1:2:1 Maths Tuition

World Maths Day!

Here is a recent news extract from the TES website ...

"... World Maths Day is one of the world’s largest global educational events. Students from across the globe unite in a celebration of numbers over the internet. The event aims to lift numeracy standards in a fun and meaningful way.

In the inaugural World Maths Day event more than 287,000 students from 98 countries combined to correctly answer 38,904,275 mathematics questions.

World Maths Day takes place on the first Wednesday in March - in 2008 the event will occur on the 5th of March....."

Link to the World Maths Day 2008 website.

Price Comparison?

Tom Raftery posed an interesting question to accompany the photograph he placed onto his personal space on the photo-sharing website, Flickr.

See if can you spot the numerical error made in one of their European stores by the U.K. Supermarket giant, Tesco...

Since when does €2.39 for 500g = €19.92 per kg?

Can anybody suggest a reason how they arrived at €19.92 per kg.?

An Odds On Certainty?

I would never have thought that going to the races would be considered an useful mathematical exercise.

Well, if you follow this link to the recent video story which appeared in the Education Guardian (UK) website you will find out that someone obviously does!

I presume that actually betting on the races is optional and on a positive note, the children might begin to realise the true probability of picking a winner, with any luck.

Worth The Practice?

Query: Do you think I should buy my teenage son a Rubik Cube for Xmas to improve his maths skills?

Response: I'm sure that thinking about the Rubik Cube problem will enhance your son's spatial awareness, but let this short video clip featuring the self-styled 'Rubik King' help you decide...

Good Luck!

A news item that's been whizzing around the web this week is that our U.K. footballing icon, Wayne Rooney, has hired a private Tutor to help him pass his Maths GCSE next year. We wish them both good luck.

It only goes to show that you're never too old to learn or improve your qualifications and we applaud his actions!

Follow this link to the Daily Mail story.

A Chance Lesson...

We're grateful to DWS for drawing our attention to the following video lesson, posted on YouTube, about the basics of probability by keithpeterb.

It's well worth a viewing, especially if you're looking for a quick revision of the basics of this topic, but you'll have to ignore the references to exercises and units!

Graph Tansformations...

Query: I can't get my head around how graphs [of a function f(x)] move around on the page when you add or take away numbers from the x?

Response: This is recognised by most teachers as a very difficult topic to master.

We recommended you click on the image below to view mathstutorbiz's excellent treatment of a worked examination question on this topic...

Does The Team Count More Than The Individual?

We're indebted to the Bulgarian News Agency www.novinite.com for this original numeracy joke...

A college football coach walked into the locker room before a big game, looked over to his star player and said, "I'm not supposed to let you play since you failed math, but we really need you in there. So, what I have to do is ask you a math question, and if you get it right, you can play."

The player agreed, so the coach looked into his eyes intently and asked, - "Okay, now concentrate hard and tell me the answer to this: What is two plus two?"

The player thought for a moment and then answered, "4?"

"Did you say 4?" the coach exclaimed, excited that he had given the right answer.

Suddenly, all the other players on the team began screaming, "Come on coach, give him another chance!"

Cool Cash? Minus The Prizes...

Camelot (the UK's National Lottery provider) have had to withdraw their latest scratchcard game, after a host of complaints.

The focus of the game is negative numbers and punters have become totally confused with the concept that drives it.

For example, many thought that -6 was a lower temperature than -8!

Follow this link to the Manchester Evening News website to read a fuller account of the story and more about the worrying numeracy standards reported within the UK.

More Humour or Humor...

This was posted on YouTube, in a short reply to the video Funny Math Problems we featured last week. Thanks to KeriH for bringing it to our attention.

Mathematical Humour or Humor?

Who said mathematics had to be serious? Think about that as you play this video and musical gem entitled Funny Math Problems by Tom Lehrer...

Which Method To Use?

Query [from Mrs. G]: My son's just entered Secondary School and his maths teacher has taught him a different way to perform long multiplication. Although the method works fine, he is now completely confused between this new way and the 'old' traditional method he learned in Primary school (which was the way I learned to do it). Which method is best?

Response: This argument has been raging for decades and we see no advantage in learning a new method if your son is already proficient in a method which is applicable to all situations. Having said that, a knowledge of different approaches to calculation has some educational merit, provided mastery of one core technique is maintained in the process!

The traditional algorithm of multiplying a two digit number by another is as follows...

• Suppose you want to do 84 x 46
• Work out 84 x 6
• Work out 84 x 40
• Add these two answers
• You have used the fact that 84x46=84x40+84x6

Here's a persuasive view from across the Atlantic on this issue from M.J.McDermott...