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Best Wishes for 2024

Welcome to the January 2024 Newsletter

We wish all our readers a happy new year. This year “2024” is a mathematically special year with ‘2024’ being an tetrahedral number (see below). It is also a Leap year.
We have a lot of news, resources, and upcoming events to share!

We thank you for the positive response of over 6,699 views of our recent MATHS WEEK ADVENT CALENDAR. We hope you enjoyed our daily Christmas-themed puzzles. We have more resources present for in-class maths activities throughout the year Here.

We Congratulate our winners of the Maths Week Post Survey. A Samsung Tablet will be on the way to:

Shyamala, Home School, Dublin

Yvonne  Kilkenny, St Clare's College, Cavan

Yvonne  Ryan, Presentation Primary School, Limerick

In this issue

• Events this month

• Dates for 2024 Diary

• News: Luke Littler - The maths in darts

• Marcus du Sautoy’s - Around the World in 80 games.

  
  

  On behalf of all the Maths Week team, I wish you a Peaceful and Prosperous New Year.

Eoin Gill

Maths Week Ireland Coordinator

This Month

FOR YOUR 2024 DIARIES

Northern Ireland Science Festival

February 15th-25th 2023.

Celebrating its 10th year running, with over 180 events across 50+ venues, the NI Science Festival offers a stimulating and wide range of events focusing on the wonders of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The festival offers a stimulating and wide range of events presenting some of the best scientists from NI and beyond to discuss their work, cutting-edge research and what the future might hold. One event that will interest our readers is Marcus Du Sautoy talking about Around the World in 80 Games which is on Sun 25 February at QUB (see below) .

News

 Luke Littler

Although impeccably controlled aim may be the key component to winning, darts are all about numbers. Players start with a score of 501 and have to try and get down to zero the quickest, by getting high numbers on the board – but they must end precisely on zero with a double.

Marcus du Sautoy’s - Around the World in 80 games

Mathematician Du Sautoy  author of previous books like Thinking Better introduces readers to the world of maths in games. Classic games as pick-up sticks, Scrabble, and Dungeons & Dragons all have one thing in common: they center around complex math. Du Sautoy tours the globe, introducing readers to 80 games both familiar and obscure, and describing how each is governed by probabilities, algorithms, geometry, and algebra.

Around the World in 80 Games gleefully explores how mathematics and games have always been deeply intertwined. Marcus du Sautoy investigates how games provided the first opportunities for deep mathematical insight into the world, how understanding maths can help us play games better, and how both maths and games are integral to human psychology and culture.

Wishing you a Happy Tetrahedral Year!

Photo credits:Mathseasysolutions

Maths Beyond the Textbook

Douglas Buchanan ~ dcbeagleb@gmail.com~ www.dcbeagle.com ~@dcbeagle1

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

New maths!??!

We have to smile when we hear people say, “…. they are teaching new maths these days …” and it is not the same as it was when the grandparents were at school. Rubbish! What has changed, and for the better, is the approach to maths teaching.

Hopefully we are moving away from the rote learning to topics which are relevant to pupils. In the website Prodigy they give 9 Maths Strategies for Successful Learning.  The blog looks at the following: explicit instruction; conceptual understanding; co-operative learning strategies; meaningful homework; verbalise maths problems; reflection time; making maths facts fun.

Puzzle of the month

Exploring the Desert (Henry E Dudeney)

Nine travelers, each possessing a car, meet on the eastern edge of a desert. They wish to explore the interior, always going due west. Each car can travel forty miles on the contents of the engine tank, which holds a gallon of fuel, and each can carry nine extra gallon cans of fuel and no more. Unopened cans can alone be transferred from car to car. What is the greatest distance at which they can enter the desert without making any depots of fuel for the return journey?

Website of the month: Maths Is Fun 

This website has been around for years, but the material is always being updated covering nearly all spheres of maths teaching. It can be used for reinforcement, puzzling and it is the ideal homework source. Conundrums can be solved as the homework package.

The Maths Box

Most children learn maths through multiple representations and with hands-on activities. By doing mathematics with a variety of tools, students will be able to develop the confidence to solve a broader range of mathematical problems.

Provide Maths Boxes to assist the pupils in understanding mathematical concepts and they should be readily available. There seems to be a trend to throw “the toys out of the basket” when pupils reach 11 years. A big mistake, because the topics become more conceptual and seeing the problem in 3D can only help.

The website TeachStarter gives advice on what should be in the boxes. Counters, dice, cards, timers, counters, calculators, etc. Added to that are links to problem solving conundrums for the pupils to work on, using the “toys” in the box.

Exploring the Desert solution

Dump 5 rations at 90-mile point and return to base (5 days). Dump 1 at 85 and return to 90 (1 day). Dump 1 at 80 and return to 90 (1 day). Dump 1 at 80, return to 85, pick up 1 and dump at 80 (1 day). Dump 1 at 70 and return to 80 (1 day). Return to base (1 day). We have thus left 1 ration at 70 and 1 at 90. Dump 1 at 5 and return to base (1 day). If he must walk 20 miles he can do so by going to 10 and returning to base. Dump 4 at 10 and return to base (4 days).

Dump 1 at 10 and return to 5; pick up 1 and dump at 10 (1 day). Dump 2 at 20 and return to 10 (2 days). Dump 1 at 25 and return to 20 (1 day). Dump 1 at 30, return to 25, pick up 1 and dump at 30 (1 day). March to 70 (2 days). March to base (1 ½ days). Total, 23 ½ days.

Fun at the end of lesson

The video describes 10puzzles which will excite the pupils at the end of a lesson. Always keep their interest in the subject and they will learn!

Maths week will be back this year from 12th - 20th October 2024!
Stay tuned to our website and social media for updates!