Top 10 best maths facts

1. In a group of 23 people, at least two have the same birthday with a probability greater than half
2. Everything you can do with a ruler and a compass you can do with a compass alone
3. Much as with people, there are irrational, perfect and complex numbers
4. If you write our PI to two decimal places, backwards it spells “Pie”
5. The word hundred is derived from the word “hundrath”, which actually means 120 and 100.
6. If you shuffle a pack of cards properly, chances are that exact order has never been seen before in the whole history of the universe
7. The post popular favourite number is 7
8. The number 4 is considered unlucky in much of Asia
9. Zero is an even number, but people take longer to decides whether it’s even or odd because it’s not as easy for us to mentally categorise
10. Take any four digit number, follow these steps, and you’ll end up with 6174

·         Choose a four digit number(only condition is that it has at least two different digits)

·         Arrange the digits of the four digit number in descending then ascending order

·         Subtract the smaller number from the bigger one

·         Repeat

·         Eventually you’ll end up at 6174, which is known as Kaprekar’s constant. If you then repeat the process you’ll just keep getting 6174 over and over again.

New online maths activities from 10ticks

Over the last few weeks we have added in lots of new online maths activities to our courses. We have created these to complement our existing maths content and offer variety for our students, helping to keep them engaged.

By creating lots of different ways to do maths on the course we are helping students with all learning types. Our new interactive maths activities help kinaesthetic learners and particularly younger learners as they tend to be more hands on.

You can try out one of our new online maths activities by clicking on the link below.

http://www.10ticks.co.uk/draganddroptests/wordsearch.aspx

Let us know what you think!

New maths app helps you cheat on your homework

A new maths app called Photomath lets you use your smart phone to work out maths problems. All you have to do is point your camera at the question and it will tell you the right answer. It works by using optical character recognition technology to read printed equations on a page, then pops up and augmented-reality display that works through captured equations in real time.

At the minute it only works on printed text and doesn't pick up hand written equations but is still quite impressive! Photomath can work out arithmetic expressions, fractions and decimals, powers and roots, and simple linear equations. 

This is a great tool for parents trying to help with their kids maths homework, or even for students who want to mark their own homework.

Boy calls 911 for help with his maths homework

A young boy who is struggling with his maths homework calls 911 for help, with hilarious results. Watch the video below to for the full conversation.

Chief Welsh exam officer calls for Maths GCSEs to be started earlier

Gareth Pierce, chief of the Welsh exam board said schools would need sufficient time to cover all the work. From September 2015 most children will study for two maths GCSEs rather than the one currently offered in schools.

Some schools already study for GCSE courses in years 8 and 9 but Mr Pierce told BBC Wales that the new double maths qualification should be a three-year course.

He said, "Without a solution of that kind there is a question of how much workload will be on pupils following the two GCSEs.”

"Although there is quite an overlap in content, the assessment styles are a bit different and there is some different content in the GCSE mathematics compared to the numeracy.”

"So I'm sure schools will be thinking very carefully about ensuring there is sufficient time to cover all of that work."

The Welsh government doesn't agree and says there will be no extra time added. 

From next year a numeracy course will assess what maths skills learners need in their everyday lives in the world of work and in other general curriculum areas.

A second mathematics qualification will extend to aspects needed for progression to scientific, technical or further mathematical study.

The new qualifications are an attempt by the Welsh government to raise standards and improve performances in maths, which is the weakest of the core GCSE subjects.

At 10ticks we have been mapping our maths resources to the new GCSE framework, and we will be adding work into year 8 and 9 to make sure teachers have enough time to cover everything in time for GCSE. 

Don’t forget to download our free Christmas maths worksheets

Our free Christmas maths worksheets are still available to download. All you have to do is sign up on our website and you will get access to our worksheets. Our Christmas worksheets contain lots of fun games, puzzles and activities, perfect for the last few lessons of the year or for home over the holidays. The worksheets are a great way to consolidate basic maths skills in a fun and festive way. There are 30 Christmas worksheets in total, covering all age range and abilities.

You can also visit out interactive Christmas maths page. This also contains lots of fun games and puzzles as well as E Christmas cards and a Christmas quiz.

http://www.10ticks.co.uk/christmasmathsactivities.aspx?tab=sls

Try our Online Maths Game and see if you can beat our high score!

We have had a bit of a competition in the office to see who could get the highest score on our maths game. Chris our programmer got the highest score of 8.

For this maths game you have to drag the correct answer in to the box. You have 30 seconds to see how many you can get right.

Click on the image below to give it a go and see if you can beat Chris.

Let us know your high score by commenting below.

Good Luck!