Good day, my fellow mathematicians!
I hope you are staying safe and keeping your hands washed. These are very interesting times, and I commend you all on learning your new skill sets—and in under 48 hours no less! Make sure you stay up to date with the amazing PD being offered by the Alberta Teachers’ Association—check the webpage for the most current information. I can only imagine the struggle, stress and feeling of helplessness you may feel from time to time. The Math Council of Alberta is here to help in any capacity we can. We are in the midst of updating our website and brainstorming other innovative ways we can assist the math teachers of Alberta.
Here are a couple of interesting problems you may want to explore with your students:
• What is the best way to arrange 5 people such that there is at least 2 metres between any 2 people? What about 6 people? What about n people—and if you say a circle, how would we determine the radius of this circle?
• Before COVID-19, handshaking was a great way to greet people. How many handshakes would have occurred in a room of 4 people? How about 8 people? What about n people?
As always, MCATA wishes you the best, and if you have a suggestion, comment or concern in how we are supporting you, please e-mail me directly at teacher.davidmartin@gmail.com.
Happy counting!
Dave Martin
