Math is Figure-Out-Able!
Math teacher educator Pam Harris and her cohost Kim Montague answer the question: If not algorithms, then what? Join them for ~15-30 minutes every Tuesday as they cast their vision for mathematics education and give actionable items to help teachers teach math that is Figure-Out-Able. See www.MathisFigureOutAble.com for more great resources!
Math is Figure-Out-Able!
#MathStratChat - July 30, 2025
In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on July 30, 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! We're almost done recording today. Welcome to the podcast. (unclear) I do that? Where Math is Figure-Out-Able. I'm Pam.
Kim 0:09
And I'm Kim.
Pam 0:09
And this episode is a MathStratChat episode, and it's the last of a bunch we've just recorded. We're super happy that we're about to chat about our math strategies for a really cool problem. Every Wednesday evening, I'll 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 0:27
Okay,
Kim 0:28
so this Wednesday, our math problem was if 2 is one-sixth of a number, what is half of that same number? If 2 is one-sixth of a number, what is half of that same number? Pause podcast. Solve it however you'd like. And then come back to hear how we're going to solve the problem.
Pam 0:46
Half. Okay, I have a strategy.
Kim 0:48
Okay, would you like to go first or second?
Pam 0:50
First. Can I?
Kim 0:52
Yeah.
Pam 0:52
Because I might lose it. Okay, If 2 is one-sixth of a number, then 4 would be two-sixths. And I didn't need to say that because I could have gone straight to three-sixths. So, I literally wrote down three-sixths when I was thinking about my strategy.
Kim 1:08
Hmm.
Pam 1:08
So, like 2 is one-sixth.
Kim 1:08
Mmhm.
Pam 1:08
Then I need 3 of them to get three-sixths and three 2s is 6. So.
Kim 1:08
Nice.
Pam 1:08
That would... Yeah, 6 would be half of the number.
Kim 1:09
Yeah.
Pam 1:09
(unclear) three-sixths of the number.
Kim 1:09
One 6, two 6s, three 6s.
Kim 1:10
Nice.
Pam 1:13
Yeah. Cool.
Kim 1:15
Okay, so I looked at the relationship between one-sixth and one-half, and I said, that's times 3. So, you're same three-sixth, but I thought about how many 6 do I need to get to one-half? So, I said that was times 3. So, then I would need 2 times 3 to get 6.
Pam 1:41
So, I just wrote down one-half divided by one-sixth because I kind of heard you say how many one-sixth are in one-half? What's the relationship between one-sixth and one-half?
Kim 1:49
Mmhm.
Pam 1:49
And so, you're like that's 3 times. So, then 3 times a 2. That's cool. Okay, so just for kind of completeness sake, do you mind if I? If 2 is one-sixth of a number, then I can figure out the whole number.
Kim 1:59
Mmhm.
Pam 2:00
I would need 6 of them. So, the whole number would be 2 times 6, which is 12.
Kim 2:05
Mmhm.
Pam 2:05
But I need half of that, and half of that 6.
Kim 2:07
Nice.
Pam 2:07
There's a lot of 6s in that problem.
Kim 2:10
Yeah, that's...
Pam 2:10
6 and one-sixth.
Kim 2:12
Mmhm.
Pam 2:13
Yeah.
Kim 2:13
Confounding numbers.
Pam 2:14
Yeah. Oh, well. It was good. Alright, ya'll, 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 each other's strategies.
Kim 2:25
Pam posts the problem on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. Central. And when you answer, tag her and use the hashtag MathStratChat.
Pam 2:32
Then join us to hear what we're thinking about the problem. Ya'll, thanks for being part of the Math is Figure-Out-Able movement! Math is Figure-Out-Able!