In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on May 22, 2024.
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
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Facebook: Pam Harris, author, mathematics education
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Pam 00:00
Hey, fellow mathers! Welcome to the podcast where Math is Figure-Out-Able! I'm Pam Harris.
Kim 00:06
And I'm Kim Montague.
Pam 00:07
And this episode is a MathStratChat episode, where 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.
Kim 00:20
Okay, so this Wednesday, our math problem was 73 minus 28. How would you solve this problem? Go ahead and pause, and solve the problem however you want. It's 73 minus 28.
Pam 00:32
Alright, so people are thinking about solving that problem. Kim, I'm standing here with my trusty erasable pen.
Kim 00:39
Oh!
Pam 00:41
Remember? So we were recently... Ya'll, I'm just going to have to admit, we were recently at a conference and somebody gave us two erasable pens because we have this argument about pens and pencils or whatever. And so, I'm writing with this erasable pen, and this lovely... And I'm so sorry that I don't remember who gave it to me. I feel terrible about that. So, if it was you, holler at me, so I can give you a hearty thank you for the erasable pen. But anyway, 73 minus 28. Who's going first, Kim? I don't know.
Kim 01:07
I'll go first.
Pam 01:08
Alright, you go.
Kim 01:09
Alright, so 73 minutes. 28, you know...
Pam 01:12
Super curious what you're going to do.
Kim 01:13
Well, I mean, you know. You know, I like to Over from time to time, so I'm going to go 73 minutes 30 is 53. But I subtracted too much. 2 too much. So, I'm going to add that 2 back on, and I have 55.
Pam 01:29
Nice, nice. Nice strategy. So, I'm not going to do an Over strategy. I'm going to think about the difference or the distance between 73 and 28. So, on a number line, I have plunked down 28 on the left, 73 on the right. And I'm thinking to myself, "How far apart are they?" Now, I could just sort of add the distances between them, but I'd like to find an equivalent problem that's slightly easier for me to solve, so I'm going to shift that distance up 2, so the 28 becomes 30 and 73 becomes 75. And now I have an equivalent problem. 75 minus 30. Which is also 45.
Kim 02:05
Very nice.
Pam 02:06
Yeah.
Kim 02:06
I like it.
Pam 02:07
Cool.
Kim 02:07
Yeah. Alright. Well, we can't wait to see what you do every single week. Join us on MathStratChat, and let us know how you think about the problems that are posted there, and comment on each other's strategies.
Pam 02:17
Yeah, we post the problems on Wednesdays at 7pm Central time. And when you answer tag me and use the hashtag MathStratChat. Then join us here to hear how we're thinking about the problem. We love having you as part of the Math is Figure-Out-Able movement because Math is Figure-Out-Able!
