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...
Squares Built of Right Triangles

Squares Built of Right Triangles

Squares Built of Right Triangles (MathPickle, 2012) Give your students practice working with the addition of square roots and Pythagoras. Download puzzle-sheets here. There is no science in this world like physics. Nothing comes close to the precision with which...
Prime Number Catacombs

Prime Number Catacombs

Prime Number Catacombs (William Paulsen, 2000) This is absolutely one of my favourite pedagogic discoveries from recreational mathematics. It is engaging, evocative and curiosity inducing. I now prefer to start students groups off at different numbers. They must try...