Thursday, February 6, 2014

Math Game



It's important to master the basics before making further progress in math.  Practicing math skills over and over again could be boring. That’s why we can use math games to make practice fun and useful.

I suggest we play a math game.

Using mathematical operations get numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,… and so on.
You are given four numbers to use. Since it is 2014 use only numbers 2, 0, 1, and 4.
You can use: +, -, ÷, ×, square root, exponentiation, brackets, ‘gluing’ numbers into a number.

There is a zero among given numbers 2, 0, 1, and 4 so first few should be easy.

1 = 1 + 2х0х4
2 = 2 + 1х0х4 
3 = 1 + 2 + 0х4 
4 = 4 + 2х0х1 
5 = 4 + 1 + 2х0 
6 = 4 + 2 + 1х0 
7 = 1 + 2 + 4 + 0 
8 = 2х4 + 1х0 
9 = 2х4 + 1 + 0
10=122+0


Can anybody continue? 

2 comments:

  1. Wow I really like this.
    This would be very useful as a introductory activity to get the students thinking and get their minds on math. This could be used as a Bell Work activity or as a Fun Friday activity that students would work on, and have the concept focus on basic skills rather than on the current concept being learned in class.
    Pi day just passed, so something similar using 3,1,4 could be done with a similar activity. Even other math games on days like Valentines Day, St Patricks Day, Easter, Pi Day, etc. could be used to encourage math on topics unrelated to the current concept.
    Even something as simple as logic puzzles or Sudoku. One of my teachers used to include these on Fridays as a way to get us thinking numbers and thinking logically and it always interested everyone, even those normally uninterested in math. Games always grab the attention of all (or at least most) students.

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  2. Very true. I At a previous school I taught at, the entire math department would put a Sudoku puzzle on the last page of each test. Students that finished early would always spend the rest of the time trying out the puzzle. Sometimes they would be counted as bonus marks, etc.

    If I could add to the next line:

    11 = 2^2 x 2 + 4 - 1 + 0

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