by MathPickle | Apr 4, 2017 |
The big square is squeeze-packed according to a strict set of rules called an algorithm. Let’s call this algorithm Square Sardine Packing. Can you figure out how it works in this big 9×9 square? Here is Square Sardine Packing on a 12×12 square. Try to...
by MathPickle | Feb 27, 2017 |
Jumping Frogs (MathPickle, 2017) The last puzzle in the video above was solved in 2025 by Joseph Burke, a student in Megan McKee’s grade 4 class. Spoiler alert! Here it is… Jumping Frogs is a fantastic base to create both casual and complex puzzles. We...
by MathPickle | Feb 17, 2017 |
Pollinator puzzles help students with multiplication, division and problem solving. I often emphasize the nasty stinger on the bee to recalcitrant boys just to engage them viscerally 😉 Forgive me! lol The class starts by collectively solving a puzzle. Here they must...
by MathPickle | Feb 6, 2017 |
The crow took pebbles and dropped them into an urn so that the water level rose until the crow could drink. What a smart crow! That’s as much as Aesop wrote, but afterwards he witnessed a peculiar algorithm that the crow devised… The crow started with a...
by MathPickle | Jan 17, 2017 |
Skinny Man Tango starts with a shape and then changes it to another shape based on three simple rules. The results can be as beautiful as watching tango. To explain the rules I’ll start with this shape. Replacement Rule: Each edge of your shape must be replaced...
