Mathematics

Polygons as Functions

A recent comment from a colleague got me thinking about describing polygons using functions. His intent was that polygons (and all closed shapes) can be described as sets of functions; for instance, a triangle could be described by three linear…

Indefinite vs infinite

I have borrowed from a colleague a copy of G. A. Wentworth’s Plane and Solid Geometry, copyright 1899 and published 1902 by The Athenæum Press of Boston. I enjoy reading old textbooks because they either reinforce or give lie to certain…

Rationals except Zero

Here’s a quick one: All rational numbers except 0 can be expressed as $(-1)^s \Pi p_i^{n_i}$ where $$s \in \{0, 1\}$$, $$p_i$$ is a prime number, and $$n_i$$ is an integer. This reminds me of the restriction on the definition…

Mathematics

Defining a Line

The version of Geometry most widely taught in high schools in the United States is an amalgam of the two most basic fields of geometry: Synthetic and analytic. The mixing of these two is done in such a way as…

But is it math?

It is a persistently popular thing to do on social media to post challenges like this one. I used to be of a mind to be outraged at the abuse of the equal sign: Clearly these are not addition problems!…

Every Third Triangular Number

This is a quick proof based on an observation inspired by “Mathematical Lens” in the May 2016 Mathematics Teacher (“Fence Posts and Rails” by Roger Turton). A triangular number is the sum of all integers from 1 to n. The…

Pizza Time!

The Internet is in a tizzy yet again about the evils of mathematics education. At least Common Core isn’t being demonized quite as front-and-center as in the recent past, but still. This time it’s about pizza. Which means every mathematics…

al-Jabr: Integer Parameters

I was thinking about the third scenario described in al-Khowarizmi’s al-Jabr: $$x^2 = 3x + 4$$. I was curious about the integer solutions of the general pattern, $$x^2 = ax + b$$. It’s easy enough to demonstrate that this will…

In this post, I’ll discuss two issues. First, I’ll look at a problem taken from a major textbook, and explain why the solution is wrong. Then, I’ll discuss why this particular problem bothers me in the greater context of mathematics…

Carole and the Common Core

Here’s another meme criticizing the Common Core: The criticism is that the student has provided a fully correct answer and gotten dinged for not providing an estimate. This is, of course, taken as yet another illustration of why Common Core…

Complex Numbers making Real Numbers

As a point of curiosity, I found myself wondering when a complex number to an integer power creates a real number. For the sake of completeness, I also looked at when the result is a fully imaginary number. More rigorously,…

Mathematics

What is Multiplication, Anyway?

Yet again, the internet has seized upon an elementary student’s math homework and has decided to argue about Common Core. This time, it’s about a test question. The student was asked to “Use the repeated addition strategy to solve :…