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 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.
Magic Square Puzzles
Alex handed her brother Leonhard a box wrapped in the rocket tessellation paper, with air holes carefully punched in two sides.
“Merry Christmas, Leon!” she said.
He ripped open the gift. Alex winced. Boys have no artistic appreciation, she thought.
“Oh, cool! Thanks,” Leon said.
“His name is Lo-shu,” said Alex. “But be careful. I used non-toxic tempera paint. The design will was off.”
Leon turned the turtle and studied the back of its shell. “Oh, that’s just like in the legend! I’ll copy it down before I let him near any water.”
- What do the shapes on Lo-shu’s back mean?
- Why are some dots white and some black?
Leon’s Christmas Gift
Here is the simplest puzzle from the November/December 1998 issue of Alexandria Jones stories. The answer (and more puzzles) will follow.
Christmas gift for Leon (pdf, 68KB)
Edited to Add
More puzzles are now here:
Answers are also posted:
To Be Continued…
Read all the posts from the November/December 1998 issue of my Mathematical Adventures of Alexandria Jones newsletter.
The Golden Christmas Tree
Last time, Alexandria Jones and her family were on their way to Uncle William’s tree farm to find the perfect Christmas tree, and Dr. Jones taught us about the Golden Section:
|———————A———————|————B————|
I gave you three algebra puzzles to solve. Did you try them?
- What is the exact value of the Golden Section ratio?
- If a 7-foot tree will fit in the Jones family’s living room, allowing for the tree stand and for a star on top, how wide will the tree be?
- Approximately how much surface area will Alex and Leon have to fill with lights and ornaments?
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 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 have not 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.
Christmas Math Puzzles and Activities
UPDATE: Some of the links below have gone missing, as internet sites tend to do. Check out my *huge* new blog post:
We interrupt our regularly scheduled math program to bring you the following Christmas links…
First, A to Z Home’s Cool offers some fun for older students and teachers:
- An Engineer Calculates Santa’s Trip
- 14 Days of Homeschooling and other Holiday Jokes
- The math blog 360 posts some more advanced Christmas fun here and here.
Also check out the annual Price of Christmas Index to see what the “12 Days of Christmas” gifts would cost you this year. Or explore the Nrich Advent Math Calendars to play with a new math activity every day until Christmas.
You can find just the song here: http://vihart.com/music/gauss12days.mp3.
Pre-Algebra Picture Puzzles
Maria at Homeschool Math Blog has posted a fun set of worksheets:
Pan balance problems to teach algebraic reasoning.
Princess Kitten, at nearly 9yo, keeps telling me, “I hate math, but I like algebra.” So I printed all four pages for her to try. These get pretty complicated, and the 2-variable problems had her flummoxed for awhile. But after an explanation and bit of pouting (I think she hates math because she’s such a perfectionist that she can’t bear to get something wrong, even the first time), she came back and conquered the toughest ones.
A-Hunting They Will Go
Alexandria Jones and her family piled into the car for a drive in the country. This year, they were determined to find an absolutely perfect Christmas tree at Uncle William Jones’s tree farm.
“I want the tallest tree in Uncle Will’s field,” Alex said.
“Hold it,” said her mother. “I refuse to cut a hole in the roof.”
“But, Mom!” Leon whined. “The Peterkin Papers…”
“Too bad. Our ceiling will stay a comfortable 8 feet high.”
Math Contest Tip Sheets
Most of our math contest preparation consists of working lots and lots of old test problems. Occasionally, however, I put together a tip sheet summarizing a topic that my students have trouble remembering.
Quotations XVIII: The Art of Asking Questions
Priorities, motivation, and a little bit of math from my blackboard…
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
In mathematics, the art of asking questions is more valuable than solving problems.
Continue reading Quotations XVIII: The Art of Asking Questions
The Christmas Present Quandary
Alexandria Jones hated using store-bought wrapping paper at Christmas. She tried to wrap each present as a hand-crafted work of art.
Last year, she did mini-scenes with plastic figures building cotton snowmen or skating on aluminum-foil ponds — and, for her brother Leonhard’s gift, her favorite creation: toy dinosaurs having a snowball fight. But those 3-D scenes got knocked about under the Christmas tree.
This year, she decided, she would wrap the packages flat. But then, how could she make them special?
Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math 