Math-Whizz Blog
January 6th, 2012 by Rita
Here at Math-Whizz we think it is vitally important to remember that math is not only all around us but fun as well, which is perhaps why we love to say we’re bringing about Happiness in Numbers! To that end I would like to share some posts and videos from around the web that remind us just how fun, interesting and applicable math is.
The first comes from a new blog called Social Dimension written by Samuel Arbesman, who promises to write “a blog devoted to the math behind understanding society and civilization.” We are, not surprisingly, quite intrigued. Thus far Arbesman has produced some great reads – and just today has posted “The Mathematics of Lego,” a must read for any self identifying geek (perhaps not coincidentally, our colleagues in the UK had Maths-Whizz days at Legoland this past summer)! Arbesman describes a paper by Mark Changizi in which Lego sets are examined as systems unto themselves, and also explains how lego pieces relate to power law. It’s not exactly elementary material, but it wouldn’t take much to create a great hands on math activity for elementary students using Lego or wooden colored blocks. Here is a link to some ideas to get you started.
And for you music lovers out there I couldn’t resist sharing The Geek Playlist: Math Edition from Alex Knapp at Forbes, I hope your headphones are nearby! Finally, no post on math and fun would be complete without some reference to Angry Birds – so, in just over 9 minutes you can learn all about algebra and Angry Birds.
About the Author: Rita Rogers grew up in the PNW and despite her “low-tech” houseboat upbringing, went on to complete her Master’s of Communication in Digital Media at the University of Washington in 2010. She is passionate about the convergence of education and technology, educational gaming, and outer space.
Tags: addition, algebra, angry birds and math, geometry, math and fun, math is fun, math-whizz, maths-whizz, online personalized learning, social dimension, whizz education
Posted in Events & News, General, Math & Fun | No Comments »
September 29th, 2011 by Rita
It’s already just past ten o’clock here in Seattle, so I’m assuming a good deal of you parents and teachers have finished your first cup or two of coffee on this National Coffee Day. It’s unclear just how many cups of coffee fueled the scientific minds that finally explained those pesky coffee rings that, depending on your point of view, either ruin or decorate your dining room table.
So, in honor of National Coffee Day here at Math-Whizz we are here to help you try and put that all important question of “how long will this pound of coffee last?” to rest.
- Assume you wake cheerily each morning and grind your coffee to the same fineness.
- One pound of ground coffee = 5.25 cups of ground coffee, 16 tablespoons = 1 cup.
- Using a ratio of two level tablespoons per five ounces of water (what we call a cup of coffee) how many cups of coffee can you expect to enjoy before having to run out to your favorite shop for another pound of beans???
About the Author: Rita Rogers grew up in the PNW and despite her “low-tech” houseboat upbringing, went on to complete her Master’s of Communication in Digital Media at the University of Washington in 2010. Her favorite places to find a cup of coffee include Stumptown and Blue Bottle.
Tags: addition, coffee, conversion, cool math, division, everyday math, math-whizz, measurement, ratio, science, seattle, subtraction
Posted in General, Math & Fun | No Comments »
August 17th, 2011 by Rita
Did you go to Google today? In keeping with their science and math spotlight, Google changed their homepage and created a “Google Doodle” honoring the mathematician Pierre de Fermat. Fermat is credited with, among other contributions, establishing the groundwork for analytic geometry and his work helped Newton develop fundamental calculus! Now, well Math-Whizz doesn’t cover calculus, we certainly cover geometry and build solid foundation skills that will eventually carry over into calculus for our Math-Whizzers!
About the Author: Rita Rogers grew up in the PNW and despite her “low-tech” houseboat upbringing, went on to complete her Master’s of Communication in Digital Media at the University of Washington in 2010. She is passionate about the convergence of education and technology, educational gaming, and outer space.
Tags: addition, calculus, cool math, division, Elementary Education, fun, geometry, google doodle, math fun, math news, math-whizz, multiplication, Pierre de Fermat, subtraction
Posted in Events & News, General, Math & Fun | No Comments »
July 20th, 2011 by kate
It’s July 20th. Let’s celebrate! Today is National Moon Day and National Lollipop Day! While these two topics (space and candy) capture the hearts and minds of children of all ages, they could not have happened without math! So with that in mind, we have put together some fun activities to help you celebrate and also help build your kids math skills! (Do Moon Pies and lollipops sound fun? It does to me!)
National Moon Day! It’s a day that celebrates the anniversary of the day Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people to walk on the moon. On this day, Neil Armstrong is credited with this famous quote, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Eastside Macaroni Kids has a fun idea on how to celebrate this momentous occasion with your kids: Bake Moon Pie! Baking is fun for many kids, but it also helps kids learn essential math skills and apply them outside of the classroom – such as measuring, following steps, and conversions.
For younger kids, following measuring and following the recipes might be difficult enough. But, if you have older kids, you might want to add a little challenge
- The recipe calls for a 2 cups of flour? Have them measure it out using quarter cups.
- The recipe is for 12 pies? Have them adjust the 6 or 24 pies (depending on how many you want to serve!)
National Lollipop Day! Near and dear too many a child’s heart, this day, observed by the National Confectioners Association and many candy stores around the nation, celebrates the anniversary of the automation of lollipop making! According to the National Confectioners Association the original lollipop machines could make 40 lollipops per minute. Today’s machines produce 5,900 lollipops per minute!
Here are some fun activities you can do with your kids to celebrate this day (shhh….they involve math!)
- Easy – Medium in difficulty. How many lollipops are in the bowl! Fill a large glass bowl with lollipops and have your kids (and maybe some of their friends) guess how many lollipops are inside the bowl. Kids ready for more of a challenge? Give them a lollipop and an empty bowl and have them figure out how many lollipops they would need to fill the bowl.
- Medium – Hard in difficulty. How many days would it take to make enough lollipops to stretch the distance between two cites? Have your kids pick two cities on a map, use the scale to determine the distance and use the number above (5,900 lollipops made per minute) to answer the question!
Math-Whizz has fun lessons and games to help teach the concepts! Learn more or sign up for free trial of Math-Whizz!
Tags: addition, fractions, geometry, Math Activites, math-whizz, multiplication, Space, subtraction, summer learning
Posted in General, Math & Fun, Parents, Teachers & Administrators | No Comments »
July 18th, 2011 by kate
It’s summer and baseball is all around us. So, this Math-Whizz Brain Buster is about batting averages!
Batting Practice
Nick and Sally have a baseball game in two days so they are practicing their batting. Nick’s 1st time at bat, he hit 75 out of a hundred pitches thrown by Sally. Then Sally hit 75 out of a hundred pitches thrown by Nick. Nick took a 2nd turn at bat. Sally threw him 50 pitches, and he hit 35 of them. Sally had to go home for lunch, so she didn’t take a second turn at bat. Who had the best avg that day, Nick or Sally?
Answer
Was it harder for your child to calculate the batting average in the context of a math problem rather than in the context of the ’game’ ? We’d love your feedback on this – please share your comments!
Follow the Whizz Prof on Facebook and Twitter!
Tags: addition, baseball, batting averages, division, math brain teachers, math fun, math-whizz
Posted in General, Math & Fun, Parents, Teachers & Administrators | No Comments »
July 12th, 2011 by kate
It’s raining and the kids are complaining “I’m bored!” Here are fun activities that also reinforce math skills!
- Kitchen Fun! Many children love to help out in the kitchen, especially when the end results are cookies! Choose something that requires a lot measurement, such as baking cookies. Stand back and let the kids do the measuring and pouring. Ask questions about conversions and have them experiment with the tools – i.e. how many ounces are in a cup?
- Cards! The popular card game ‘War’ as is helps with ordering (which card is greater/lesser), but add a twist. Each player puts down two cards instead of one, and sums the value of the card (add your own value to the king, jack and queen cards to make it easier/harder). The person with the higher value wins the hand.
- Math-Whizz! We certainly do not want to forget to mention Math-Whizz! Sign your children up for Math-Whizz and let them have access to a fun and adaptive online math tutor presented to them through a personalized learning environment. Go to Math-Whizz to learn more.
Have suggestions? Post them to the Whizz Prof Facebook Page or comment here. We want your feedback!
Have a safe and fun summer!
Tags: addition, division, fractions, math activities, math games, math mom, math-whizz, mathematics, multiplication, subtraction, summer learning, summer math
Posted in General, Math & Fun, Parents, Teachers & Administrators | No Comments »
July 12th, 2011 by kate
This game is a math spin on the popular basketball game ‘HORSE’, and we’ll call Numbers Dunk (let us know if you think of a better name!). This game is best played with 3 or more players, but it can be played with 2. The players stand about 10 or more feet from the basket while another player stands on the sideline and holds up math flashcards with a math expression on it. The player whose turn it is answers the question and takes the same number of steps as the answer toward the basket. Ex. Flashcard reads 1+5, the player will say ‘6’ and take six steps toward the basket. If the player answers correctly, another turn is taken. If answered incorrectly, the next player tries to answer the same question.
What you need:
- A ball about the size of a baketball
- A hoop
If you don’t have access to a basketball and hoop, you can modify this game with household items such a trash bin and crumpled paper!
Adjust Difficulty level by:
- Use multiplication/division or multi-step expressions
- When a player makes an error have them take a step back
Tags: addition, division, math activities, math fun, math games, math-whizz, multiplication, subtraction, summer learning
Posted in General, Math & Fun, Parents | No Comments »
June 29th, 2011 by kate
Hopscotch Math!
Take this childhood favorite and add a bit of math for some fun summer learning. Your kids (and possibly yourself) will be outdoors, active and having fun with numbers.
What you’ll need:
- Sidewalk Chalk
- Stone or Pebble spot marker
- Space to draw your Hopscotch board
How to Play: This game is best with 2 or more players.
- Draw your Hopscotch board that resembles a calculator. It is best to use level pavement if possible.
- The first player will toss the stone/pebble on to the 1 “key.” The player then hops on the keys to make up an equation that equals 1 (ex. =2-1). For younger students you may use expressions (1+0). A player’s turn continues until a mistake is make either by stepping on the line or creating an incorrect equation or expression. The first player to develop equations or expressions for the numbers 1-9 is the winner.
- To make the game more challenging, have the students hop 1-footed on odd numbers and zeros and 2-footed on even numbers and symbols. Using the left or right is another method you may choose to use.
Tags: addition, fun math, math fun, math games, subtraction, summer learning
Posted in General, Math & Fun, Parents | No Comments »
May 21st, 2009 by Sally
Some extremely creative math, courtesy of Failblog (Failblog generally not suitable for children).
population + year + altitude = WHAT?
Tags: addition, failblog, math fun
Posted in Math & Fun | No Comments »
