## February Update: Blog Evolution Meme

This picture is my all-time favorite LolCat, because it is so true to life. Every time I sit down to read a book or grade homework, one of our kittens plops herself on top of it and starts chewing the corners.

## Blog Evolution Meme

Jonathan tagged me for the blog evolution meme, in which one chooses five posts that represent the development of one’s blog. Hmmm…

## Egyptian Fractions: The Answer Sheet

Remember the Math Adventurer’s Rule: Figure it out for yourself! Whenever I give a problem in an Alexandria Jones story, I will try to post the answer (relatively) soon afterward. But don’t peek! If I tell you the answer, you miss out on the fun of solving the puzzle. So if you haven’t worked these problems yet, go back to the original post. Figure them out for yourself — and then check the answers just to prove that you got them right.

## The Secret of Egyptian Fractions

Alex made a poster of Egyptian-style fractions, from 1/2 to 9/10. Many of the fractions were easy. She knew that…

$\frac{5}{10} = \frac{4}{8} = \frac{3}{6} = \frac{2}{4} = \frac{1}{2}$

Therefore, as soon as she figured out one fraction, she had the answer to all of its equivalents.

She had the most trouble with the 7ths and 9ths. She tried converting these to other fractions that were easier to work with. For example, 28 has more factors than 7, making 28ths easier to break up into other fractions with one in the numerator.

## If Your Kids Like Sir Cumference…

If you and your students have enjoyed the Sir Cumference picture book series, then you will love these two worksheets from Waltzing Matilda:

Area and Perimeter

[Hat tip: Living and Loving Numbers forum.]

## Math Links for Fun and Charity

Photo by James Cridland.

Aargh! My computer died again. So I borrowed my daughter’s laptop and ran off to the coffee shop to write blog articles — and discovered that all the outlets on the wall here are fake. Why would they do that? Anyway, before the laptop battery dies, I want to share a couple of math links with you…

## Nim Revisited

Photo by Sister72.

Dave at MathNotations offers another version of Nim that will give your students something to think about:

[1,2]-3-[4,5]-6-[7,8]…21 Helping Children Devise and Understand Winning Strategies

Claim your two free learning guide booklets, and be one of the first to hear about new books, revisions, and sales or other promotions.

## Way To Go, Boys!

Congratulations, math team! All your hard work paid off, and I hope you enjoyed yourselves thoroughly. Of course, as C. S. Lewis wrote:

…if you do one good deed, your reward usually is to be set to do another and harder and better one.

Now it’s time to practice for the state level in March. You can find practice problems online at:

Preparation Drills for MATHCOUNTS
or
The “Go Figure!” math challenge
[ACK! MathCounts has re-written their website. The old link is no longer any good, but I haven’t yet found the new location for this game.]

And give the new interactive Countdown Round game a try:

AoPS For The Win!