The Secret of the Pharaoh’s Treasure

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
caravan in Egyptian desert

“I am inclined to believe that one of the origins of mathematics is man’s playful nature, and for this reason mathematics is not only a Science, but to at least the same extent also an Art.”

—Rózsa Péter

This week, we have the first mathematical adventure of Alexandria Jones, which takes place in the early days of her father’s archaeological expedition mentioned in the introduction post.

Herein we meet the one major character who is not named after a mathematician from history: Alex’s nemesis, Simon Skulk.

While my fiction doesn’t rise close to the level of “art,” I hope it offers a glimpse into the playful nature of mathematics for you and your children.

Continue reading The Secret of the Pharaoh’s Treasure

Introduction to the Science of Counting

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
fantasy elf archer

One of my favorite rabbit-trails to explore in middle school math is the science of counting and probability.

It’s a great topic because the calculations are relatively easy, mostly multiplication and division. But there’s a lot of thinking that goes into figuring out just what calculations we need to do.

Counting is not only for little kids! It’s part of discrete mathematics, which means the study of things that are not continuous—things that come in discrete chunks—and it’s important in game design, computer programing, and cryptography.

Prealgebra and Geometry games book

This post is a section of my Prealgebra & Geometry Games book where my daughter and I explore the fundamental counting principle, the key to solving many counting and probability puzzles.

Continue reading Introduction to the Science of Counting

Probability Puzzles with Obsolete Coins

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
jar of coins

I love math puzzles, and Henry Ernest Dudeney is the foremost puzzlemeister of all time.

Whenever I need a diversion from the pressing day-to-day busyness of life, I like to crack open one of his books. And get humbled. He stumps me as often as not, but I enjoy the challenge.

Today, I’ve got two of his somewhat-easier puzzles from Amusements in Mathematics, dealing with the probability of obsolete coins tossed or pulled from a bag.

Okay, so the penny isn’t obsolete quite yet, even though the US government quit making them. But the “penny” in these puzzles is the old British pence, which went out of date seemingly ages ago, along with all the other non-decimal coins that made old math puzzles so confusing.

Probability puzzles are great for middle school students because the arithmetic itself is simple. The challenge is in figuring out exactly what calculation to do.

Have fun playing math with your kids!

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Conversion Factors: How Old Are You in Nanoseconds?

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
birthday cupcake with sparkler

Homeschool Memories

[Based on a problem I made up for my co-op students, once upon a time…]

Conversion factors are special fractions that contain problem-solving information. Why are they called conversion factors?

  • “Conversion” means change, and conversion factors help you change the numbers and units in your problem.
  • “Factors” are things you multiply with. So to use a conversion factor, you will multiply it by something.

For instance, if I am driving an average of 60 mph on the highway, I can use that rate as a conversion factor. I may use the fraction:

Or I may flip it over to make:

It all depends on what problem I want to solve.

After driving two hours, how far have I gone?

But if I am planning to go 240 more miles, how much longer will it take?

Any rate can be used as a conversion factor. You can recognize them by their form: this per that. Miles per hour, dollars per gallon, cm per meter, and many, many more.

Of course, you will need to use the rate that is relevant to the problem you are trying to solve. If I were trying to figure out how far a tank of gas would take me, it wouldn’t be any help to know that an M1A1 Abrams tank would get about 1/3 mile per gallon. I won’t be driving one of those.

Continue reading Conversion Factors: How Old Are You in Nanoseconds?

This Puzzle Is Murder

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
cartoon detective

Do you sometimes mourn (in a small way) the loss of a favorite website? I still miss the Daily Set puzzle, which was part of my morning routine for years.

But lately, I’ve added a new teaser to wake up my brain for the day.

While Set was a visual-logic puzzle, this one is straightforward (though not simple) deduction. I think you’ll enjoy it.

Continue reading This Puzzle Is Murder

Tasty Treats from the Moscow Puzzles

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
basket of apples

“Problems stressing deduction rather than calculation have a special appeal and value. They teach you to analyze, and to seek unorthodox ways of solving a problem.”

—Boris Kordemsky

Today I’m sharing a few treats from The Moscow Puzzles by Boris Kordemsky, which mixes classic brainteasers and original stumpers.

Recreational math expert Martin Gardner called Kordemsky’s book “the outstanding puzzle collection in the history of Russian mathematics.”

Have fun playing logic with your kids!

Continue reading Tasty Treats from the Moscow Puzzles

Rescuing Cool Math for Older Kids

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
mother and teen daughter do homework together

Do you have math dreams for your children?

Here are some dreams shared the authors of Avoid Hard Work!

For our children, we dream that mathematics…

  • … makes sense.
  • … is more than just arithmetic.
  • … is joyous.
  • … makes them strong.
  • … is meaningful.
  • … is creative.
  • … is full of fascinating questions.
  • … opens up many paths to solutions.
  • … is friendly.
  • … solves big problems and makes the world better.
  • … is a powerful tool they can master.
  • … is beautiful.
  • … lets them learn in their own ways.
  • … is connected to their lives.
  • … asks “why” and not just “how.”
  • … opens the world.

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Puzzle: The Eccentric Teacher

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
boy and girl ready to solve math puzzles

One of my favorite things as a teacher was to gather a group of children to play math together.

Call it a math club or math circle, the name didn’t matter, but the activity was always fun. We did non-schooly games and projects, and the kids enjoyed both the camaraderie and the experience of thinking hard in a stress-free setting.

If you’d like to pull together a math club/circle of your own, here are some tips.

Today’s puzzle involves an unusual teacher trying to collect students to participate in a group activity…

Continue reading Puzzle: The Eccentric Teacher

Are You Smarter than a 3rd-6th Grader?

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
girl raising hand in math class

Recently, I stumbled on an old blog post featuring Singapore Math problems, and it brought back memories.

Back when my children were young, the original Primary Math series from Singapore was one of my favorite math curricula. I tweaked our school program constantly, so none of my kids had the same education, but three of them spent a good part of their elementary years in those books.

And I followed the Math in Singapore 2007 blog for its single season of publication. The blog has gone the way of many others, preserved only in the Internet Archive.

In the post I re-discovered, Patsy Wang-Iverson was reporting on a week-long seminar organized by Celine Koh, who offered the following problems (adapted from school exams and study books) for teacher discussion.

How many can you solve?

Continue reading Are You Smarter than a 3rd-6th Grader?