In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on November 9, 2022.
Note: It’s more fun if you try to solve the problem, share it on social media, comment on others strategies, before you listen to Pam and Kim’s strategies.
Check out #MathStratChat on your favorite social media site and join in the conversation.
Pam Harris:
Hey fellow mathematicians. Welcome to the podcast where Math is Figure-Out-Able. I'm Pam Harris,
Kim Montague:
And I'm Kim Montague.
Pam Harris:
And this episode is a MathStratChat episode. What is MathStratChat you might ask? Well, every Wednesday evening, I throw out a math problem on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. People from all around the world chat about the strategies they use. It is super fun to see everyone's thinking,
Kim Montague:
Okay, this Wednesday, our math problem was seven fourths of six. How would you solve this problem? Pause the podcast and solve the problem any way you want. Remember, the problem was seven fourths of six. Go ahead and solve it and then come back to hear how we solved it. And go.
Pam Harris:
Okay, so really go solve it like actually pause the podcast and go solve it.
Kim Montague:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Pam Harris:
All right, Kim. I'm calling. Today you're first.
Kim Montague:
Okay. So I was thinking about how I know that seven fourths is made up of four fourths and three fourths.
Pam Harris:
Okay.
Kim Montague:
So four fourths of six is just six. That's the whole. So then I need three fourths of six. And I know that that is 4.5. And I know you're gonna ask me how I know that. So the reason that I know that is because I know that 45 minutes is three fourths of an hour.
Pam Harris:
Oh, that is slick.
Kim Montague:
So yeah, four and a half is three fourths six. So then together, six and four and a half is 10 and a half.
Pam Harris:
I did not see...
Kim Montague:
I hope that's what you got.
Pam Harris:
...three fourths of an hour coming. I did not see that coming. That is really nice. Yeah, I decided to do something a little different. I was thinking about seven fourths as seven one fourths.
Kim Montague:
Okay.
Pam Harris:
So I decided to find a fourth of six. I did not think about a quarter of an hour. I wish I had. That's super cool. I thought of half of six is three. And so half of that to get a fourth of six would be half of three is one and a half. So now that I know one quarter of six is one and a half then I thought, "Well I need seven of them." And I decided to go kind of fractiony. A lot of times on social media, people will poke me, "They're like fractions to your friends." And I'm like, "I know." So today I was like,"Okay, let's go fractiony."So if I'm going to do one and a half times seven, I thought of the one and a half as three halves. So three halves times seven is 21 halves. And then I can think about 21 in half. That's 10 and a half. And then I kind of checked myself because I was like, "Let me just make sure I thought about that," because I honestly don't do fractions that often. I don't know why. So I'm starting to do it more often. But I did think about one and a half times seven. And I was like well, that's just one seven plus a half of seven.
Kim Montague:
Yeah.
Pam Harris:
So seven and 3.5 is also 10 and a half. Yeah, nice. I like it. There you go.
Kim Montague:
Well done. Oh, okay, listeners, we can't wait to see your math strategies. I wonder if you were like Pam or me or something entirely different. Represent your thinking, take a picture of your work or screenshot your phone and tell the world on social media. And while you're there, check out what other people did and comment on their thinking.
Pam Harris:
Yeah, tag me on Twitter: @PWHarris. Or
Instagram:
Pam Harris_math. Or Facebook: Pam Harris, Author Mathematics Education, and make sure you use the hashtag MathStratChat. So check out the MathStratChat problem that we post every Wednesday around 7pm Central time. Then pop back here to hear how we are thinking about the problem. Y'all we love having you as part of the Math is Figure-Out-Able movement where we are revolutionizing the way that we teach math. Let's keep spreading the word that Math is Figure-Out-Able