In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on January 25, 2023.
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.
Hey, fellow mathematicians! Welcome to the podcast where Math is Figure-Out-Able. I'm Pam Harris.
Kim:
And I'm Kim Montague.
Pam:
And this episode is a MathStratChat episode. What is MathStratChat? Every Wednesday evening, I throw out a math problem on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, all the social media. People from around the world chat about the strategies they use. It is super fun to see everyone's thinking.
Kim:
Okay, so this Wednesday, our math problem was three-tenths plus one-fourth. How would you solve this problem? You can pause the podcast, solve the problem any way you want. Remember, the problem is three-tenths plus one-fourth. Solve it, and then come on back to hear how we solved it.
Pam:
Alright. So, Kim, we got a question here, three-tenths plus one-fourth. I'm super curious how you would solve it.
Kim:
So, you know, I do love the percents, so when I see three-tenths, I think about 30%. And then, one-fourth is 25%. So, I just thought...
Pam:
You are very percent person, aren't you.
Kim:
I am. I do like percents.
Pam:
Yeah.
Kim:
So, 30% and 25% is 55%. So, in my head, I just kind of left it at 55%. So, that's the same as 55 out of 100. But would you like me to simplify that? This is a whole debate on do you have to simplify or not, but.
Pam:
It really is. Yeah. I will say we don't like the word"reduce". So, thank you for saying "simplify". I mean, maybe tell -so, maybe we could just acknowledge, we don't think you have to. But if you wanted to, what would you simplify that to?
Kim:
So, interestingly, at that point, I thought about nickels.
Pam:
Sure.
Kim:
I'm kind of all over the place. So, then, I thought about, there's 20 nickels in$1.00. And there are 11 nickels in $0.55. So, then, it would be eleven-twentieths.
Pam:
Nice. How many nickels are in $0.55? How many nickels... And I have to tell you, when I do that with nickels, I have to think about how many, I actually thought you were going to this way, when you said there's 20 nickels in $1.00, I thought you're going to say, "Therefore, there's 10 nickels in $0.50, so there's 11 nickels in $0.55." When I think "nickels", I have to think about some benchmark numbers of nickels. Even though now I'm laughing at myself a little bit because I could have thought about 5 times 11 as 55.
Kim:
(unclear) nice, though. Yeah, that's nice.
Pam:
Yeah, it was nice.(unclear).
Kim:
Alright, what would you do?
Pam:
Okay, so I was thinking money. So, I was thinking... You thought money at the end. I thought money at the beginning. 3 out of 10 just screams at me 3 dimes. So, I'm sort of thinking about 3 dimes. But then when I hit the 1 quarter, I thought to myself, "Well, that's like$0.25." Which if I thought of that in dimes, that's 2 and a 1/2 dimes. So, I literally wrote down 3 out of 10 plus 2.5 out of 10 would be 5.5 out of 10 or 5 and a 1/2 dimes. 5 and 1/2 dimes is $0.55. But I also can think about 5 and a 1/2 dimes in terms of nickels because the 5 dimes would be 10 nickels, plus that extra half a dime is 1 more nickel, so that's 11 nickels out of 20 nickels (unclear).
Kim:
Nicely done.
Pam:
Well, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Kim:
(unclear). Okay, so we can't wait to see your math strategy. I wonder if your strategy was like one of ours or something entirely different. You can represent your thinking by taking 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 as well.
Pam:
Yeah, tag me on Twitter,@PWHarris. Or Instagram, PamHarris_math And on Facebook, Pam Harris, author mathematics education. And don't forget to use the hashtag MathStratChat. And make sure you check out the MathStratChat problem that we post every Wednesday night. It's around 7:00p.m. Central Time, and then pop back here to hear what we are thinking about the problem. We love having you as part of the Math is Figure-Out-Able movement. Let's keep spreading the word that Math is Figure-Out-Able!