Week of Inspirational Math
Overview
The purpose of this week was to introduce us to different math concepts, a few of the concepts that I was able to go over this week was: Tiling an 11 x 13 rectangle, Squares to Stairs, and the Hailstone Sequence. There were also some videos we watched to explain to us how math helps us and gives us brain power! The purpose of those videos were to motivate us to believe in our abilities and to know that it's okay to struggle in math.
The Tiling an 11 x 13 Rectangle problem involved trying to get the least amount of squares in a 11 by 13 square. The least amount of squares I got was six squares, which I believe is the least amount of squares you can get.
Another problem that we reviewed last week was Squares to Stairs problem we received a pattern of a staircase made of squares that was continually increasing and we had to write down ways that we saw it growing and answer questions about how we viewed the staircase individually.
The third problem that we were given, and final one that I was there for, was The Hailstone Sequence. That problem involved counting down from any number of your choice and dividing it by two in order to count down, if it was an odd number you would multiply it by three and then add 1. You would continue to do this until you reached the number 1. I chose this problem because I really wanted to focus on and figure out how it functioned. First thing I did when figuring out this problem was to divide it down from a large number. I ended up choosing 1000 and I did not expect for it to take so many numbers to get it down to 1! It definitely took awhile and was a challenge, but as I learned from the math videos in class, I should never give up! Another curiosity I had about the problem was the fact that I was told it had to end at 1. Does it really have to end at 1? What I did to test if it was really true was multiply it by three and then add 1, unfortunately the answer wasn't as exciting as I had hoped. The number was 4 which could be divided into 2, and then yet again divided into 1. Also I did try dividing 1 in half but I stopped almost immediately because I realized 1 wasn't an even number.
Some of the videos I remember watching talked a lot about how you should believe in yourself and your work ability, and to never give up! One lesson that really stuck out to me was that when you are struggling to not give up, because when you are struggling your brain is actually working harder and getting stronger. This I found to be great motivation to keep going and not give up. Although I think that the believing in yourself message is a bit overused, the videos made the message seem entertaining and funny.
The Tiling an 11 x 13 Rectangle problem involved trying to get the least amount of squares in a 11 by 13 square. The least amount of squares I got was six squares, which I believe is the least amount of squares you can get.
Another problem that we reviewed last week was Squares to Stairs problem we received a pattern of a staircase made of squares that was continually increasing and we had to write down ways that we saw it growing and answer questions about how we viewed the staircase individually.
The third problem that we were given, and final one that I was there for, was The Hailstone Sequence. That problem involved counting down from any number of your choice and dividing it by two in order to count down, if it was an odd number you would multiply it by three and then add 1. You would continue to do this until you reached the number 1. I chose this problem because I really wanted to focus on and figure out how it functioned. First thing I did when figuring out this problem was to divide it down from a large number. I ended up choosing 1000 and I did not expect for it to take so many numbers to get it down to 1! It definitely took awhile and was a challenge, but as I learned from the math videos in class, I should never give up! Another curiosity I had about the problem was the fact that I was told it had to end at 1. Does it really have to end at 1? What I did to test if it was really true was multiply it by three and then add 1, unfortunately the answer wasn't as exciting as I had hoped. The number was 4 which could be divided into 2, and then yet again divided into 1. Also I did try dividing 1 in half but I stopped almost immediately because I realized 1 wasn't an even number.
Some of the videos I remember watching talked a lot about how you should believe in yourself and your work ability, and to never give up! One lesson that really stuck out to me was that when you are struggling to not give up, because when you are struggling your brain is actually working harder and getting stronger. This I found to be great motivation to keep going and not give up. Although I think that the believing in yourself message is a bit overused, the videos made the message seem entertaining and funny.