Students vs Beasts Project

Here are the instructions.
Here is a sample graph to use.

Here is the rubric:

Need help with the conversions? Check out this example:

Here are some examples (note they are not necessarily 4s or 3s - they are simply an example of what students have produced in the past):

Verizon Math

Check out this YouTube recording of a phone call between a customer and Verizon, a phone company in the US. It really shows the importance of knowing place value in decimals!!!

Here is an excerpt from the customer's blog:

I have a Verizon unlimited data plan in the U.S. and recently crossed the border to Canada. Prior to crossing the border I called customer service to find out what rates I'd be paying for voice and data. The data rate I was quoted was ".002 cents per kilobyte."

I received my bill and was charged $.002/KB - which is dollars - "point zero zero 2 dollars per kilobyte".

My bill for my data usage in Canada was therefore much greater than I had expected - using the quote I was provided before my usage.

I have tried to resolve this issue with customer service reps on the phone, but no one seems to see the difference between ".002 cents" and ".002 dollars".

Adapted from http://verizonmath.blogspot.sg/2006/12/verizon-doesnt-know-dollars-from-cents.html

Up for a challenge? Try these problems out!

1) Is the writer correct? Is .002 cents different from .002 dollars? Clearly justify why or why not.

2) Suppose the writer used 35,254 kilobytes. How much should his bill have been if charged in a rate per cent versus per dollar.

3) How do you think this confusion could be avoided? Design a poster or flyer that can help.

Hat Riddle!

Here's a new riddle..

Good luck!

Bridge Riddle

Can you solve the bridge riddle?

Check out this video from Ted Ed which gives you the riddle. Remember to pause when it tells you to since the second half of the riddle explains the solution.

Good luck!

Done with your MAP test?

Try out these brain teasers! Show all your work on a sheet of paper and bring it to Mr. Munden the next time you see him in class.

EASY

Science Students

Within the BrainBashers school, the science department has three disciplines.

In total, 280 students study chemistry, 

254 students study physics and 

280 students study biology.

97 students study both chemistry and physics, 

138 students study both physics and biology, 

152 students study both chemistry and biology.

73 students study all three disciplines.

Can you determine how many students there are in the science department? The answer is well below 814.

Squares

How many squares do you see in the image below?

MEDIUM

Transporting the Animals
A man wants to transport a fox, a chicken and some corn across a river.
He has a rowboat, but it can only carry the man and one other item.
If the fox and the chicken are alone together, the fox will eat the chicken.
If the chicken and the corn are alone together, the chicken will eat the corn.

How does the man do it?

HARD

The Egg Problem

Once upon a time, and old lady went to sell her vast quantity of eggs at the local market.

When asked how many she had, she replied:

Son, I can't count past 100 but I know that.

If you divide the number of eggs by 2 there will be one egg left.
If you divide the number of eggs by 3 there will be one egg left.
If you divide the number of eggs by 4 there will be one egg left.
If you divide the number of eggs by 5 there will be one egg left.
If you divide the number of eggs by 6 there will be one egg left.
If you divide the number of eggs by 7 there will be one egg left.
If you divide the number of eggs by 8 there will be one egg left.
If you divide the number of eggs by 9 there will be one egg left.
If you divide the number of eggs by 10 there will be one egg left.

Finally. If you divide the Number of eggs by 11 there will be NO EGGS left!

How many eggs did the old lady have?

RSA Encryption and Prime Numbers

Did you know that factoring is used everyday to keep your information online safe?

RSA encryption is the standard way that websites keep your information safe from hackers and thieves. For example, when your parents buy something online with a credit card, RSA encryption helps make sure that their credit card information is not stolen!

This is an awesome real-world application of factors.

Check out this cool Numberphile video to learn more:

Welcome to Middle School and 6th Grade Math!

If you are reading this letter then you must be a capable mathematician. Staying at the top of any field requires dedication, perseverance, and hard work, and that is exactly what we expect from you this year.  The person who will determine how successful you will be this year is you. Keep on top of the work and always let us know if you are having any problems with any of the concepts so that we can work together to ensure that you fully understand them. This should be your most successful year ever – it’s all up to you.

You will receive a math textbook for each unit. Once you get your laptop you will also have access to a massive amount of material that you can use to reteach, revise and extend your mathematical understandings at home.

We ask that you review the work that we have done in class with your parents as frequently as possible; but at least once a week.

Yes - we will have homework as a way of reinforcing what we have studied in class. This will often be started in class, so if you are focused you may be able to complete much of it in school. Homework is a component of the behavioral standards that we will set in class. These standards include Organization, Responsibility, Collaboration, and Reflection.

You will also be graded on your ability to apply the eight Mathematical Practices.

Math Class Expectations:

• You will take an active role in class.
• You will ask questions.
• You will be a positive team member.
• You will do your part to ensure that you are successful in math.
• You will make mistakes and learn from them.
• You will continuously communicate your level of understanding to me.
• You will review your math work with your parents.
• You will be a teacher and a learner.
• You will need to have a sense of humor!

What to bring to every Math Class:

• Laptop computer, notebook, and your mesh bag of supplies
• Completed homework
• A well-fed and rested brain!

You are going to have a great year. Now, let's get started!    

Best Wishes,

Mr. Munden

Welcome!!

Hello and welcome to the 2015-2016 school year!

I am so excited to be back at SAS this year and cannot wait to get to know all of you. I am confident that this will be a year full of learning and laughter!

Please bookmark this website and check it regularly as there will be a variety of posts related to what we are doing in class (and some just for fun!).

-Mr. Munden

Music is Math

Check out these cool videos - all the music and animation are generated through MATH and CODING!

Curious about how these videos were made? Check out this site which contains the program that was used.



Music Is Math from Glenn Marshall on Vimeo.

Can you solve the EINSTEIN RIDDLE???

Good luck - email me your solution showing how you solved for a prize!

Best and Worst Ways to Shuffle Cards

Cheryl's Birthday Problem!

Some of you may have heard about this Singaporean math problem. It has taken the world by storm and many people have been trying to solve it! Can you figure it out??

If you're stumped, check out this video below:

Math 6 Personal Finance Project

In case some of you are confused as to what needs to happen for your personal finance project, check out this brief guide:

1. Complete the paper worksheet.

2. Complete the worksheet in Google Docs.

3. Make your presentation:

• Your presentation should be on one A4 sheet of paper.You may include any information or graphs that you want that will persuade your clients; however the following questions should guide your thinking:
• What is interest? 
• What is compound interest?
• What are the benefits of investing in an account that earns interest rather than sticking it in a box under the bed? 
• Your presentation should be easy for your clients to understand
• Use data from your investigations in Scenarios 1 & 2 as proof in your presentation.
• (These guidelines are also included at the bottom of your Google Docs worksheet)

4. Present the project to your parents and write a blog post about it. Your blog post should include...

• A picture of you presenting to your parents
• A link to your Google Docs worksheet and your presentation
• Thoughtful answers to the following questions (complete sentences, well-written with supporting details):
• What did you already know?
• What did you learn? (from the project? from your parents?)
• How might this affect what you do in the future?
• What was your favorite part about the project? Least favorite part?
• Title: Personal Finance Project 
•  Labels: math, gr6

5. Print out your Google Docs worksheet and your presentation and turn it in on MONDAY, 6 APRIL. Remember, not submitting your project will result in a 0/Fail grade because we spent over 200 minutes of class time on this project.

If you have questions, please make sure to email me.

If you want to look at the rubric, check it out here.

Pi Day Challenge!

Are you ready to take the PI DAY CHALLENGE??

Check it out below!

Writing Equations Challenge!

Have you ever taken a taxi in Singapore? Taxi meters have a system for determining the price riders pay.

Take a look at this website for information on the fees charged by taxi companies in Singapore.

Write an equation that will help you calculate the cost of traveling to Marina Bay Sands at 9pm on Saturday evening.

Happy (Belated) Pi Day!

Did you know that last Saturday (March 14) was Pi Day?

Check out this video for Perfect Pi Day 2015!

#mathchallenge time

Here is this week's #mathchallenge.

This time, it's a logic puzzle.

Can you solve it?? Post a comment with your response!

Mia, Jake, Carol, Barbara, Ford and Jeff are all going to a costume party. Figure out which person is wearing what costume and when they arrived at the party.

• The person that arrived fourth was wearing bathing suit.
• Barbara was the last to arrive.
• Jake and Mia arrived and stayed together.
• The first person was dressed as a French Maid.
• Superman arrived right before Barbara.
• The Potato Heads were always together at the party.
• Ford was a Surfer Dude.
• The French Maid was not Carol.
• The Vampire arrived after Superman.

(From Insider Mathematics)

When not knowing math can cost you $15,000

The next time you're on a game show, just remember: math can help you win big money!

The question below was featured on an episode of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire."

Try solving the problem yourself, then watch the video to see if you're correct and what happened in the video!

Good luck!

This week's #mathchallenge answer!

Congratulations to Theo, Kushaan, and Ron who all got the correct answer to this week's #mathchallenge!

The correct number is:

64 triangles!

Check out this website for the solution.

This week's #mathchallenge!

How many triangles do you see??

If you don't have Instagram, post your answer as a comment here.

Help me improve my blog!

...by taking this survey.

I need YOUR feedback so I can make my blog more useful and interesting for YOU!

How to win at Rock Paper Scissors!

Have you ever played Rock Paper Scissors? Do you think it's purely up to chance or can there be strategy?
Check out this Numberphile video for some strategies on how to win...

Be sure to play the same during a break and let me know how it goes!

Last Week's Instagram #mathchallenge

Congratulations to Isabella O and Sid W who completed the Super Bowl-themed Instagram #mathchallenge!

The correct answer was:

The next five Super Bowls in Roman Numerals are:
L
LI
LII
LIII
LIV
The next five Super Bowls in Arabic Numerals are:
50
51
52
52
54
(That is taken from Sid's excellent and very complete response!)
Congratulations!

Studying For Your Fractions Summative?

Math 6 students: your fractions summative assessment is this coming Monday!  Make sure you study carefully in order to do well on your test.

The test will cover all operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division).

There will be questions that are computations (calculate 1/2 x 3/4) and questions that are word problems.  Many questions will ask you to explain your answers in words and draw models (pictures).

How can I revise?

• Review slide sets.  These are linked on each day in the homework calendar.
• Study your operations graphic organizer that we completed in class.  If you completed this well, it will show you the steps and models for all of the operations.
• Check out the Unit Resources page for specific practice on each topic.

If you are struggling with modeling, please watch this video that I recorded.  It walks you through the Check Ups on multiplication and division.

Good luck!!!

Math Fails!!!

Check out these funny math fails.  What makes these fails?  Have you seen any math fails? Post a comment!

#mathchallenge of the week from Instagram

If you have Instagram (and you are at home) post your answer on the post!  If you don't have Instagram (or are at school) post your answer as a comment here!

Logic Games!

How is your algebraic and logical reasoning?  Play this  game to see if you can figure out how much certain objects weigh.

Math in the Real World: Pixar Movies!!!!

You know that math is all around us.  But did you know that math is used extensively when making movies?

Here is an incredible video that discusses how the animation studio Pixar (yes, the same Pixar of Toy Story and Finding Nemo fame!) uses math when producing their movies.

Watch the video and comment responding to the questions below!

1) What surprised you in the video?
2) What math mentioned in the video do you already know about?  What you don't already know about?
3) What would you like to learn more about after watching the video?

Copy Change Flip! Multiply by the reciprocal!

Why do these tricks work when dividing fractions?

In class, we discussed what a reciprocal is, and began discussing why it works.  You also wrote some blog posts answering why you think multiplying by the reciprocal works.

But here is a full explanation - in mathematical terms - on why multiplying by the reciprocal works.

Read the article and write a short summary on why multiplying by the reciprocal works when dividing fractions.  Then, write an example that demonstrates your understanding of the article.

Dots and Boxes

Have you ever played dots and boxes?  Here is a video that shows you how to win every time...

Math Multiplication Challenge Problem!!

Santa’s elves are running behind schedule so they end up putting an order in for toys from the SAS booster both.  The booster booth is feeling generous so they give the elves a special price.  

The elves decide to order 20 items composed of water bottles, hoodies, and hats.  The number of water bottles is ⅔ the number of hoodies.  The number of hoodies is ⅗ the number of hats.  The price of each water bottle is $12 and the price of each hoodie is $8.  Each hat costs ½ as much as the water bottle.

1. How many hoodies do the elves buy?
2. How much do the elves spend for the toys?