On Tuesday, I appeared on Midday with Dan Rodricks, an hour-long, call-in radio program on Baltimore’s WYPR. At the top of the show, Dan asked listeners to solve a real-world math problem. (Download the program here, to hear the entire show and what problem he offered.) I was so surprised at the number of people who called or emailed in with their answers — they loved it! So I thought I’d try it here on my blog.
Welcome to my first Math for Grownups contest! Here’s the background.
Maybe you’ve seen this image on Facebook or somewhere else on the web:
Get it? Funny, huh?
There are so many different ways that this fellow could have represented $536.49, and I think this is one of the misunderstood beauties of math. We were often taught that there is only one way to do a problem — but for the most part, there are many, many different ways to arrive at the correct answer.
And that’s the beauty of being grownups. We get to choose our own paths, right?
And here are the contest deets:
How would you have expressed $536.49? Get creative. Get complicated if you want. The only catch is what you describe has to equal approximately $536.49 (in other words, rounded to the nearest 10th or cent).
Here’s an example: (67 x 8 ) + (0.7)^2. (^2 means “squared,” which I use because it’s not easy to use superscripts in these blog posts.)
And here are the rules:
1. Post your response in the comments section here or on the Math for Grownups facebook page, by Monday, October 24 at midnight EDT.
2. Your response must be unique. That means, you must read through the other responses before posting yours. If there are two or more comments with the same correct response, I will accept only the first response.
3. You can respond up to five times.
4. The winner will be chosen randomly from all of the correct responses. (In other words, if your math doesn’t work out, your name will not be entered into the drawing.)
5. If you have five correct answers, your name will be entered five times.
6. One winner will receive a signed copy of Math for Grownups and a Starbucks gift card valued at $[(4 x 2) – (8-10)]. (Figure that out!)
7. I will contact the winner for his or her address so that I can send out the gift card.
Good luck!
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