WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2024 - PI DAY

 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2024

PI DAY 

Tomorrow is “PI DAY.” Yes, it is a bit contrived. The irrational number PI is 3.14159 (and much more). So mathematicians picked March 14 (or the third month, fourteenth day—or 3.14) as an ideal math day.

MATH JOKES

Why is 6 scared of 7? (Because 7 8 9 - 7 ate 9)

How can you make seven even?  (take away the S from the word SEVEN)

Student 1: I saw our math teacher with a piece of graph paper yesterday.

Student 2: She must be plotting something

What did the acorn say when she grew up?  Geometry (Gee- I’m a tree)

What did zero say to eight? (Nice belt)

What do you get when you divide the circumference by the moon's diameter?  (Pi in the sky)

Why didn’t the square talk to the circle?  (There was no point)

What do you call a man who spends all summer on the beach? (A tangent - “Tan gent”)

Why did the two fours skip lunch? (Because they already 8 (ate))

Bob:  Do you know what seems odd to me?

Karen:  Numbers that can’t be evenly divided by two.

What is a math teacher’s favorite place to visit? (Time Square)

MORE

As an undergraduate, I was a math major and in my master’s degree program.  I taught high school math for seven years and a year of college math before becoming a computer person.

Can you factor these?

X2 + 5X + 6

X2 - 3X - 28

X2 - 4X +4

Or solve for X:

X2 + 8X + 7 = 0

X2 -4X - 45 = 0

When you got to algebra, you learned addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. You also learned to think and solve problems. You really use math daily (really, trust me) when you solve problems. As you drive on a four-lane road, you analyze whether you can pass another car (with or without exceeding the speed limit). How much hamburger do I need to grill ten hamburgers?  

Then, you learned to think when you got to geometry, particularly proofs. As I went along, math became more abstract - calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, and topology.  

*****

True, you probably don’t use calculus every day, but some people do. Civil Engineers had to determine load limits for new buildings and bridges. Even your phone and computers use binary numbers to do everything. In the ASCII code, the letter "A" is 65, which is 01000001 in binary.

STORY PROBLEMS

Henry is Kayaking on a river.  Going upstream, it took six hours to go to the General Store.  Coming back downstream, it took only two hours.  If the river’s current is two miles an hour, how fast can Henry kayak in still water.

Carol runs a coffee shop.  She has ten pounds of a special Kona (Hawaiian) coffee that cost her $10 a pound.  She wants to blend some Costa Rica coffee - which cost her $6 a pound.  How much Costa Rica coffee would she need to have her cost be $8.25 a pound.  (She will, of course, sell the coffee for a higher price. She has her shop so that the aromas of her baked goods, and exotic coffees will entice customers to return frequently)

Dennis and David work for the city of Georgetown mowing the grass in the parks.  Dennis can mow all of San Gabriel Park in 4 hours.  David can mow all of San Gabriel Park in 6 hours.  If they work together how long will it take to mow the park. (Assume there is no overlap, no breaks, nothing but work). 

*****

Enjoy Pi Day 

LOVE WINS

Karen White.