As part of the celebrations for Global Math Week 2019, my video on how to use simple probability to improve your chances of winning at the board game Monopoly has been featured as a ‘Random Act of Mathematical Delight’. Check out the other amazing contributors via the Global Math Project website.
How can you show geometrically that 3 < π < 4?
Approximating Pi was a favourite pastime of many ancient mathematicians, none more so than Archimedes. Using his polygon approximation method we can get whole number bounds of 3 and 4 for the universal constant, with only high-school level geometry.
This is the latest question in the I Love Mathematics series where I answer the questions sent in and voted for by YOU. To vote for the next question that you want answered next remember to ‘like’ my Facebook page here.
What is the graph of x to the power x?
The answer to the latest question sent in and voted for by YOU.
A tricky question, but one that we can answer by breaking the problem down into simpler cases, solving them, and then putting it all back together. This question is also a favourite with university admissions tutors…
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How many ping pong balls would it take to lift the Titanic from the ocean floor?
The answer to the latest question sent in and voted for by YOU.
Lifting the Titanic with ping pong balls was a real suggestion put forward in the 1970’s that needless to say did not happen. Let’s pretend it is possible and work out how many we would need using Archimedes Principle…
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What is the Gamma Function?
The answer to the latest question sent in and voted for by YOU!
We’ve got probability distributions, complex analysis and of course Pi (because it appears everywhere)… I give you the Gamma Function.
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How does Modular Arithmetic work?
The latest question sent in and voted for by YOU!
Modular arithmetic might sound complicated, but most of us are using it everyday without even realising…
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What are the most basic Mathematical Axioms?
The latest video answering the maths questions that YOU have selected.
I present ten rules that form the basis of all of maths as we know it…
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What is the best way to win at the board game Monopoly?
Question number 4 sent in and voted for by YOU… enjoy!
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What is the gravitational field of a hollow Earth?
Question number 3 sent in and voted for by YOU… enjoy!
How would gravity behave if the Earth had a hollow centre? Using Gauss’s Flux Theorem we can work out the answer…
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