Through Math for America, I am part of an ongoing collaboration with the New York Times Learning Network. My latest contribution, a Test Yourself quiz-question, can be found here
Test Yourself — Math, April 30th, 2014
This question was inspired by the recent article What You Don’t Know About Financial Aid (but Should), and addresses the question “Approximately what percentage of income does an average family pay to send a child to college?”
Through Math for America, I am part of an ongoing collaboration with the New York Times Learning Network. My latest contribution, a Test Yourself quiz-question, can be found here
Test Yourself — Math, April 2, 2014
This question refers to an article about how dynamic ticket pricing has put the musical The Lion King back on top of the Broadway box office. Approximately how many people see the musical each week?
My latest piece for the New York Times Learning Network leverages March Madness to explore some basic ideas in counting and probability.
Begin by having students explore how to count the number of possible brackets. Start by analyzing a four-team bracket, say, with Team A playing Team B and Team C playing Team D in the first round. Have the students directly list the eight possible tournament outcomes: For example, A beats B, D beats C, and then D beats A is one such outcome. The use of tree diagrams may be helpful in representing the possible brackets.
Then ask students to predict and explore how many brackets are possible with an eight-team tournament. There are 2 raised to the 7th power, or 128, such brackets. One way to see this is first by noting that eight teams in a single-elimination tournament will end up playing seven total games: Seven of the eight teams must be eliminated, which requires that they lose a game.
I’m glad I could make a small contribution to the Math Madness surrounding March Madness! You can find the entire lesson here.
Through Math for America, I am part of an ongoing collaboration with the New York Times Learning Network. My latest contribution, a Test Yourself quiz-question, can be found here
Test Yourself — Math, March 12, 2014
This problem is about a bike-based window washer in New York City. How much can he earn per year washing storefronts?
Through Math for America, I am part of an ongoing collaboration with the New York Times Learning Network. My latest contribution, a Test Yourself quiz-question, can be found here
Test Yourself — Math, February 26, 2014
This problem is about how differences in minimum wages can effect those living near state borders. How much more per year can someone earn in Oregon than in Idaho?