Math is Figure-Out-Able!

#MathStratChat - June 26, 2024

• Pam Harris, Kim Montague

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In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on June 26, 2024. 

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.

Twitter: @PWHarris

Instagram: Pam Harris_math

Facebook: Pam Harris, author, mathematics education

Want more? Check out the archive of all of our #MathStratChat posts!

Pam  00:00

Hey, fellow mathers! Welcome to the podcast where Math is Figure-Out-Able! I'm Pam.

 

Kim  00:06

And I'm Kim.

 

Pam  00:07

And this episode is a MathStratChat episode where we chat about our math strategies. Every Wednesday evening, I throw out a math problem on social media, and people from around the world chat about the strategies they use and comment on each other's thinking.

 

Kim  00:19

Alright, this Wednesday, our math problem was 354 divided by 6. 

 

Pam  00:25

Ooh, I think... Wait, wait, 534

 

Kim  00:27

What did I say? 

 

Pam  00:28

You said 300. 

 

Kim  00:29

Oh, that's a problem. 534 divided by 6. Man, some days. 534 divided by 6. How would you solve this problem? Pause the podcast. Solve it however you want. Again, it is 534 divided by 6. 

 

Pam  00:46

I bet anything you were already thinking about what you were going to do, and so your brain is like tripping over... No? 

 

Kim  00:51

Thanks for that, but no. I haven't thought. Okay. 

 

Pam  00:57

Alright, when I look at 534 divided by 6, the first thing I think about is 600 divided by 6. But I'm not sure that's actually a direction that I want to go. Okay, so then I thought, what else do I know about multiples of 6? And I know 540 is a multiple of six, so I think I might head that direction. 

 

Kim  01:13

Okay.

 

Pam  01:14

So, 540 divided by 6 is... 54 divided by 6 is 9. So, 540 divided by 6 is 90, but I have an extra 6, and so that's just one extra 6. So, 90 minus 1 is 89. So, I think the answer is 89. 

 

Kim  01:30

Okay, well, I appreciate the 600. 

 

Pam  01:32

Were you doing something else and you weren't even thinking about what I was talking.

 

Kim  01:35

No, I totally listened. But once you said the 600, I was like, "Okay, I'm good. And then I could listen to you. Because I also... So, here's another thing. I wrote it in fraction format again this week.

 

Pam  01:49

Same.

 

Kim  01:50

Because of that, then I was like, "Oh, do I want to scale down?" But that didn't look like nice. And so, when you said the 600, I was like, "Okay." Because 600 divided by 6 is nice. But also when I see the 34 it's 66 away. And so, 6...  Oh, that's nice. (unclear) And so, I basically had 100 minus 11.

 

Pam  02:14

Which is also 89.

 

Kim  02:16

Yeah. 

 

Pam  02:17

Oh, that's... Nice I Have, You Need there for 34 up to the next one is 66. (unclear).

 

Kim  02:23

(unclear). Twice. Twice. I was really I Have, You Needy. Alright. 

 

Pam  02:28

Bam! 

 

Kim  02:29

We can't wait to see what you do each week. Join us on MathStratChat, and let us know how you think about the problems. And we love it when you comment on other people's strategies.

 

Pam  02:38

Especially if what you are thinking and seeing is sparked by something that you saw in the last week or two. We love it when you will note what you saw someone else do, and you can be like, "Bam! I saw it!" That's awesome. Ya'll, we post these problems on Wednesdays around 7pm Central time. When you answer, tag me and use the hashtag MathStratChat. And then join us here to hear how we're thinking about the problem. We love having you as part of the Math is Figure-Out-Able movement. Because math is actually figure-out-able.