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 29, 2026
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In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on July 29, 2026.
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
[00:00:01.060] - Pam
Hey, fellow math-ers. Welcome to the podcast where Math is Figure-Out-Able. I'm Pam.
[00:00:07.400] - Kim
And I'm Kim.
[00:00:08.440] - Pam
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.
[00:00:21.200] - Kim
Okay, so this Wednesday, our math problem was if two-fifths of a candy bar weighs 20 ounces, how much does one-tenth weigh? How would you solve this problem? Pause the podcast, solve it however you'd like. The problem is, if two-fifths of a candy bar weighs 20 ounces, how much does one-tenth of the bar weigh?
[00:00:39.850] - Pam
Alright, so I'm going to be you this time. I'm going to try to be you. I'm going to try to make my brain be like Kim. Two-fifths could be like 40%. So, if 40% of the candy bar weighs 20 ounces, the question was how much would one-tenth weigh? And one-tenth is 10%. So, 40% to get to 10%, I divide by 4. So, 20 ounces divided by 4 is 5 ounces. Oh, I'm particularly proud of myself for being Kim today.
[00:01:10.150] - Kim
Very nice. I thought about getting from two-fifths to a tenth. And I kind of drug the ounces along. So, I said if I wanted to get to one-fifth, that would be 10 ounces. Mmhm. Just halving. And then I could halve again from one-fifth to one-tenth. And that would be from 10 ounces to 5 ounces. So, like halving, halving.
[00:01:34.380] - Pam
Nice. I like it.
[00:01:35.138] - Kim
Nice.
[00:01:35.210] - Pam
Would you ever think about getting the two-fifths to tenths and then dividing to get one-tenth?
[00:01:42.470] - Kim
I actually did wonder which way I wanted to do that, yeah. But I just, I don't know.
[00:01:47.700] - Pam
Yeah. Nice. Alright, y'all, 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 comment on each other's strategies.
[00:01:57.870] - Kim
Pam posts the problems on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. Central. When you answer, tag her, and use the hashtag #MathStratChat. Then join us here to hear how we're thinking about the problem.
[00:02:07.270] - Pam
Thanks for being part of the Math is Figure-Out-Able movement. Math is Figure-Out-Able!