Breaking news: Comet gets EATEN by Sun!
On January 3, 2010, a comet got a little too close to the sun. And we all know what happens when something gets too close to the sun!
I HATE standing in lines…
…so I am grateful to math teacher David Meyer for his research on how to shorten one’s wait time.
Now, I wonder if he can give a good explanation as to why Wal-mart installs about 40 check-out lines in each store, but never uses anywhere close to that many, even during Christmas!
Review–Primal: A Quest For the Lost Soul of Christianity
Click here to read a book review on my other blog, bkjournal.wordpress.com and to see how you could win a free copy of Primal: A Quest For the Lost Soul of Christianity.
Random brain teasers
#1 How many positive perfect cubes divide (3!)(5!)(7!)? (Source: with hints and solutions –MAA Minute Math)
#2 A new assistant accidentally left open the cages at the pet shop, and over 100 birds escaped There were exactly 300 birds to begin with. The next morning, the local newspaper carried a report that gave the following figures:
“Of the birds that remained, a third were finches, a quarter were budgies, a fifth were canaries, a seventh were mynah birds, and a ninth were parrots.”
However, the reporter got one of the fractions wrong. How many parrots were left? (Source: Devlin’s Angle, by Keith Devlin)
Let me know if you have thoughts on these.
Social Security Number Brain Teaser
“Mathematicians have devised a simple formula linking your social security number’s first digit and your age, and the startling connection holds only for this year. The Social Security Administration has not commented on what looks to be yet another path to identity theft.
Check it out yourself by doing the following elementary calculations. a.) What is the first digit of your social security number. b.) Multiply this number by 2. c.) Add 5. d.) Multiply it by 50. e.) If you have already had your birthday this year add 1759, and if you haven’t, add 1758. f.) Now subtract the four-digit year that you were born.” (source)
You should now have a three-digit number. The first digit is the same as the first digit of your social security number. The next two digits are your age this year.
Before you get too excited, read the explanation here.
ACS Robotics Team competes at Auburn University!
Follow the ACS Robotics team this weekend via live feed. The feed begins at 9 A.M. (Not sure if that’s EST or CST.)
Need help with LRAM, RRAM, MRAM?
A post that I wrote almost two years ago about LRAM, RRAM, and MRAM gets several hits a week. Unfortunately, students looking for help with these topics are likely to be disappointed, as the original post was primarily an assignment page for my students at that time.
With that in mind, I want to write a new post that addresses these topics. If you’re here looking for help, please help me help you. My goal is to write a new post that helps the most people who stumble across this blog.
Send me an e-mail or leave a comment that tells me what you are looking for. Do you need an explanation? Practice problems? Program for your TI? Links?
Thanks. If you respond, I will try to help you individually.
Preparing for the AMC
Interested in improving your math skills? Preparing for math competitions? Need a brain teaser?
Visit http://maaminutemath.blogspot.com/ for a problem a day, chosen from previous editions of the AMC 8/10/12. Most of these problems are harder than ones found on the SAT or ACT, but still provide reviews of important concepts that are found on these tests as well. Hints and solutions are provided, so you’ll get excellent, instantaneous feedback.
You can also follow MAA MinuteMath on Twitter.
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