Lazy Lemur Puzzles

Lazy Lemur Puzzles

Lazy Lemur Multiplication Let's start with an example. 01746 is good for lazy lemur multiplication because you can multiply it by a digit greater than one so that all five digits get shuffled, but remain the same.  Students are lazy lemurs.  As soon as they discover...
Toothpick, Vampire and Domino Sequences

Toothpick, Vampire and Domino Sequences

Toothpick, Vampire and Domino Sequences (Clifford Pickover, 1994) Recreational mathematics is on the fringes of mathematics, but its real worth is in mathematical pedagogy. Vampire Numbers are a perfect example. They are ridiculous. Most mathematicians would not take...
Mondrian Art Puzzles (multiplication, algebra)

Mondrian Art Puzzles (multiplication, algebra)

Mondrian Art Puzzles People who gaze upon a piece of Mondrian art should ask how he decided which colors to paint where.  The disgruntled person may even ask what the piece of artwork might have looked like if Mondrian had taken the time to color it all in… In...
Recamán’s Sequence

Recamán’s Sequence

Wreckerball & Recamán’s Sequence (Bernardo Recamán, 1995) What a delicious way to play on the number line! In these sequences you jump about by increasing intervals. The patterns that result are chaotic and beautiful. Nothing must be advanced in a positive...
Place Value

Place Value

Place Value (MathPickle, 2011) Some number systems use place value – others do not. This video takes you on a tour of number systems including Egyptian, Arabic, Babylonian, Montessori and Scientific Notation. Ron Goodman has edited the video for younger students...