We'll try this idea. I'm a mathematician and a number enthusiast. I have been fascinated with numbers as long as I remember. I love, not only math problems, but brain teasers, word puzzles, lateral thinking or logic puzzles, & mathematical recreations of all sorts.

 

In this thread, feel free to talk about or present any kind of math problem , brain teaser, word puzzle, etc... It can be something interesting that you come across or maybe even an original problem that you want to share. Got a HW problem that troubling you? Post it here.

 

Don't restrict your posting to just problems. Anything math-related--- jokes, cartoons, your stories about your triumphs & struggles w/ math are all welcomed. Talk about anything you want relevant to the subject. You are liable to read anything on here from a calculus problem to a math cartoon.

 

And, I think you folks know me well enough by now to know I will toss in a little of my own brand of humor along the way. I want this to be a fun thread . To hell with innumeracy!!!

It's all in the 14 21 13 2 5 18 19 , baby!!!

 

Thanks in advance for participating !!!!

I have had people tell me I am dead wrong when I presented this problem to them. Even after I explained the solution and told them that I teach probability & statistics, many still say that I am wrong. You might think I'm wrong , too. But I'm not.

 

My Three Sons

 

Mrs. Robinson goes to a psychic, hoping to gain some insight about whether she will have kids and, if so, how many and what will be their gender.

After a few minutes, the psychic begins to tell Mrs. R. what she came to hear. The psychic said, "Koo-koo-ka-choo , Mrs. Robinson. Jesus loves you more than you will know. You will have three children and at least one of them will be a boy."

 

Assuming that the psychic is not off her rocker and is correct, what is the probability that Mrs. Robinson will have three sons? (Assume three independent births and that boys and girls are equally likely outcomes).

One of my favorite original puzzles that I created several years ago.

 

CHAD = 3

 

EGYPT = 4

 

SPAIN = 6

 

FRANCE = 8

 

KYRGYZSTAN = 9

 

??? = 5

I've taught long enough to know that kids sometimes do the funniest things on tests. And sometimes us teachers respond in kind .

 

I have had people tell me I am dead wrong when I presented this problem to them. Even after I explained the solution and told them that I teach probability & statistics, many still say that I am wrong. You might think I'm wrong , too. But I'm not.

 

My Three Sons

 

Mrs. Robinson goes to a psychic, hoping to gain some insight about whether she will have kids and, if so, how many and what will be their gender.

After a few minutes, the psychic begins to tell Mrs. R. what she came to hear. The psychic said, "Koo-koo-ka-choo , Mrs. Robinson. Jesus loves you more than you will know. You will have three children and at least one of them will be a boy."

 

Assuming that the psychic is not off her rocker and is correct, what is the probability that Mrs. Robinson will have three sons? (Assume three independent births and that boys and girls are equally likely outcomes).

 

The quick response would seem to be .5*.5*.5 .

I have had people tell me I am dead wrong when I presented this problem to them. Even after I explained the solution and told them that I teach probability & statistics, many still say that I am wrong. You might think I'm wrong , too. But I'm not.

 

My Three Sons

 

Mrs. Robinson goes to a psychic, hoping to gain some insight about whether she will have kids and, if so, how many and what will be their gender.

After a few minutes, the psychic begins to tell Mrs. R. what she came to hear. The psychic said, "Koo-koo-ka-choo , Mrs. Robinson. Jesus loves you more than you will know. You will have three children and at least one of them will be a boy."

 

Assuming that the psychic is not off her rocker and is correct, what is the probability that Mrs. Robinson will have three sons? (Assume three independent births and that boys and girls are equally likely outcomes).

 

Well you are going to have one at least, so the only other options are...

boy boy

girl boy

girl girl

which would make you think 1 in 3 or 33.3%

but you could also have

boy girl (if order is considered) and that would make it 1 in 4 or 25%

I have had people tell me I am dead wrong when I presented this problem to them. Even after I explained the solution and told them that I teach probability & statistics, many still say that I am wrong. You might think I'm wrong , too. But I'm not.

 

My Three Sons

 

Mrs. Robinson goes to a psychic, hoping to gain some insight about whether she will have kids and, if so, how many and what will be their gender.

After a few minutes, the psychic begins to tell Mrs. R. what she came to hear. The psychic said, "Koo-koo-ka-choo , Mrs. Robinson. Jesus loves you more than you will know. You will have three children and at least one of them will be a boy."

 

Assuming that the psychic is not off her rocker and is correct, what is the probability that Mrs. Robinson will have three sons? (Assume three independent births and that boys and girls are equally likely outcomes).

I'm going with a 25% that she has 3 sons.

4 outcomes are possible: 3G, 3B, 2G1B, 2B1G.

The quick response would be .5*.5*.5 .

 

Yes sir... that is indeed the quick response. Question is, why is that not the correct response. If there were no prior "knowledge" about the sex of the children, the answer is 1/8. But, given the condition that at least one of the children will be a boy(that is, at least one boy is guaranteed), what's the likelihood of all three being boys? So, three girls is not an option.

Yes sir... that is indeed the quick response. Question is, why is that not the correct response. If there were no prior "knowledge" about the sex of the children, the answer is 1/8. But, given the condition that at least one of the children will be a boy(that is, at least one boy is guaranteed), what's the likelihood of all three being boys? So, three girls is not an option.

Well, it is important to read all the instructions! There are 3 options: 3G, 2G1B, 2B1G, so 1/3 probability that all 3 are boys.

Yes sir... that is indeed the quick response. Question is, why is that not the correct response. If there were no prior "knowledge" about the sex of the children, the answer is 1/8. But, given the condition that at least one of the children will be a boy(that is, at least one boy is guaranteed), what's the likelihood of all three being boys? So, three girls is not an option.

 

Just like in high school I didn't read the problem very well. Missed that part about one boy guaranteed.

Students can be such smart allecks sometimes.

 

I don't know whether to laugh or cry about Peter. I could see Conan O'Brien doing this when he was in school.

 

One of my oldies but goodies.

 

Eccentric old Professor Friction is running late for school. After hurriedly combing his seven hairs and brushing his tooth, he opens his dresser and reaches in to get a sock. After getting one, he pulls out a second sock. The room is pitch dark so he can't tell what color the socks are. Also, all the socks are made identically, so he can't tell which is which just by feel. And of course, Prof. SF is very unorganized so the socks are just randomly scattered about in the drawer.

 

Suppose the socks are one of two colors, red or green. Also, there are 6 total socks in the drawer. If there is a 2/3 probability of his choosing two red socks, what is the probability that he goes to school wearing two GREEN socks?

Who in the name of all that's holy wrote these math problems,

Joshua John Ward ? Strom Thurmond ? And what kind of teacher assigned them? Some of these were given to second-graders and some to elementary school students in GA , and I'm talking about fairly recently ! What are people thinking?

 

Edited November 5, 20178 yr by Science Friction

You may think I'm kidding but I promise you, I'm not. The ten question math quiz first came to my attention a few months ago. It was given to a class of eighth-graders at Burns Middle School in Mobile , Alabama just a few days before the end of the school year last year. Seriously, who wrote these problems , Rick James? Snoop Dogg?

 

The lady teacher who gave the quiz looks to be a middle-aged white woman. It never ceases to amaze me what crazy things people do? What was she thinking?!?!

 

Edited November 5, 20178 yr by Science Friction