Math is Figure-Out-Able!

#MathStratChat - June 18, 2025

• 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 18, 2025. 


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  0:00  
Hey, fellow mathers! Welcome to the podcast where Math is Figure-Out-Able. I'm Pam. 

Kim  0:06  
And I'm Kim. 

Pam  0:08  
And this episode is a MathStratChat episode because 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  0:20  
Okay,

Kim  0:20  
so this Wednesday, our math problem was 44% of 110. How would you like to solve this problem? Pause the podcast. Solve it however you'd like. The problem is 44% of 110.

Pam  0:32  
Bam. Kim. I'm going to go first. 

Kim  0:34  
Okay.

Pam  0:35  
Okay, I'm going to find 2. I've drawn a ratio table, and I'm thinking about 110, and I'm going to find 2%.

Kim  0:43  
Okay.

Pam  0:44  
Is that really what I want to do? Yeah. Okay, so 2 times 110 is 220. So, I'm just going to actually find 2 not 2% 

Kim  0:53  
Okay.

Pam  0:54  
So, 2. And then I'm going to double that to get 4, so that's 440. The reason I was pausing a minute ago was I was like, "I could just go straight to 4." And I was like, "No, I don't think I can. Not today." 

Kim  1:04  
Not today. 

Pam  1:04  
Okay, so 4 is 440. Then I'm going to find 40. So, scale that times 10. So, that's 4,440. No. That's 4,000... I could do it. 4,400. Not extra 40. And then I'm going to add those together to get 44. So, I had 4. I had 40. Now, I'm going to add those together to get 44. So, 4,400 plus 440 is 4840. But I only want 44%, so that's 48.4.

Kim  1:39  
Okay. 

Pam  1:40  
Did

Pam  1:40  
you follow that? 

Kim  1:40  
Yep. 

Pam  1:41  
Okay, cool. Alright, what are you going to do?

Kim  1:43  
Did

Kim  1:43  
you say four point... 

Pam  1:45  
48.4.

Kim  1:45  
Yeah. The funny thing is, I was going to do same thing, but I was going to go 1%, 2%, 4%.

Pam  1:52  
Oh, okay. 

Kim  1:52  
But you did 1, 2, 4, so I'm going to do something different. I am going to say... I'm going to use the commuter property, and I'm going to say I don't want to figure 44% of 110. I'm going to say 110%

Kim  2:06  
of 44. 

Pam  2:07  
Nice. 

Kim  2:08  
So, 100%

Kim  2:09  
of 44 is 44. And 10% of 44 is 4.4. So, 44 and 4.4 is 48.4

Kim  2:22  
(unclear). 

Pam  2:23  
Yeah. No, you... Yeah. 

Pam  2:25  
44 and 4...

Kim  2:26  
What did you get us your answer? I thought you said 4.84. 

Kim  2:29  
48.4. Oh, okay. (unclear) Why did we get different answers?

Pam  2:32  
Which

Pam  2:32  
is what you got. Nice.

Kim  2:36  
Oh, (unclear). 

Pam  2:36  
Alright. Well done.

Kim  2:37  
Alright, so we can't wait to see what you do every week. Join us on MathStratChat and let us know how you think about the problems and comment on each other's strategies.

Pam  2:45  
Yeah, we post the problems on Wednesdays around 7:00 p.m. Central time. When you answer, tag me and use the hashtag MathStratChat. And let me just thank those of you who caught that I've posted the wrong problem a couple of times. You hear it on this episode, and you're like, "Wait, that's not what you posted." We've had some... We use a scheduler to schedule MassStratChat, and it was just glitching, so we appreciate you guys pointing that out. 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 Figure-Out-Able!