Rotten Apples (multiply, factor)

Rotten Apples (multiply, factor)

Rotten Apples (Rainer Bedrich, 2022) Gather fallen apples. The gathered apples must form a loop where each adjacent pair has one apple is the multiple of another. The apples which are not gathered go rotten, so try to gather the most possible. Even if a student sets...
Stand by me (inductive reasoning, multiplication)

Stand by me (inductive reasoning, multiplication)

Stand by me (MathPickle, 2023) Inductive problem-solving is undervalued. In MathPickle, we give students practice using inductive problem-solving by dropping them in the middle of an alien universe. Unlike our own universe, which has complex laws, these universes are...
Wrestling Robots (game, algorithm, multiplication)

Wrestling Robots (game, algorithm, multiplication)

Robot Wrestling (MathPickle, 2023) Wrestling Robots I (above) is best as a platform to explore new puzzle or game ideas. Brainstorm ideas with your students. Here are some suggestions: – Instead of choosing numbers, everyone rolls five dice. – Students can...
Potato Farm (inductive reasoning, algorithm)

Potato Farm (inductive reasoning, algorithm)

Potato Farm (MathPickle, 2023) Watch these repetitive algorithms in action and try to figure out the rules. This is not one of my favourite MathPickle creations, but the aesthetic output – especially from the first (yellow) algorithm is beautiful! Standards for...
Color TV (inductive reasoning, counting)

Color TV (inductive reasoning, counting)

Colour TV (MathPickle, 2023) What a beautiful pattern! I love that it starts out with high symmetry for the 1s, but becomes asymmetric. Can you figure out the laws for the mini mathematical universe? Teaching is an experimental science. Don’t expect to be a...