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= Welcome to Mrs. Ferrari's Wiki Page! = This wiki is designed to help my students share information about math assignments and participate in enrichment activities. From time to time, students will be asked to post comments to their classroom discussion board, share useful web links, and use the site to work on group projects.

I can't believe it's been over a months since my last post!
 * Saturday, 2/26 **

Including three nameless submissions, I got correct solutions to the 1/12 challenge question from Doug Pecze, Jake Peterson, Nick Riordan, Bradley Colarusso, and Colin Dunn. Believe it or not, there are actually two correct solutions to the problem...The one detailed in the below video, and one where the cake is cut into three layers (using two horizontal cuts), and four vertical sections (using two cuts from above). Great job guys!

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Here's something to look at over the long weekend. It shows a strategy for ordering fractions when calculating a common denominator is almost impossible. It also includes an open-ended question at the close of the video. Please post a comment to your classroom page about this video, and for extra credit, submit an answer in writing to the open-ended question by Friday, 1/21.
 * Thursday, 1/12 **

Note: To post a comment, please Reply to existing the existing post rather than clicking on "New Post".

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I hope you're all enjoying the snow. We got hit with over a foot...I'm so glad I didn't have to drive to work! A few students expressed an interest in making the 3D flexagon I showed you in class, so here's the video so you can follow along. It takes a little patience, but it's not impossible. Have fun, and enjoy the rest of your winter break!
 * Monday, 12/27 **

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I got a number of submissions for the Octagon Challenge, and a few students even got within 1 square inch of the actual area. And the winner is...Colin Dunn! Colin used a very straight forward strategy for calculating an area of 41 square inches. Click on the above discussion tab to read how he and a few other classmates approached this challenge, and view the below video for help in better understanding this problem. If you wish to post a comment, please reply to existing post rather than clicking on "New Post".
 * Thurs **** day, 12/23 **

Have a fun winter break and see you next year! media type="youtube" key="m5lFarKP6Dc?fs=1" height="307" width="512"

You asked for it...now here it is. Another extra credit problem! Can you figure out how to calculate the area of a regular octagon? Print out the attached worksheet, and use your knowledge of formulas to solve this problem. Please make sure to show all your work using F.S.S.U. and explain your strategy in writing. The completed worksheet should be submitted by next Tuesday, 12/21.
 * Tuesday, 12/14 **

Congratulations to Joe Schelling and Maggie Duich for submitting the best solutions for the "extra square" trick! Their explanations will be posted to the home page discussion forum (see above tab). You can refer to the below picture of the 5x13 rectangle for a better understanding of their solutions.
 * Wednesday, 12/8 **

I hope you all enjoyed the "Murderous Math Tricks" video as much as I did. I really look forward to seeing some of the explanations for the 64 square trick. A few of you also approached me about showing your classmates the hexagon trick...I would love to learn it myself! You can get extra credit too!
 * Monday, 12/6 **

If anyone has ideas for videos they would like to post or see featured on the Wiki, please see me. Who knows...maybe some of you can come up with a fun "Integer Addition" rap! Stay posted for the next extra credit assignment.

Please view the below "Murderous Math Tricks" video and post a comment or question about the video on your math class discussion board. (Click on your classroom link at left, and then click on the "discussion" tab to post your comment.)
 * Wednesday, 12/1 **

For extra credit, download and print out the "8x8 Grid" (below the video) and use it to perform the last trick on the video. How can you turn a 64 unit square to a 65 unit rectangle? Bring the rectangular grid to class with you next week with a written explanation of the trick.

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