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�Your April 2013�
ShillerLearning Tidbit
�USA #1 in math?
�It is in Romania!
According to recent�PISA�and�TIMSS�studies, the USA is not doing very well in math education.
But don't tell that to the American team that just competed in the 6th Romanian Master in Mathematics (RMM) in Bucharest, Romania.
They won! Just take a look at the�day one problems�- not trivial!
Maybe there's hope for the USA still. Congratulations to USA gold medal winners Mark Selke, David Stoner, James Tao, and Andre Arslan, all in high school. We're all counting (well, you know what I mean) on you to do great things with your math talent.
They (Romanians) said it
I don't run away from a challenge because I am afraid. Instead, I run toward it because the only way to escape fear is to trample it beneath your feet.�Nadia Comaneci
You cannot be anything if you want to be everything.�Solomon Schecter
I haven't reported my missing credit card to the police because whoever stole it is spending less than my wife.�Ilie Nastase
April 2013 Puzzler�[Grades 10-12]
Why is it true that a number whose digits sum to a multiple of 3 will also be divisible by 3 (and vice versa)?
Provide the correct answer by April 25, 2013�to be this month's puzzler winner.
Answer to previous Puzzler�[Grades 4-6]
Divide each of these by 3: a) 111; b) 111,111; and c) 111,111,111. What do you guess 111,111,111,111 / 3 equals?
Solution:�Boy it's a good thing all those numbers are multiples of 3! Whether by hand, calculator or cogitation, the pattern is clear: a) 37; b) 37,037; c) 37,037,037. When you multiple the dividend (say, 111) by 1,000 and add 111 [which is how the question went from a) to b) to c)], and then divide by three, you'll get the old answer times 1,000 plus 37. For example: 37 x 1,000 + 37 = 37,037. So the answer is 37,037,037 x 1,000 + 37 = 37,037,037,037.
I hope you enjoyed this short math break.
Sincerely,
Larry Shiller
Publisher
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� Larry Shiller. All Rights Reserved.