01000011 01101111 01100100 01100101 01110011 00100000 01100001 01110010 01100101 00100000 01000011 01101111 01101111 01101100 00100001

in English, Codes are Cool!

Do you have your own secret code that you use with your friends?  Do you like writing notes to people?  Do you like to write in a diary?  Do you like solving puzzles and finding patterns?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might want to check out this Math Minute!

1. Go to https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/number/ascii-to-binary.html and type in a sentence in English.  Then tap the convert button to translate your message to binary.
2. Learn about the Pigpen cipher (also known as masonic cipher, Freemason’s cipher, Napoleon cipher, and tic-tac-toe cipher) by watching this video: https://youtu.be/s5XRTcLYy40 Then, write a message using what you learned.
3. Watch this video about the Enigma Machine at Numberphile: https://youtu.be/G2_Q9FoD-oQ Post a comment about something new you learned.
4. Learn about the Caesar Cipher by watching this video: https://youtu.be/o6TPx1Co_wg Then create a message for someone else to figure out.  Be sure to include the shift number!
5. Find out how a code was used to catch someone red-handed! https://www.pcmag.com/news/369045/genius-we-caught-google-red-handed-stealing-lyrics-data

Guess what!  The 2019-2020 school year contained 21 VERY SPECIAL days!  Ten of those dates are listed in the picture above.  Can you figure out the additional 11 days that occured in 2020?

How can you spend your Math Minutes?

• Read about Palindrome Week at https://newstalk1290.com/wow-our-dates-are-palindromes-all-week/
• On a piece of paper, make a list of the answers to the following math problems.  You may use a calculator.
  • 11 x 11
  • 111 x 111
  • 1,111 x 1,111
  • 11,111 x 11,111
  • 111,111 x 111,111
  • Based on these answers, can you predict what the answer will be to 111,111,111 x 111,111,111?
•  Check out some palindrome phrases at: https://kids.niehs.nih.gov/games/brainteasers/palindromes/index.htm Leave a comment below with your favorite phrase.
• Check out this AMAZING trick: http://somethingorotherwhatever.com/sum-of-3-palindromes/ Unfortunately, this site doesn’t work on the school iPads, but you can try on a laptop.

Images to create this puzzle taken from pdclipart.org

One of the things I struggled with when taking Algebra was the use of letters (variables) to represent numbers.  However, if we remove the letters and replace them with pictures, somehow Algebra becomes a little more manageable.

How can I spend my Math Minutes?

1. Figure out the picture puzzle above stating what the ? represents in the final “equation”.  On a piece of paper, put your answer along with your first and last name, grade, school, and classroom teacher.  Give it to your EY Coordinator (or tell your classroom teacher to “pony” it to EY at Sunset Hills).
2. Create your own picture puzzle.  I used Keynote, but you could use Explain Everything, Pic Collage, or another iPad app.  Pictures for your puzzle can be found at https://www.pdclipart.org/ These puzzles can be emailed to Dr. Spady (ask your EY Coordinator or classroom teacher for the correct email).
3. Figure out the 11 puzzles pictured below.  On a piece of paper, put your answers along with your first and last name, grade, school, and classroom teacher.  Give it to your EY Coordinator (or tell your classroom teacher to “pony” it to EY at Sunset Hills).

Thank you Mrs. Bridwell for the inspiration to create this post!  Thank you to Mrs. Bridwell’s 6th graders for all the great puzzles below!

Who knew SNOWIEST was even a word?!

Was February 2019 the SNOWIEST of all time?

How can I spend my Math Minutes?

1. Create 1, 2, or 3 different graphs to display the data above.  For a clearer image of the data, click here.   Use the Create-A-Graph website to make a graph of the data.  Be sure to include a title and label your axes.
   • Top 5 Snowiest Februarys
   • The Top 5 Snowiest Winter Seasons (Dec-Jan-Feb)
   • Top 5 Snowiest Winters (Jul 1- Jun 20).
2. Take a look at the graphs in the image below.  For a clearer image of the graphs, click here.  The information in the blue box is particularly helpful in reading the graphs.  Answer any of the following questions by leaving a comment and/or leave a question for someone else to answer.
   • How many times in January/February 2019 did the temperature range fall mainly in the record highs?  What about the record lows?
   • On how many dates was the temperature range very small (short blue bar)?
   • How many times did the temperature range fall in the average section (green)?
   • What do you find interesting about these graphs?

This Math Minute was inspired by the Pringles commercial that played during Super Bowl LIII.

Thanks to Ava and Karin too for your help!

I’ve always been intrigued by the shape of Pringles, but this commercial took it to the next level and had me pondering the mathematics behind this beloved chip!

How can you spend your Math Minutes this week?

1. Read about the Geometry of Pringles by visiting this website: https://interestingengineering.com/geometry-of-pringles-crunchy-hyperbolic-paraboloid Post a comment about something new you learned.  Make sure to include your first name only, grade, and school (i.e. Ava, 6, Loveland).
2. Watch this video on stacking Pringles in a complete circle.  If you try it yourself, make sure to record it! 🙂  Check out Cooper and Jack’s attempt!
3. A Pringles can is a cylinder that is 30 cm tall.  The circles at each end of the can have a radius of 4 cm.  Find the surface area and volume of the can.  Click here for help with the formulas.  Turn in your work to the EY Coordinator at your building.
4. Create a package that will hold a single Pringle.  Send it to yourself (or a friend) in the mail and see if your package kept it protected during its journey (didn’t cause it to break).
5. Check out this interactive Pringle stacking website! https://www.pringles.com/us/wowyoucanstackpringles.html Leave a comment with the combination you think would taste the best!

The #spadyboys had a friendly Pringle Stacking Competition/Taste Test the other night.  Check out the video!

parade | pəˈrād | noun

a public procession, especially one celebrating a special day or event and including marching bands and floats.

Who doesn’t love a good parade?  People throwing out candy from elaborately decorated floats, listening to marching bands while baton twirlers dance by, watching the line of fancy cars drive by with kings and queens waiving…the list goes on!  Have you ever participated in a parade?  What is something you remember?  When I was in 4th grade, I dressed up as one of the orphans from Annie and walked in my hometown parade.  My little sister was Annie and my older sister was Miss Hannigan.

One of my favorite holiday traditions is watching the Rose Bowl Parade on New Year’s Day.  This year marked the 130th parade in Pasadena, California.

How can you spend your Math Minutes?

• Read about the Parade here: https://tournamentofroses.com/about/ and post a “number fact” about the parade.  For example:  45.5 Million people watch the parade on television and 700,000 (estimated) watch it live. Source Feel free to post as many facts as you like.
• Create a Infographic about some of the data you found out about the parade.  Check out Violet’s example.
• Read about the Design and Manufacturing process for floats.  Leave a comment with something new you learned and/or your idea for a float.

image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/karmakazesal/4146346672

Say what?

A student recently asked me if I knew the NATO alphabet.  I hadn’t heard of it so I told him to send me an email about it and voila…We have our #66 Math Minute Post!

Here are a few ideas on how you can spend your Math Minutes…

• Read about the NATO phonetic alphabet by visiting the site below. When you’re finished reading, leave a comment with 3 new things you learned.  https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_150391.htm
• Learn about how the alphabet was chosen and then post a new nugget of information that you learned.  https://www.theweek.co.uk/70110/alpha-bravo-charlie-how-was-natos-phonetic-alphabet-chosen
• Visit the site below to see how the alphabet has changed over time. https://www.thebalancecareers.com/military-phonetic-alphabet-3356942
• Watch this video and then leave a comment spelling your first name using the correct NATO alphabet words.
• Check out how the U.S. Navy uses alphabet flags, numeral pennants, numeral flags, and special flags and pennants for visual signaling.  Even thought the flags are not used for spelling out words, draw the flags that would spell your first name. https://www.navy.mil/navydata/communications/flags/flags.html
• What does the NATO alphabet have to do with math?  Leave your thoughts in the comment section.

CM (Charlie Mike): Means continue mission.  Keep moving forward.  

Thanks Alex from Swanson for this great Math Minute post idea!  I love learning new things!