Art of MATLAB

  • Recent Question about Speed with Subarray Calculations

    Loren Shure
    4 May 2013 | 7:47 am
    Recently someone asked me to explain the speed behavior doing a calculation using a loop and array indexing vs. getting the subarray first.ContentsExampleFirst MethodSecond MethodSame Results?Compare RuntimeWhat's Happening?Your Results?ExampleSuppose I have a function of two inputs, the first input being the column (of a square array), the second, a scalar, and the output, a vector.myfun = @(x,z) x'*x+z; And even though this may be calculated in a fully vectorized manner, let's explore what happens when we work on subarrays from the array input.I am now creating the input array x and the…

  • Using Symbolic Math Toolbox to Compute Area Moments of Inertia

    Loren Shure
    26 Apr 2013 | 4:14 am
    Once more I am pleased to introduce guest blogger Kai Gehrs. Kai has been a Software Engineer at MathWorks for the past five years working on the Symbolic Math Toolbox. He has a background in mathematics and computer science. He already contributed to my BLOG in the past writing about Using Symbolic Equations And Symbolic Functions In MATLAB as well as on approaches for Simplifying Symbolic Results.ContentsIn a Nutshell: What Is This Article About?Basic Example: Cross Section of an Elliptical TubeArea Moment Of InertiaMath Behind This ExampleSymbolic IntegrationAdvanced Example: Cross Section…

  • MATLAB to FPGA using HDL Coder(TM)

    Loren Shure
    11 Apr 2013 | 5:22 am
    It's my pleasure to introduce guest blogger Kiran Kintali. Kiran is the product development lead for HDL Coder at MathWorks. In this post, Kiran introduces a new capability in HDL Coder™ that generates synthesizable VHDL/Verilog code directly from MATLAB and highlights some of the key features of this new MATLAB based workflow.ContentsIntroduction to HDL Code Generation from MATLABMATLAB to Hardware WorkflowExample MATLAB AlgorithmExample MATLAB Test BenchHDL Workflow AdvisorDesign Space Exploration and Optimization OptionsBest PracticesConclusionIntroduction to HDL Code Generation from…

  • New Datatype under Development for Possible MATLAB Release

    Loren Shure
    1 Apr 2013 | 6:14 am
    There is a new datatype we are playing around with that we hope to make available in an upcoming release and we would like your input beforehand.ContentsNew Datatype in ActionLet's Examine the OutputShould We Invest More Resources?New Datatype in ActionLet me show you the new datatype in action so you can first get a feel for it.inputData = magic(3) inputData = 8 1 6 3 5 7 4 9 2 outputValues = dis(inputData); Let's Examine the OutputoutputValues Why are you asking? 4 2 3 1 9 6 8 7 5 Well, that's a bit strange, isn't it? I wonder what the relationship between inputData and outputValues is.

  • Multiple Y Axes

    Loren Shure
    27 Mar 2013 | 12:42 pm
    We were musing here about how common it is to want more than two Y axes on a plot. Checking out the File Exchange, there seem to be several candidates, indicating that this is something at least some people find useful.ContentsSample PlotList of Some PossibilitiesWhat are You Plotting with More Y Axes?Sample PlotHere's a sample plot using plotyy that comes with MATLAB.x = 0:0.01:20; y1 = 200*exp(-0.05*x).*sin(x); y2 = 0.8*exp(-0.5*x).*sin(10*x); plotyy(x,y1,x,y2,'plot'); List of Some PossibilitiesIn addition to plotyy in MATLAB, here's a list of some of the candidates from the File Exchange.
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    Homeschool Math Blog

  • Math teachers play again

    15 May 2013 | 12:04 pm
    Math Teachers at Play carnival is posted at Denise's blog. As usual, it is FULL of "yummy" math posts! Go check it out.I especially enjoyed using the "parrot-talk" in math class, and Fawn taking a textbook problem and making it into an open-ended activity -- her students struggled and learned a lot!

  • 14 May 2013 | 10:09 am

    14 May 2013 | 10:09 am
    I'm just posting this flyer that was sent to me about the Elements of Mathematics course. This is not paid advertising; I am doing this for them for free, because I believe it is not easy for them to find their "target audience" - gifted middle school children that are very interested in mathematics.

  • Math Mammoth May sale is here!

    13 May 2013 | 6:39 am
    Get *25% off* of ALL Math Mammoth downloads and CDs at Kagi store with coupon code MAY2013. The sale starts NOW and runs till the end of May (May 31). This includes all Math Mammoth & Make It Real Learning downloads CD products at Kagi, including the already discounted bundles! You can go to MathMammoth.com first, then find the links to Kagi's order pages there. Or, you can use these direct links to the order pages: Light Blue series (complete curriculum)Blue seriesGolden and Green SeriesMake It Real Learning activity workbooks.Bundles (CDs or downloads).From today, May 13, till May 31!

  • Factorization forest game

    9 May 2013 | 9:52 am
    Here is a neat factoring game I found online: Factorization Forest You pick among six different types of seeds given. Then, you have to factorize a number to its prime factors, and the game then lets you grow a tree and place it into your “forest”. You can change the size of the tree and move it around. Then just grow another tree by factoring another number! You can do it for as long as you want. Great fun! My daughter really liked it, and has made several "forests." I basically replaced the practice problems about prime factorization in  her math book with this game.Here are four…

  • A FREE science class

    7 May 2013 | 10:53 am
    You've probably heard me talk about the Supercharged Science curriculum before - it is a great science curriculum, and I use it with my own kids. Today I have something to tell you I think you will appreciate! Aurora, the owner, is doing a free online science class TOMORROW, Wednesday. You can reserve a free spot by clicking here:www.sciencelearningspace.com/members/go.php?r=3095&i=l25 She's done these classes several times before (as you may know :) ), and my kids have really enjoyed them. She's warm and engaging - and knows her science. Kids not only learn solid academics, but get to do…
 
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    About.com Mathematics

  • Counting Resources

    18 May 2013 | 3:28 am
    Learning to count is much more difficult than one would think. Of course, we all learned to count and it's doubtful that any of actually remember what that process was really all about because it was so long ago.  Once the principles of counting are fully understood, there are a wealth of resources here to take the learner to the next step in counting:...Read Full Post

  • Common Core for Kindergarten

    14 May 2013 | 9:26 am
    In the Common Core Standards, kindergarten learners are to count to 100 by ones and by tens. This is a concept that often takes longer than a year to learn.  In the Common Core, it's called Counting and Cardinality. Cardinality refers to the ability of recognizing that four things is represented by the number 4 or that the last number in a set refers to the actual amount.  To support the kindergarten learner, many concrete experiences are needed. This week, I focused on how to support teaching counting to kindergarten learners in order to support the Common Core Standards in…

  • Number Fluency: Essential

    11 May 2013 | 1:33 am
    Number fluency at an early age refers to a full understanding of the principles of counting. Knowing everthing that a number represents. For instance, let's take six. It means know that 6 means 6 of something that's it's less than any number greater than 6 and more than every number less than 6. It means knowing that in a line up or on a number, there is a 6th place. It's knowing that it can refer to 6 concrete items (buttons, cars, coins etc.) or 6 abstract items (6 breaths, 6 thoughts, 6 ideas etc.) It's knowing where 6 is placed on a number line. Research has indicated that children who…

  • SAT Deadline Fast Approaching

    8 May 2013 | 1:34 pm
    Are you one of many individuals taking the SATs in June? If so, be sure to register by the May 22 deadline. The SAT math is a 70 minute math test consisting of 44 multiple choice and 10 open response type questions. Be sure to check out the College Board for practice items to prepare yourself for the test.

  • Algebra: To Drop or Not

    4 May 2013 | 1:08 am
    That's the question being asked in Texas as to whether or not Algebra II is needed as a core diploma requirement. The question being debated is: Does advanced math prepare students for college and career? Of course, the answer is very much dependent upon what that career will be which makes this decision a difficult one to make.  Other states tend to be raising the curriculum standards and Texas perhaps in this circumstance, lowering them. Only two of the 150 House Members have voted against the proposed change. Got a comment? Would love to hear it after you've read the full…
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    Let's Play Math!

  • Math Teachers at Play #62

    Denise Gaskins
    14 May 2013 | 4:14 am
    by Robert Webb Do you enjoy math? I hope so! If not, browsing this post just may change your mind. Welcome to the Math Teachers At Play blog carnival — a smorgasbord of ideas for learning, teaching, and playing around with math from preschool to pre-college. Let the mathematical fun begin! POLYHEDRON PUZZLE By tradition, we start the carnival with a puzzle in honor of our 62nd edition: An Archimedean solid is a polyhedron made of two or more types of regular polygons meeting in identical vertices. A rhombicosidodecahedron (see image above) has 62 sides: triangles, squares, and…

  • Every Day Is Math Day

    Denise Gaskins
    13 May 2013 | 12:00 pm
    Would you like to create your own math holiday? Look here for tips and sign-maker links: Every Day Is Mathematics Day Leave a link to your Happy Math Day post in the comments below, so we can all celebrate! Get all our new math tips and games:  Subscribe in a reader, or get updates by Email.

  • Mathiest Week of the Year

    Denise Gaskins
    7 May 2013 | 9:03 pm
    Can you hear it? That’s the sound of the awesomeness approaching. — Patrick Vennebush Math Jokes 4 Mathy Folks Go to Patrick’s blog to read all the details! Get all our new math tips and games:  Subscribe in a reader, or get updates by Email.

  • Calling All Bloggers: Carnival Time!

    Denise Gaskins
    6 May 2013 | 9:28 pm
    Math Teachers at Play blog carnival time is almost here. Are you ready? If you’ve written a blog post about math, we’d love to have you join us! Each of us can help others learn, so in a sense we are all teachers. Posts must be relevant to students or teachers of school-level mathematics (that is, anything from preschool up to first-year calculus). Old posts are welcome, as long as they haven’t been published in past editions of this carnival. To submit an entry, fill out this form: MTaP Submissions. Don’t procrastinate: The deadline for entries is this Friday. The…

  • Quotable: The Adventure of Learning Math

    Denise Gaskins
    30 Apr 2013 | 2:59 pm
    Math mascot Moby Snoodles As for mathematics itself, it’s one of the most adventurous endeavors a young child can experience. Mathematics is exotic, even bizarre. It is surprising and unpredictable. And it can be more exciting, scary and dangerous than sailing the high seas! But most parents and educators don’t present math this way. They just want the children to develop their mathematical skills rather than going for something more nebulous, like the mathematical state of mind. … Children marvel as snowflakes magically become fractals, inviting explorations of infinity, symmetry…
 
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    Computational Complexity

  • The MOOCs Degree

    Lance Fortnow
    16 May 2013 | 7:03 pm
    Earlier this week Georgia Tech announced the Online Masters of Science in Computer Science, a MOOCs-based degree with a total tuition of about $7000. This degree came out of a collaboration between Sebastian Thrun of Udacity and my dean Zvi Galil with some significant financial support from AT&T. We've spent several months getting faculty input and buy-in to the program and we're very excited about taking a new leading role in the MOOCs revolution. We will roll out slowly, with a smaller scale courses to corporate affiliates to work out the kinks and the plan to go to the general public…

  • Mother's Day Math

    GASARCH
    13 May 2013 | 9:39 am
    Problem: On Mothers day (May 12 this year) restaurants are very crowded because many people take their mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, etc out to lunch. (Grandparents day is in September but I think most people ignore that and honor their grandmothers on mothers day and their grandfathers on fathers day.) My solution: Take mom out to lunch the FOLLOWING week. Some of my friends tell me NO- you can't just MOVE Mothers day- what are you--- The Master of Space and Time? The key is that my mom AGREES with me and in fact raised me with these values: (1) Never do X when everyone else is…

  • GPU Computing

    Lance Fortnow
    9 May 2013 | 7:54 am
    Back around 1980, I used to write computer games for the Apple II. Plotting a point on the Apple II screen required dividing by 7, a lengthy process for the 6502 microprocessor. Asking around, we learned how to make division by 7 much faster--lookup tables. As computer gaming got more intense in the decades that followed, we first had graphics cards designed to speed up the process and later Graphics Processing Units or GPUs, dedicated processors devoted to graphics. Around the turn of the century, people started using GPUs for more than just graphics. GPUs did certain kinds of vector…

  • Are you smarter than a fifth grader? I'm not.

    GASARCH
    6 May 2013 | 7:32 am
    My darling sometimes watches TV in the middle of the night when she can't sleep.So I found myself watching (actually listening) to the quiz show Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader? They asked the following Math Question: What number do you need to add to 3 to get a double fact? I had never heard the term double fact! I really didn't know and there was no way toderive it! I don't recall what my guess was but it was incorrect.See herefor what they are. Is this a common term? If you Google "Double fact" math You get roughly 6,000 hits. (Down from 17,000 a few months ago when I first sketched…

  • Map Coloring Revisited

    Lance Fortnow
    2 May 2013 | 5:45 am
    Following the coloring theme from Bill's last post, a few years ago I asked you readers for natural examples of maps that were and were not three colorable. Chris Bogart gave a nice non-trivial example of a three-colorable country, Armenia. But I also wanted a natural example that was four-colorable even though every interior region had an even number of neighbors. In my book I ended up making up my own fake country map. (Sorry for the hand-drawn picture and getting East-West wrong. Looks better in the book) So once again I'd still like to see a natural example. Here's a simple 7-node graph…
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    The Math Less Traveled

  • Workshop on Functional Art, Music, Modeling and Design

    Brent
    13 May 2013 | 2:15 pm
    Wearing my PhD-student hat, I’m helping organize a workshop, FARM, to be held in Boston this September. I thought it worth mentioning since some readers of this blog—especially those interested in the intersection of math, art, and programming—may find it interesting. The focus of the workshop is essentially using beautiful code to produce beautiful artifacts—whether art, music, or anything else. If that sounds interesting to you, you should consider submitting a paper, or planning to attend! See the website for more details.

  • Making connections

    Brent
    20 Apr 2013 | 10:15 am
    Here’s something fun I was playing around with today. I generated 100 random points and connected some of them with lines. Can you figure out how I chose which lines to draw? How about these? (Same points, different lines.) Or these? Here are some more. The first three groups in the grid below correspond to the pictures already shown above.

  • Animated Sieve of Eratosthenes

    Brent
    11 Apr 2013 | 8:43 pm
    Here’s something I made yesterday! (Note, I strongly suggest watching it fullscreen, in HD if you have the bandwidth for it.) Can you figure out what’s going on? The source code for the animation is here; I was inspired by Jason Davies’ visualization which was in turn inspired by this.

  • Stars of the Mind’s Sky with Diagrams

    Brent
    6 Apr 2013 | 2:10 pm
    A few weeks ago, Paul Salomon posted a really beautiful work of mathematical art on his blog, Lost In Recursion: Stars of the Mind’s Sky, by Paul Salomon He included a precise mathematical description of the image, and I naturally wondered how difficult it would be to replicate using the diagrams framework which I wrote about previously. The answer: not hard! All told it is only about 30 lines of code, give or take. So I decided to exhibit it here, both as a way of explaining the cool math behind Paul’s image, and as a way of showing off the power of diagrams to do this sort of…

  • Book review: Guesstimation 2.0

    Brent
    30 Mar 2013 | 9:00 am
    Guesstimation 2.0: Solving Today’s Problems on the Back of a NapkinLawrence Weinstein I got a review copy of this book, and initially decided I wasn’t going to review it—I hate those sorts of consulting-company-interview estimation problems, you know, like “what percentage of all the shampoo bottles in the world are in an airplane at this moment” or “how much poop does the San Diego Zoo produce per year” or whatever. But I picked it up in an idle moment and found myself spending far longer reading it than I had intended. Weinstein is clearly a master estimator, and anyone…
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    eon

  • Multitasking with studying

    tpc
    10 May 2013 | 5:02 pm
    Another report on how students don’t learn as well when they attempt to multi-task.

  • What’s an eigenface?

    tpc
    30 Apr 2013 | 5:08 pm
    With the recent korean wave, we get to see lots of Korean pop, tv, movie stars in the media. But I found that I can never tell them apart. Especially, the ladies, tall, thin, beautiful but too homogenous. (Of course, korea is well known to be a cosmetic surgery heaven, but let’s not go there.) Here’s finally some no-nonsense maths to prove the point. A great post analyzing the 2013 contestants of the Miss Korea competiton. In a nutshell, there are 6 eigenfaces – great word – and all the rest of the faces can be reconstructed by some linear combinations of these 6.

  • How Not To Excel

    tpc
    26 Apr 2013 | 4:56 pm
    Apparently a couple of influential papers — by two world famous economists Reinhart and Rogoff from Harvard — that were quoted by politicians to shape policies contain serious errors that invalidated their claims. They made the common mistake of not selecting all the entries in the column when averaging, and reported a negative value when in fact the average was positive. More details can be found here. There was no byline for the post, but the blog is by David Bailey and Jon Borwein, respected mathematicians. So should we stop using excel because it has tremendous potential for…

  • According to Socrates

    tpc
    19 Apr 2013 | 5:02 pm
    … it is no true wisdom that you offer your disciples, but only its semblance, for by telling them of many things without teaching them you will make them seem to know much, while for the most part they know nothing … This quote caught my attention for it seems to make a case of “telling” vs “teaching”. Of course it is somewhat taken out of context. Socrates was actually commenting on the technological advancement (back then) known to us as writing or books. And many people nowadays use the passage as a critique of the internet. A more complete transcript…

  • Can computers write proofs

    tpc
    7 Apr 2013 | 6:03 pm
    that human being can understand? By that I mean not those formal logic nonsense. Tim Gowers is doing an interesting experiment to get readers to judge proofs of exercises in metric space theory. The three proofs are supposed to be written by an undergraduate, a phd student and a computer. I only looked at the first problem which is quite straightforward: prove that the intersection of two open metric spaces is open. Honestly, I can’t tell which one is the computer. The main problem is one does not know how the program was written. Here’s my analysis of the solutions. The first two…
 
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    mathematics « WordPress.com Tag Feed

  • system failures .. case EU-states and its sick laws to cash-out

    grassneck
    16 May 2013 | 10:03 am
    i show the betraying policy of every human organization by using EU as an example in cigarettes’ trade laws. many people need encouragement, so here is the good advices for which you know the name of the game in system failures (also as systematic failures). how come they can claim the list of ingredients from every grocery product as well as medicals etc. but there is no demand for a list of ingredients for cigarrettes. and they claim that cigarrettes are dangerous, because it causes cancer. and they reinforce the message by claiming warning texts to packages, which actually make…

  • Los Angeles Math Help For Kids

    mysaltlakecityzine
    16 May 2013 | 9:48 am
    Any kid can be a superstar in math, it just takes practice and an understanding of the basic mathematical concepts. From these basics, students can build a greater understanding of advanced math concepts. Mathnasium is a trusted educational learning center that offers the best math help for kids. Mathnasium math tutors instill confidence and knowledge in all of their students, and on-average, our students achieve higher grades in mathematics and all other subjects. Study With The Best: 2275 Westwood Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90064‎ (310) 475-2222 mathnasium.com

  • Tutoring Centers: Getting The Best Grades Possible

    buyingpropetyinsouthoregon
    16 May 2013 | 9:29 am
    Do you have a child that is struggling at school? Are you looking for a tutoring service for math help for your kids? Mathnasium is a math tutor and educational learning center that can not only help your children grasp mathematical concepts, but can also instill in them an appreciation and yearning for education. Students who get math help and homework help from Mathnasium are statistically-proven to have higher overall grades and test scores in school. Don’t let your child remain frustrated by struggles at school. Mathnasium can help. 2275 Westwood Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90064‎ (310)…

  • Charlotte Mason Inspired - Reading Living Books to our Children

    Vee Zee Bee
    16 May 2013 | 9:18 am
    I had gone to a home-schooling “fair” yesterday and had left that, if not in love with then at least, infatuated with some ideas behind the parenting philosophy of Charlotte Mason.  There are a few key components to her parenting philosophy but what had struck home for me was her thinking that children deserve living books – books that are firsthand sources, that display “imagination, originality and “the human touch”.” Charlotte Mason’s Living Book Distinctive: “For the children? They must grow up upon the best . . . There is never a…

  • Introduction to LaTeX

    sahirbhatnagar
    16 May 2013 | 9:18 am
    I recently gave an introductory presentation on to my fellow graduate students in the Mathematics and Statistics department at Queen’s University. My main goal was to convince the audience of the overwhelming benefits of over “What you see is what you get” (WYSIWYG) word processors. With the help of several online  resources, I  created a Beamer presentation (the version of Powerpoint). Allin Cottrell (http://ricardo.ecn.wfu.edu/~cottrell/wp.html) gives a comprehensive argument as to why he believes “The word processor is a stupid and grossly inefficient tool for…
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    MathNotations

  • Where have all the problems gone...

    Dave Marain
    29 Apr 2013 | 4:37 am
    Iremindedmyfaithfulthatafterpostingnumeroustimesfor 2 monthsIwouldcrashandburnButIhopesomeofyouarefollowingmeattwittercomdmarain I have been tweeting many SAT practice problems under my trademark ®SATMATH 800++++. For example, here's my latest... Whatistheprobabilitythatanumberchosenatrandomfromthefirsttenpositiveoddintegersisprime [45 seconds...] Here's another not yet tweeted... In how many ways can 36 bewrittenasthesumof 2 primespandq, p ≤ q These are NOT of a high order of item difficulty. They are intended to provide practice for this category of arithmetic problems on SATs…

  • INSCRIBING RECTANGLES IN AN EQUILATERAL TRIANGLE - A COMMON CORE INVESTIGATION

    Dave Marain
    17 Apr 2013 | 7:04 am
    I'll let the video speak for itself... I would really appreciate dialog here, focusing more on instructional methods -- balanced vs blended, conceptual development AND procedural understanding, etc. Hope this helpful to someone... If interested in purchasing my NEW 2012 Math Challenge Problem/Quiz book, click on BUY NOW at top of right sidebar. 175 problems divided into 35 quizzes with answers at back and DETAILED SOLUTIONS/STRATEGIES for the 1st 8 quizzes. Suitable for SAT I, Math I/II Subject Tests, Common Core Assessments, Math Contest practice and Daily/Weekly Problems of the Day.

  • A brief respite...

    Dave Marain
    27 Feb 2013 | 4:31 pm
    I will not be posting for the next few days as my family and I observe the one year passing of my wife. Thank you for your understanding. VISIT ME DAILY ON TWITTER AT twitter.com/dmarain

  • An SAT quiz to sharpen your brain for March 9

    Dave Marain
    25 Feb 2013 | 4:53 am
    Click on the image to enlarge. Good luck trying to read my scrawl! This is one I wrote from the 20th century! Feel free to use with your students but observe the copyright please. No answers yet but you can share your thoughts... If interested in purchasing my NEW 2012 Math Challenge Problem/Quiz book, click on BUY NOW at top of right sidebar. 175 problems divided into 35 quizzes with answers at back and DETAILED SOLUTIONS/STRATEGIES for the 1st 8 quizzes. Suitable for SAT I, Math I/II Subject Tests, Common Core Assessments, Math Contest practice and Daily/Weekly Problems of the Day. Includes…

  • So is 75 the avg of the pos integers from 50 to 100 inclusive?

    Dave Marain
    20 Feb 2013 | 5:46 pm
    This very common type of question appears so straightforward. So why do variations of it recur so often on SATs and other standardized tests and math contests? Why not test it out with your students and ask them to explain their reasoning. I am still surprised by the creativity of our students when given the opportunity to display it! Again, my boring disclaimer... This is not a conundrum for the math problem-solvers out there. It is intended as a discussion point for helping students develop some important ideas in mathematics. If interested in purchasing my NEW 2012 Math Challenge…
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    Neoformix

  • Visual Book Selector

    8 May 2013 | 5:00 am
    One common pattern I see in many interactive applications is to support a person who is selecting a few items from some larger set. Often these items have various characteristics that the person wants to use in some way to guide their selection process. The characteristics can be numeric quantities, dates, categories, or names of things. Showing all the items in a list and allowing the person to sort by one of the attributes is often a decent default solution. In other cases it's more useful to consider multiple attributes at a time during the selection process. Maybe you want items that are…

  • Star Wars Movie Fingerprints

    27 Mar 2013 | 4:35 am
    Recently YouTube had a video that showed all six Star Wars movies at once. They were placed in a 2 by 3 matrix and had an audio track of all the movies superimposed. It was an interesting experiment that has since been removed based on copyright grounds. Before it was removed I was able to do some simple analysis on the video and extract some details of the individual episodes of the Star Wars series. Basically, I produced something very similar to a classic work called Cinema Redux™ by Brendan Dawes, done in 2004. Each individual movie in the series was reduced to a collection of small…

  • Obesity Slopegraph

    26 Feb 2013 | 11:40 am
    Last week the wonderful Guardian Datablog published an interesting post called Obesity worldwide: the map of the world's weight. It contains a map that shows with color the rates of obesity around the world. The accompanying chart gives data for different time frames and for both male and female which you can select and view on the map. When I saw the chart I immediately thought of a number of interesting questions that could not be easily answered with the map or chart. What is the trend over time? Do these trends exist worldwide? Which countries are exceptions to the trend? Which countries…

  • Neoformix Site Redesign

    19 Feb 2013 | 3:10 am
    In 2006, I started this blog as an outlet for my creative personal work as well as to gather in one place references to interesting work by other people. Since then, Neoformix has grown into a full-time business for me specializing in the development of custom data visualizations. I have just spent some time giving the website it's first facelift in 7 years. I hope you like it! I've tried to simplify the design and emphasize that Neoformix is a business by designing a main page that highlights some projects and moving the blog to a secondary page. Thanks to Twitter Bootstrap for a powerful…

  • Word Hearts Updated

    5 Feb 2013 | 5:05 am
    About five years ago I posted a simple little application called Word Hearts which lets you fill a heart shape with words. Last year it was the most visited page on my site despite the fact that it was still a java applet based application which many modern browsers won't render. I have updated this tool to use ProcessingJS so it runs well in modern browsers. There is also enhanced functionality like: You can fill circles, diamonds, stars, and squares as well as the original heart shape There are more fonts to choose from You can easily use small symbols like hearts, happy faces etc., in your…
 
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    Math Bootcamps

  • Inverse Matrices Using Row Operations

    Jerimi
    10 May 2013 | 1:23 pm
    While it is certainly possible to find the inverse of a matrix using your calculator, the process can also be done by hand using row operations. In the following video, we go through a simple example of how this works. Please note, we don’t really discuss the theory here – we will save that discussion for another time! The post Inverse Matrices Using Row Operations appeared first on Math Bootcamps.

  • How to Find the Standard Deviation and Variance With a Graphing Calculator (TI83 or TI84)

    Jerimi
    17 Apr 2013 | 3:24 am
    Only the truly insane (or those in an introductory statistics course) would calculate the standard deviation of a dataset by hand! So what is left for the rest of us level headed folks? Statisticians typically use software like R or SAS, but in a classroom there isn’t always access to a full PC. Instead, we can use a graphing calculator to perform the exact same calculations. (note: If you like video better, scroll down for a video of this example) Standard Deviation on the TI83 or TI84 For this example, we will use a simple made-up data set: 5, 1, 6, 8, 5, 1, 2. For now, I won’t…

  • Understanding y-Intercepts

    Jerimi
    13 Apr 2013 | 10:10 am
    It doesn’t matter what function you are looking at, the y intercept is the point at which the graph of that function crosses the y-axis. That means the point can always be written (0, c) for some number c. The y-intercept is at y = -1. As a point, we would write (0, -1) Finding y Intercepts Along the y-axis, the x value of any point is zero. This means that to find the y intercept of any function, we can just let x = 0 and solve for y. For example, consider the function . If we let , then . As a point, this would be the point (0, 4). Similarly, the function in the graph at the top of…

  • Finding the Inverse of a Matrix with a Calculator

    Jerimi
    10 Apr 2013 | 4:04 pm
    By taking any advanced math course or even scanning through this website, you quickly learn how powerful a graphing calculator can be. A more “theoretical” course like linear algebra is no exception. In fact, once you know how to do something like finding an inverse matrix by hand, the calculator can free you up from that calculation and let you focus on the big picture. Remember, not every matrix has an inverse. For now, just trust me that I picked an invertible matrix (one that has an inverse). We will talk about what happens when it isn’t invertible a little later on.

  • How I Make Screencast Videos for Math Bootcamps

    Jerimi
    9 Apr 2013 | 5:10 am
    As a short diversion from the typical math topics, I thought I would share a recent post from my own blog about how I make all these Math Bootcamps videos you see pop up on the blog. I know when I first got started, it took a ton of searching around to figure out exactly how to get things going. It will always be a work in progress but through the years, I have definitely picked up a few tricks. Oh and if you know of some tricks that I don’t, make sure to let me know! How I make Screencasts for Math Bootcamps – Tools and Best Practices. The post How I Make Screencast Videos for…
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    Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science

  • Gifted Students Need Strong Study Habits Too

    IMACS Staff Writer
    15 May 2013 | 10:00 pm
    Developing good study habits before entering college is an essential skill that many gifted and talented children and their parents overlook. Some parents are often surprised to learn that their bright child can ace a schedule of honors or Advanced Placement courses with little studying. They might assume that if their child is receiving top grades in the most advanced classes offered by their school, he will be well-prepared to handle the rigors of university courses. This is an unlikely outcome without good study habits, and waiting until college to learn how to study is much too late when…

  • Undoing the Damage of Standardized Testing

    IMACS Staff Writer
    17 Apr 2013 | 10:00 pm
    It’s standardized stressing, um, that is, “testing,” season in the US again. Scores will soon be crunched, the debate as to whether they belong in teacher evaluations will rage on, and powerful and connected people will quote the results, no matter what they are, in support of their agenda. But regardless of what the numbers say, will outcomes actually improve for the constituency that this annual exercise claims to be benefiting, that is, the students? Of course not. Worse yet, for all the dollars and time and energy expended by all involved, US students are worse off by…

  • A Rocket Scientist Shares His Past and Muses on the Future of STEM

    IMACS Staff Writer
    20 Mar 2013 | 10:00 pm
    This month, IMACS chats with alumnus Daniel “Danny” Vidaud. Danny started taking IMACS math enrichment classes as an elementary school student and progressed through the introductory computer science class. He went on to earn his B.S.E. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan. Danny is currently in his third year as an engineer with Boeing. IMACS alumnus, Daniel Vidaud, soaks up the sun in Cartagena, Spain. Tell us about your current position at Boeing. What exactly do you do? I am an aerodynamics engineer working in technology and product development. In a nut…

  • There’s No Escaping the Elements (of Mathematics)

    IMACS Staff Writer
    20 Feb 2013 | 10:00 pm
    This month’s guest blog post comes from Christopher Tiwald. Christopher studied the Elements of Mathematics curriculum from 6th to 9th grade as a student in Lincoln Public Schools in Lincoln, Nebraska. He attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he majored in Political Science. After exploring a diverse series of careers, Christopher became a self-taught software engineer and now works at Conductor, Inc. as a Technical Operations Engineer. (To learn more about the online version of the curriculum that Christopher studied, explore IMACS’ foundational mathematics courses at…

  • Mathematical Talent and the Timed Arithmetic Test

    IMACS Staff Writer
    23 Jan 2013 | 10:00 pm
    “The obsession with arithmetic skills that characterizes so many elementary curricula is indeed curious. Consider an analogous situation: No one would ever suggest that the be-all and end-all of the school English curriculum is proficiency in spelling. … It would not occur to anyone to argue that a child who has not first mastered spelling should be denied the right to read and write. … Of course, we must also be concerned with spelling, but we are not obsessed by it. The spelling will come, and surely come more easily, if children enjoy and appreciate the uses of…
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    Math Concepts Explained

  • Differentiation Rules - Finding the Derivative of a Difference of Functions

    Shaun Klassen
    17 May 2013 | 10:23 pm
    This post continues along in my series on calculus differentiation rules, this time talking about how to find the derivative of a difference of functions. I hope you read my last post, which applied to sums of functions, because it is nearly the same situation when you are subtracting. I'm not going to go into the same level as detail as I did there, so I highly recommend you go back and give

  • Differentiation Rules - Finding the Derivative of a Sum of Functions

    Shaun Klassen
    9 May 2013 | 9:15 pm
    Welcome back to my introductory calculus series on differentiation formulas.  For those who are playing along at home, I have explained several rules so far and am going to add another one today.  If you've missed those posts, then I highly encourage you to go back and take a look at them to familiarize yourself with these basic concepts.  (So far: here, here, and here.  Or just check my table of

  • Happy Fibonacci Day!

    Shaun Klassen
    8 May 2013 | 10:26 pm
    I know this may be a little late in the day, but I just realized that today's date is actually a Fibonacci sequence!  That's right, today's date is May 8, 2013, or written another way, 5/8/13! For those who don't know, the famous Fibonacci sequence is starts off with the numbers 0, 1, and then continues by adding numbers that are equal to the sum of its preceding two numbers.  So, the classical

  • Differentiation Rules - Finding the Derivative of a Constant Times a Function

    Shaun Klassen
    4 May 2013 | 11:51 pm
    In this post I'm going to explain another one of the differentiation rules for working with derivatives.  This time, I will show you how to find the derivative of a constant times a function. In case you have missed them, I am creating a series of posts that explain some basic concepts in differential calculus.  So far, in my first lesson I explained how to find the derivative of a constant

  • Top 5 Most Popular Posts of April

    Shaun Klassen
    30 Apr 2013 | 9:14 pm
    It's that time of month again - time for a recap of my top 5 most popular posts of April!  Once again, the top 5 are dominated by several of the usual favourites.  However, spot number 5 is a newcomer!  I'm happy to see that I have several pieces of content that are so routinely visited, but I also am very pleased to see new posts crack the top 5 as well from time to time.  If you missed these
 
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    mathrecreation

  • patterns abound

    Dan MacKinnon
    25 Apr 2013 | 4:53 pm
    Since noticing this graphic, I've spent a little time contemplating the patterns you can make by connecting 12 dots that are evenly distributed around a circle (above: no lines, and all lines). Twelve dots around a circle has some cultural resonance - we still see them up on many walls keeping time. Feeling the pull of patternicity and agenticity, other people, more mystically minded than I, have spent a lot of time making patterns on zodiac circles that look a lot like the ones here. What really makes 12 so useful and open to this circle pattern making are all those divisors (1, 2, 3,…

  • good ole prime spiral

    Dan MacKinnon
    16 Apr 2013 | 7:17 pm
    For a while I have been putting up images from this blog on tumblr (if you like the pictures but not the words, that's the version of this blog for you). Far and away the most popular picture is this one, which reminded at least one fellow tumblrite of the Death Star. To be honest, I don't really know why this picture stands out from the others, or why you might choose to re-blog it rather than a picture of a kitten (I guess no one blogged this over a kitten... most choose this and a kitten). I do occasionally throw some things up there that don't have a blog post associated with them,…

  • frames and octahedrals

    Dan MacKinnon
    3 Apr 2013 | 3:13 pm
    Looking at a polka-dotted shower curtain the other day, I started to play a game of connect the dots. I was looking at "frames" of dots like the ones below, and counting the squares that could be made using only the dots on each frame as vertices. So, consider an n by n square grid with points at each vertex and points one unit apart around the perimeter  For an such a grid, how many squares can be drawn by connecting 4 points on the perimeter of the grid, and what is the total area of all the squares drawn? Read no further if you want to do this yourself. Counting the squares…

  • why stop at four?

    Dan MacKinnon
    26 Mar 2013 | 7:29 pm
    The Ontario Social Studies Curriculum says: By the end of Grade 2, students will: – recognize and use pictorial symbols (e.g., for homes, roads), colour (e.g., blue line/river), legends, and cardinal directions (i.e., N, S, E,W) on maps of Canada and other countries; I was helping out with some Grade 2 homework the other day, and when it came time to mark the cardinal directions I reached for an old trigonometry text book to show a much more detailed compass rose. Young students can figure out how many points you have each time you sub-divide the compass (4, 8, 16, 32, ...), and the…

  • calculated thought experiment

    Dan MacKinnon
    21 Mar 2013 | 4:38 pm
    I always feel that I come away with something new whenever I read Ludwig Wittgenstein's Remarks on the Foundations of Mathematics - likely because I understood so little on each previous read. In the book, one thing  he tries to get at is what we mean by words "mathematics" and "calculation," and in doing so he asks questions that are so basic that they call into question our implicit assumptions about what these words mean. One of these sets of questions ask about whether our mental state and attitude in any way influences whether or not we are actually "doing mathematics."…
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    Maths Tips From Maths Insider

  • Say “Thank You” With One of These 13 Marvelous Math Teacher Gifts

    Caroline Mukisa
    14 May 2013 | 1:11 am
    Whether it’s your child’s math teacher, math tutor or Kumon instructor who has helped build a love of math in your child, sometimes you’ll want to say thanks by buying your child’s math mentor a gift. When I did my stint at the whiteboard teaching math to 11 to 18 year olds, my students would often give me scarves as gifts since they knew I loved wearing scarves with unusual designs, but I also loved the mathy gifts I was given! If you’re stuck for math teacher gift ideas, check out these 13 marvelous math teacher gifts, suitable as a holiday gift, an end of year…

  • 7 iPad Apps to Help Your Child Crush Their Times Tables

    Caroline Mukisa
    8 May 2013 | 12:48 am
    When it comes to the times tables there are lots of different ways of learning them - through songs, videos, board games and of course, through tablet apps. The key to speedy stress free learning is to practise them often until they become fixed in your child’s head, like the names of all the characters in Phineas and Ferb or the latest One Direction lyrics. For the iPad generation, a few minutes a day on a times tables app could be all they need to fix the multiplication facts in their heads. Check out the guest post by Ken Myers below to find out the latest and coolest times tables…

  • Listen Up! 8 Fascinating Podcasts to Spark a Love of Math in your Teen

    Caroline Mukisa
    25 Apr 2013 | 1:08 am
    I’ve calculated that I spend around 14 hours a week in my car, with school runs, and shipping my kids to after school activities. During these trips, we spend a lot of time chatting (If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?) and also a little time  staring at the traffic out of the window as well as a lot of time bickering. One of my favorite in-car activities when I’m on my own in the car is listening to podcasts. I’ve even spent a few dollars and bought the amazing Downcast app so I can easily search, arrange, queue, and play my favorite podcasts.

  • More Mental Maths Tricks from the Teacher’s Maths Test

    Adrian Beckett
    9 Apr 2013 | 5:51 am
    This is a guest post by Adrian Beckett maths tutor extraordinaire! In my last blog post on the Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) Skills Mental Maths Test, Can You Pass the Maths Test For Teachers, we looked at the all-important times tables.  Without them, so much of maths becomes more difficult, and for those intrepid trainee teachers doing the QTS Skills Test, if they don’t know them there chances of passing the test becomes much less. In this post, I’ll be looking at how to answer a question from the QTS Skills Test which involves multiplying three numbers using mental maths. This is…

  • Why Kids Should Care About Math: 3 Unlikely Careers that Use Math Skills

    Caroline Mukisa
    4 Apr 2013 | 2:15 am
    This is a guest post by Susan Cumberland, owner of School is Easy Tutoring in Vancouver Not all careers require extensive math study, however, most careers do utilize basic math skills everyday. If your child doesn’t care about math and wonders why it is important for them to learn math at school or with a tutor, here are 3 unlikely professions that use math skills that could help your child start to care about math. After reading this, they just might be motivated to learn after all. Maybe your child wants to be a fashion designer, a chef, or a racecar driver? They will be surprised to…
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    MathFour

  • Fahrenheit to Celsius - Graphically!

    Bon
    15 May 2013 | 5:00 am
    Part of Wordless Wednesday... The beautiful and talented Heather at Freebies4Mom.com sent me a post on An Easy Way to Convert Celsius to Fahrenheit. It inspired me to draw the graphs of Celsius in terms of Fahrenheit and Fahrenheit in terms of Celsius. Notice these two intersect at (-40, -40). Which means that -40°F is -40°C! Use it to convert temperatures. The x values on the red line are Celsius - so find the °C you have and then look at the y-value to convert to °F. It's just the opposite on the purple line. Okay, fine. This isn't the greatest way to convert - but it's exciting to…

  • Problem Based Learning Resources

    Bon
    9 May 2013 | 4:30 am
    This is the second in a series on Problem Based Learning. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. But where do you begin? And that's what creating this Problem Based Learning Finite Math class feels like. There are 17 million entry ways into this. Find one book and stick with it. The voice of my housemate in grad school is haunting me: "Quit trying to use every book in the library. Find one book and stick with it!" He's right. Even in today's online over-googled world. I've found various sources and I've decided on one source for my course content creation: Samford University's…

  • Being Brave

    Bon
    8 May 2013 | 2:44 pm
    This is part of the Five Minute Friday series. Today's prompt is: Brave. Doing math (and teaching math) is a nutty act of bravery. And sometimes it's just a nutty act. But we do it - both teach and learn. Bravery in Learning Here are some of the amazing things I've seen in math learning - the bravest of the brave: Student in tears at the beginning of the course, but there anyway. Student in tears at the end of the final exam (different student, btw). Student continuing to come to class even though the instructor made her cry. (That was me.) Bravery in Teaching Here are some of the brave…

  • The 'Just Say It' Challenge

    Bon
    3 May 2013 | 5:21 am
    I preach nearly constantly that grown-ups shouldn't talk bad about math. And that's really easy for me to preach. Because it's easy to practice. For me. I've never struggled out of control in math. It's not easy to "just say it." I've been asking people to say things that they're extremely uncomfortable with. But I've not stepped up to the plate myself and done the same! I've been reading a book called Daring Greatly by Brené Brown. She writes, "Be the adult you want your children to be." I want K8 to be happy with math. No problem - I'm happy with math. But I also want her to be happy with…

  • Blog Giveaways - How People Lose

    Bon
    1 May 2013 | 9:41 am
    This morning I entered a blog giveaway. But I didn't enter in all the ways I could. I stopped when I was prompted to "share this on Facebook" to get an extra entry. I thought, "I don't want more people to enter. I want me to win. And if I share, I'll let others in." Bad Bon! I know - but that's how I am. Which sparked me thinking about the math behind winning - and losing - if you get more entries. Entering a blog giveaway is easy. In blog giveaways you enter by commenting on the post. The blogger also gives you the opportunity to earn more chances of winning by doing other things. These…
 
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    CSE Blog - quant, math, computer science puzzles

  • Matrix Puzzle

    Pratik Poddar
    18 May 2013 | 4:52 am
    Source: www.puzzletweeter.com Problem: Let A,B be 2x2 matrices with integer entries.Suppose the matrices A,A+B,A+2B,A+3B,A+4B are all invertible and their inverses are also integer matrices. Then show that A+5B is invertible and it's inverse is an integer matrix.

  • Art of Puzzle Solving

    Pratik Poddar
    16 May 2013 | 12:09 am
    Art of Puzzle Solving from Pratik Poddar

  • Equations Puzzle

    Pratik Poddar
    3 May 2013 | 2:55 am
    Source: Interview Street Problem:  Find the number of positive integral solutions for the equations  (1/x) + (1/y) = 1/N!  (read 1 by x plus 1 by y is equal to 1 by n factorial)  Print a single integer which is the no of positive integral solutions modulo 1000007.

  • Candy Game - Math Puzzle

    Pratik Poddar
    24 Apr 2013 | 4:40 am
    Source: Mailed to me by Sudeep Kamath (PhD Student, UC at Berkeley, EE IITB Alumnus 2008) - He found it at http://puzzletweeter.com/ Problem: A group of students are sitting in a circle with the teacher in the center. They all have an even number of candies (not necessarily equal). When the teacher blows a whistle, each student passes half his candies to the student on his left. Then the students who have an odd number of candies obtain an extra candy from the teacher. Show that after a finite number of whistles, all students have the same number of candies.

  • Black and White Squares Puzzle

    Pratik Poddar
    24 Apr 2013 | 4:21 am
    Source: Mailed to me by Sudeep Kamath (PhD Student, UC at Berkeley, EE IITB Alumnus 2008) - He found it at http://puzzletweeter.com/ Problem: Consider an n x n chessboard, where each square is arbitrarily chosen to be either black or white. Your goal is to make all squares in the chessboard white. At each step, you are allowed to "switch" a square, but each switch will toggle not only the particular square being switched, but also the 4 squares that are adjacent to it: Two vertically up and down and two horizontally up and down the square being switched. Note : At corners only 4/3…
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    OnlineMathPro

  • Deconstructing Chocolate Math

    10 May 2013 | 12:25 pm
    Every year, mass emails go out challenging people to calculate their age using “Chocolate Math”.  In a minute, I’ll deconstruct the 2013 version of this fun math activity – but first, try out this (simpler) activity:I’m going to read your mind, with the help of a little mathematical trickery.1.      Think of a number – any number will work, but it’s easiest if you choose a smaller number (between 1 and 10).2.      Add 7.3.      Take the result and add your original…

  • Factoring Song

    28 Mar 2013 | 7:15 am
    I've got an NBA-themed article in the works, but decided to postpone finishing it in order to work on my latest Silly Math Song.FACTORING SONG: FACTOR GANGNAM STYLE teaches the basics of factoring, as well as reducing fractions that contain polynomials.The information is pretty rapid-fire as the song covers all of these types of factoring:Factoring out the GCFFactoring the Difference of SquaresFactoring Quadratic Trinomials with a Leading Coefficient of 1Factoring by GroupingFactoring the Sum and Difference of CubesFactoring General Quadratic Trinomials (ax^2 + bx + c)It's…

  • The Road Not Taken (Logic Puzzle)

    28 Feb 2013 | 4:28 pm
    In Robert Frost’s famous poem, The Road Not Taken (sometimes mistakenly referred to as “The Road Less Travelled”), a traveler is faced with the difficult choice of which road he should follow.This brings to mind a classic logic puzzle, with mathematical implications.Here is my poetic interpretation of the puzzle.THE ROAD NOT TAKEN – Mr. Wagneezy Version(Line 1 by Robert Frost)Two roads diverge in a yellow woodOne leads to certain deathThe other leads to riches untoldI stop to catch my breathI soon discover I have no clueExactly which road is whichI look to the right, and then to the…

  • What’s the difference between 90% and 100%? (Traits of HIGHLY successful math students)

    8 Feb 2013 | 4:38 pm
    The differences between the students who fail in math and the students who get decent grades – C and above – are generally clear cut, and easily identifiable (unless there is a learning disability involved).  Most of these differences aren’t even math specific… failing students in any subject can generally improve their grades by improving one or more of the following areas:1)      Get organized2)      Do (and turn in) assignments on time3)      Be willing/able to seek help when…

  • Are you a good doctor? (Math Puzzle - A look at probability)

    19 Jan 2013 | 9:07 pm
    Here’s an interesting math puzzle involving probability…1 out of every 10,000 citizens of a country has a deadly virus.  A blood test can be used to determine whether or not somebody has the virus.  The test is accurate 98% of the time.  There are 1 million people in the country, and each person is tested.  A man who tested positive for the virus talks to his doctor, who informs the man that there is a 98% chance that he does, in fact, have the virus.  The doctor is not correct in making this statement… what is the actual probability that the man has the deadly…
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    COOL FUN MATH GAMES 4 KIDS

  • How to Study Math

    coolmath
    7 May 2013 | 6:55 am
    How to Study Math from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit Successfully studying math requires work. Calculators and short cuts can help you, but ONLY if you use them properly. Steps Learn all of the basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts by memory. Failure to learn the basic facts properly will make advanced math impossible. Learn Mathematical Definitions (vocabulary). Have your teacher restate (and/or explain) the words you don’t understand. Even if your current teacher doesn’t use the terminology often, you can be certain that other…

  • How to Solve Math Problems

    coolmath
    7 May 2013 | 6:46 am
    How to Solve Math Problems from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit Although math problems may be solved in different ways, a general method to visualizing, approaching and solving math problems is outlined in the steps found here. Steps Determine what kind of math you are having difficulty with. Is it multiplying fractions? Solving quadratic equations? Knowing where you need more knowledge is key for focusing your studying. Review. Most math textbooks have a lesson to read, covering new concepts directly before each problem set. If you are having trouble with the newest…

  • How to Make Math Fun and Easy with Printable Math Games for Kids

    coolmath
    19 Apr 2013 | 1:04 am
    How to Make Math Fun and Easy with Printable Math Games for Kids from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit Cool math is so fun; simply not all kids love it. If you are looking for a fun and challenging way to introduce information and learning, then printable math games are the perfect choice for your kids. Understanding math concepts not just involve practice, but it includes applying them to environment and daily lives. Math games can make the learning fun, engaging and exciting. Tips According to studies, your brain remembers what you write than what you type. Pencil is a…

  • How to Teach Your Child Math

    coolmath
    10 Apr 2013 | 10:12 pm
    How to Teach Your Child Math from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit So your child has grown older, and you’re ready to give them a head start in getting ready with math. Well, that’s great! This article will give you some tips and ideas on how to best instruct your child while not making them fall asleep. Steps Encourage your child. What do you think would make for a more enriching class-time experience, an excited and ambitious one or a defiant, uninspired one? Begin teaching them with an interactive activity. There’s plenty of options. you can use…

  • Printable Math Worksheets

    coolmath
    27 Mar 2013 | 10:03 pm
    Printable-Math-Board-Games There are some very basic math skills that all students who will go on to greater academic success must conquer.  These include the multiplication tables, how to work with fractions and decimals and other very basic skills that must become second nature before a student can take on more advanced skills.  But at the basic level of math education, there is just no way to conquer some of these skills without a certain amount of memorization.  And as anyone who teaches elementary grades or has raised young children knows, the one thing young people hate is…
 
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