Folding paper can get you to the moon??

Check out this awesome TedTalk video about how folder paper can get you to the moon...

1. How many times can you fold a paper? Try until the paper gets too small to be folded any further

2. Define exponential growth. How does it work?

3. How many times do I have to fold a piece of newspaper to get 0.008 inches if the original height of my newspaper is 0.002 inches high?


Credit to my fantastic high school student assistant, Matt Chan, for finding the video and writing the questions!

Pi Day Challenge!

Are you ready to take the PI DAY CHALLENGE??

Check it out below!

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!

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.

Base 12 System

There is a group of mathematicians who have been trying to change the way you count!

We currently operate using the base 10, or decimal system.

It looks like this: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20...

The group of mathematicians want people to start using the base 12, or duodecimal system!  They believe that the duodecimal system would make basic math way easier than the current decimal system.

The duodecimal system looks like this: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 X E 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 1X 1E

It looks confusing, right??

Watch the video below which explains more how the base 12 system works.

Which do you think is better - the decimal or duodecimal system?  Why?

Convert the following base 10 numbers to base 12...

1. 36
2. 48
3. 54
4. 100
5. 120
6. 75
7. 2000
8. 395
9. 482

Apples & Remainders

We did this problem in my Math 6+ class, but I don't want my Math 6 students to feel left out!

If you are up for a challenge complete this problem and email me your response.

Best of luck!

Out of the 6000 apples harvested this year, every third apple was too small, every fourth apple was spotted, and every tenth apple was bruised. The remaining apples were good. How many good apples were there?

Clearly SHOW and EXPLAIN your thinking.

Perfect Numbers

I was just doing some work and listening to one of my favorite songs, "Tonight You're Perfect" by the band New Politics.  As I was listening to the song, I was reminded of something we learned in class last week - perfect numbers!

Recall that perfect numbers are numbers whose sum of their proper factors is equal to the number itself.

For example, 6 is a perfect number because its proper factors are 1, 2, and 3.  The sum of 1+2+3 is 6.

By 1999, only 38 perfect numbers have been found!

Can you determine the next three perfect numbers after 6?

Is it possible for a perfect number to be a prime number?

Are all perfect numbers even?

Is it possible to have a perfect number that is prime?

Share your answers as a comment!

Multiples & Days of the Month!

Suppose the 1st day of a month is a Thursday.

On which days of the month will Saturdays fall, assuming it is a 31-day month?

How does this connect to your knowledge of multiples?

(Don't use a calendar or a table to help you; try to work this one out mentally!)

Post your answer and reasoning as a comment!

Finish early with the MAP test?

Pick any of these games to play if you finish early with your MAP test!

Thanks Mrs. McComb for the links!

Coordinate Plane: Cops and Robbers

Logic and reasoning: Tower of Hanoi

Angles: Estimating Angles

Factors and Multiples: Missing Multipliers

Divisibility: Dozens

Factors and Multiples: Factors and Multiples Game (interactive activity at bottom; for single players try to see how high a score you can get)

Division: The Remainders Game

Logic and Reasoning: Got It

Logic and Reasoning: NIM

Basic Facts and Reasoning: Shifting Times Table

Measurement: All in a Jumble

Chess: Use application on your MacBook

Finding HUGE Prime Numbers

In class we have been studying factors and multiples. Naturally, prime numbers arise during these discussions. It's easy to rattle off the first few prime numbers - 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13...

But how about when numbers become larger? 4,729 and 7,919 are both prime numbers.

179,424,691 is also a prime number.

So is 797,003,437!

How do you think these huge prime numbers are discovered?

Adam Spencer is an Australian radio host. He isn't a professional mathematician, but rather he is simply fascinated by math like many of you! One of his mathematical interests is prime numbers. In his TED Talk, Adam describes how "monster" prime numbers are discovered by mathematicians all over the world.

Why do you think "hunting" for "monster" primes is so fascinating? 

Would you be interested in helping hunt for monster primes?