Minotaur Gores Pythagoras

Minotaur Gores Pythagoras

Minotaur Gores Pythagoras (MathPickle, 2011) Give your students practice working with Pythagoras. One of MathPickle’s best classroom puzzles. In the newest version Theseus always starts in the upper left and the minotaur is always lurking in the lower left. If...
Three Exponential Explorations

Three Exponential Explorations

Three Exponential Explorations (MathPickle, Polignac, Armstrong) Give your students practice working with bases and exponents while in pursuit of the answers to bigger questions. In this video you will explore three such… including the infamous Polignac...
Using Least 1s

Using Least 1s

Using Least 1s (Conway & Guy, 1962) Using multiplication and addition try to create the target number using the least number of ones.  For example… to get to the number 12, you could do (1+1+1+1)*(1+1+1) or (1+1+1+1+1)*(1+1)+1+1 but the first solution is...
Full Integer Collatz

Full Integer Collatz

Full Integer Collatz (MathPickle, 2012)   Students can play with variations of the famous 1937 Collatz conjecture. Here we look at two. Students can also come up with their own Collatz-like conjectures. Brian Kehrig, a 15 year old student asked about the...
Parable of the Polygons

Parable of the Polygons

Parable of the Polygons (Vi Hart & Nicky Case)   A simulation that shows how small changes in attitude can result in large societal shifts. Probability and statistics has rarely looked so beautiful and engaging. Beauty is the first test: there is no permanent...