Not only was Hipparchus a great astronomer, he was also the “father” of trigonometry. Click on the file name below to see the pdf file about this great astronomer/mathematician from about 250 BC.
Hipparchus, the Greatest Greek Astronomer

Last Wednesday we saw how to divide decimals and much work was done to emphasize placing the answer and the decimal place in the proper spot. Today we extend that with two short videos on doing long division in algebra. I urge you to watch both.

Carrying on from yesterday, we do some more constructions. This time we learn how to construct perpendiculars to and from lines, and how to construct regular triangles, squares and hexagons. As always, I show why the constructions work as well. Please watch the video below. Watch it until the end, as there is a neat [...]

Using a compass and a straightedge to draw arcs and circles and construct bisectors is a lot of fun. It has some really good applications as well. I show you how to do it, why it works, and then how to use it construct some circles inside and outside of triangles. Watch the video below [...]

Little Johnny thinks he has a shortcut to simplifying fractions. Does it work? Does it always work?  Read on by clicking the file name below to see the pdf file.
Can You Simplify This Way?

Here is another neat little trick, and of course, how to do it and why it works. Please click on the file name below to see the pdf file.
A Math, Base 2, Card Trick

When you kick a convert in rugby, you can place the ball anywhere along a line that is perpendicular to where you touched down the try (the equivalent of a touchdown in US and Canadian Football). If you touched down the try in the corner (worth 5 points), then you have a long kick from [...]

In the early years after 100 AD, the last few mathematicians from the Greek era did some interesting work. Diophantus, who has a type of equation named after him, has a puzzle about his age that is interesting. Hypatia, was the only woman of ancient time who has mathematical work come down through the ages. [...]

In the last two days, we have looked at what decimals are, and how to add, subtract and multiply decimals. Today we look at the steps to divide decimals and why they work. This is important to understand next Wednesday’s post.  Please click on the file name to see the pdf file.
Dividing decimals and Why [...]

Yesterday, we looked at what decimals were, and how do we add and subtract them. Today we extend this to how to multiply decimals. Please click on the comic to enlarge if necessary.