The teacher in Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith's Math Curse (1995 Viking Press) planted the seed for a profound idea with her simple statement: “You know, almost everything in life can be considered a math problem.” This is a true statement, as students will soon discover with this set of math problems about the number 9.
Lynn Columba, hlc0@lehigh.edu, teaches in Lehigh University's Department of Education and Human Services in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Find detailed submission guidelines for all TCM departments at www.nctm.org/tcmdepartments.