Problems 2-1-07

PLS NOTE: BLOGGER HAS APPARENTLY BEEN DOWN FOR MOST OF THE DAY. I APOLOGIZE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE THIS MAY HAVE CAUSED. I WILL TRY TO PUT UP NEW PROBLEMS FOR 2-2-07 BUT NO GUARANTEES AS TO IF OR WHEN...



Just 3! Have fun!!

Note for #1: Assume k is a positive integer.

Problems 1-31-07

Tomorrow's problems focus on sequences and are of varying levels of difficulty. Although #4 may be more appropriate for Algebra 1/2 students, middle schoolers should be able to handle the others. Again, read the comments later in the evening for the answers, comments and solutions. There were some profound ideas expressed about today's questions particularly that innocent-looking quadrilateral problem with the 60 degree angles!

Problems for 1-30-07

At the suggestions of readers, I'm reducing the number of daily problems to 3 or 4. I may also post problems on alternate days. Again, my main purposes in posting these questions is to supplement content, provide instructors with an additional resource of standardized test questions and encourage greater depth of understanding of important math concepts and strategies for problem-solving. Please view these questions in that light. I am very appreciative of your support, comments and suggestions for improving this process.

A Student Solution of 1-29-07 Challenge

The following is the winning student solution from the original challenge. I know I was impressed!

Special Challenge Week of 1-29-07

The problem below (designed for Algebra 2 and beyond) was part of a weekly online challenge I established a little over a year ago. It ran for 2 1/2 months and the response from students was overwhelming. I posted the problem on our dept web page at precisely 6 PM on Mondays. Students had until 6 PM on Wed to email me their detailed solutions. One student would always wait until 5:59 PM! I would post the answers, comments and the best 2-3 student solutions. I rarely had to give my solutions - theirs were usually better! I may do this on weekends for a Monday challenge here and give you time to play with it for a day. Of course, I know some of you will have it solved in a heartbeat, but I'm hoping you will see why I created this for the students -- an opportunity to delve more deeply and learn how to deal with more sophisticated problems having several layers.

This week's problem is algebraic and not that bad. If you think you have all the answers, you can post them and your comments but hold off on detailed solutions to give others a chance! I will respond to the answers submitted at first. Sorry, it's still in hard to read format...

Problems for 1-26-07

Uh oh!! The original post appears to have been deleted. I also thought I lost all your comments but now they're back! I may have inadvertently done this or Blogger is doing weird stuff...
I am working on a better way to display the problems and diagrams since I know these images are too small or fuzzy and difficult to copy/paste for use with your students. Pls be patient...

I am planning something new for Monday - a more extended challenge that you can give to your interested students. We used it as part of an online contest - stay tuned.

Problems for 1-25-07

Important note: The problems are stored as an image and it is currently appearing fuzzy and too small. Guess that makes this fuzzy math! TRY CLICKING ON THE IMAGE TO MAGNIFY IT. I will try to make the image larger but no promises. Blogger was down for awhile and they're having problems with images right now.

PLS READ COMMENTS FOR EACH DAY'S PROBLEMS. ANSWERS APPEAR IN THE COMMENTS AND I USUALLY POST THOSE MUCH LATER IN THE EVENING IF I REMEMBER! ALSO, SOME OF THE BEST CONVERSATIONS ABOUT DIFFERENT WAYS OF SOLVING THESE AS WELL AS TEACHING STRATEGIES, CONTENT, INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT TAKE PLACE THERE.

Problems for 1-24-07