Mathematics (52 total posts)

Putting the “Wow” into Magic Squares!

August 1, 2018
I’m sure that at some time in your life you’ve come across a magic square; usually a 4 x 4 table filled in with numbers where every row and column adds to give the same total. Here’s an example where the total is 34 and, as a bonus, the two leading...

Great Mathematicians 6: Isaac Newton

June 27, 2018
Newton is such a giant in the history of Maths and Physics that it isn’t really possible to do him justice in a short blog post. The basic facts first. Newton was born in Lincolnshire, in eastern England, in 1642. His early family life was unhappy, but he had...

The Paradox of the Condemned Prisoner

May 30, 2018
The prison governor goes to visit a condemned prisoner in his cell. He tells him that he is due to be executed at midday one day in the following month, but he won’t know in advance which day it is. Actually, condemned prisoners are a bit of a gloomy subject for...

Patterns in Pascal’s Triangle

April 30, 2018
One of the great joys in Maths is exploring something seemingly very simple and finding layers upon layers of complexity, and connections with other areas of Maths which at first sight appear to be totally separate. I’m sure you have come across Pascal’s...

Prepare Your Body and Your Mind for the Exams

April 18, 2018
This will probably be my last blog before you dive into the exams in May. I hope your revision has gone well: there’s still time to go over more past papers to become as familiar as possible with the way the examiners ask questions. And don’t forget that,...

Don’t Lose Marks Unnecessarily in Your Maths Exams

April 11, 2018
There is statistical evidence that 1 in 7 of you will lose marks which you shouldn’t lose: in other words, there could be marks which you could easily gain, even if you can’t answer a question, but what you put on paper didn’t match the...