Does this proof at squareCircleZ blog mean that, if I get nothing done today, I can cross off everything on my list?
Poetry for Pi Day
Here are two poems in honor of pi, from the Mathematical Poetry site:
All Odd Numbers Are Prime — A Corollary
[Rescued from my old blog.]
Once again, Rudbeckia Hirta brings us some funny-but-sad mathematics. The test question was:
Without factoring it, explain how the number
N = (1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 x 7 x 8 x 9 x 10 x 11) + 1
can be used to argue that there is a prime number larger than 11.
Math Homework
If you’d like to start your week with a laugh, there are some cute math homework jokes at:
[I originally saw these images at a now-defunct blog, but a Google search quickly found this new site. Warning: There are a few crude remarks in the comments section.]
Harmonic Series Quotation
If you’d like to start your week with a laugh, here’s a great quote:
Today I said to the calculus students, “I know, you’re looking at this series and you don’t see what I’m warning you about. You look and it and you think, ‘I trust this series. I would take candy from this series. I would get in a car with this series.’ But I’m going to warn you, this series is out to get you. Always remember: The harmonic series diverges. Never forget it.”
—Rudbeckia Hirta
Learning Curves Blog: The Harmonic Series
quoting Alexandre Borovik
Math Quotes IV: Natural Numbers Are Better…
[Rescued from my old blog.]
As I get my notes together for today’s co-op classes, I’ll share a couple of blackboard quotes for your enjoyment:
Continue reading Math Quotes IV: Natural Numbers Are Better…
Math Quotes III: Five out of Four People
[Rescued from my old blog.]
I’ve been procrastinating my preparations for co-op classes this week, but I think I’m ready. I almost forgot the scissors, but now I have them in my bag, so we will be able to cut the “infinite pizza” pieces. And I have two fun quotes for the blackboard:
Math Quotes II: The Ultimate Goal of Mathematics
[Rescued from my old blog.]
I thought you might enjoy the quote I’m going to use on the blackboard in math class:
The clearer the teacher makes it, the worse it is for you. You must work things out for yourself and make the ideas your own.
—William F. Osgood, quoted in
Out of the Mouths of Mathematicians
by Rosemary Schmalz
Continue reading Math Quotes II: The Ultimate Goal of Mathematics
Finding the Limit
[Rescued from my old blog.]
Eldest dd had her first calculus lesson last night: derivatives. The teacher found the speed of a car at a given point by using the distance function, calculating the average speed over shorter and shorter time intervals. Dd summarized the lesson for me:
“If you want to divide by zero, you have to sneak up on it from behind.”
Of course, she understands you can’t really divide by zero, but I thought her tongue-in-cheek comment was a pretty good description of the process of finding the limit as delta-t approached zero.
Math Humor, and Some Copywork Resources
[Rescued from my old blog.]
I have been reading up on Charlotte Mason’s teaching style, and I plan to incorporate more copywork and dictation into our school program next year. Here are a few of my favorite funny quotes about math. (These would also make great blackboard quotes for a math classroom.)
Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math 