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Summer Sailing Math

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A fun thing to do over the summer is to go out to the bay in SF and go sailing! While the summer sun beats down on you, the brisk wind cools you off. You can sail under the Golden Gate Bridge and get a new perspective of San Francisco from the boat! For your first few days of summer, here are some sailing-themed math problems for you to solve!

1) If the summer wind is 5mph East, how fast do you have to go if you want to sail West at 30mph?

2) You start sailing at 10:30am on a nice summer afternoon, and you want to finish by 2:30pm. If the path you are sailing is 3 miles, how fast do you have to sail to be done in time?

3) The sail of your boat is 10 meters tall, so that it can catch the summer wind, and the Golden Gate Bridge is 227 meters above the water. How much distance is between the top of your sail to the bottom of the Golden Gate Bridge?

For more fun ways to learn math, visit the Mathnasium of Palo Alto – Menlo Park. Don’t forget to come to Mathnasium to brush up on your math so that you don’t get summer brain drain! We have summer problems that are bound to be fun.

Exploratorium Museum Visit for Menlo Park Students

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While it may be hard to explore the outdoors in the winter, the perfect places for Menlo Park students to go is the Exploratorium in San Francisco! It is a great day trip to take with the family during the weekend. The Exploratorium allows everyone to interact with exhibits that deal with science, art and the human perspective. The mission statement of this museum is to change the way the world learns. The Exploratorium is only a train ride away from Menlo Park!

While at the museum, ask your Menlo Park children these math questions to get them even more engaged!

1) If you want to spend an equal amount of time in each of the six galleries, and you have 4 hours to spend with your friends from Menlo Park at the museum, how many minutes should you spend at each gallery?

2) There are 58 people in the Human Behavior gallery; how much do all of there tickets cost together if each ticket is $29?

3) If there’s an average of 1,100,000 visits to the museum annuallly, what is the average number of people per month?

We hope you have fun at the Exploratorium, Menlo Park! For many fun ways to learn math in the Stanford area, visit The Mathnasium of Palo Alto-Menlo Park.

SeaWorld Math Problems for Stanford

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Now that we’re deep in the middle of winter, many of us are dreaming about summer vacation… And during summer vacation, what’s more fun for our Stanford students than going to SeaWorld? While we’re daydreaming about SeaWorld, here are some themed math problems for you to work on!

Math Tutor / Tutoring - Stanford, CA

1. You’re taking a family road trip from Stanford to San Diego (SeaWorld)! If it takes exactly 7 hours to drive there, if the distance between Stanford and San Diego is 478 miles, and if you didn’t take breaks while driving, what was your average speed?

2. At SeaWorld, walruses eat 20 lbs of fish each day. If 1 lb of fish costs $3, how much does it cost to feed 30 walruses?

3. While visiting SeaWorld, you decide to take a side trip to Disneyland in Anaheim. If you spend 2 days at SeaWorld and 2 days at Disneyland, how much do you spend on tickets? Assume that SeaWorld tickets are $60/day, and that Disneyland tickets are $130/day.

4. While watching the Shamu show, you decide to sit in the splash zone with your other Stanford friends. During the show, Shamu splashes 60 gallons of water out of the pool! How many pints of water is that?

We hope that you enjoyed these SeaWorld-themed problems! For many fun ways to learn math in the Stanford area, visit The Mathnasium of Palo Alto-Menlo Park.

 

San Carlos school shopping frenzy!

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Now that school is in full swing, some of you may have realized you are missing some essential school supplies. However, lucky you, now that almost all San Carlos kids are in school (and not shopping for school supplies anymore), many of the items go on sale! Let’s do some exercises to figure out how much you will have to pay for school supplies with the available discounts.

San Carlos school supply math problems

If you head to an office supply store in San Carlos and buy 2 protractors, each cost $3.84, and the sale is a 50% discount on the second item, how much will you pay for both total?

Your entire school shopping list comes out to $52.75, after a 15% discount on all items. what was the cost of the items before the discount?

You buy $14.35 worth of supplies for 10% off, and $42.50 worth of supplies for 25% off. How much do you have to pay for everything total?

If one store in San Carlos offers pencils for a buy one get one 50% off, each pencil costing 75 cents, and another store offers each pencil for 55 cents, which store will be cheaper to purchase 10 pencils at?

 

Here are some possible stores in San Carlos to buy supplies:

office depot san carlos

Morrison school supplies

 

Palo Alto Lawn Bowling Math

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If you are looking for a fun new game to play with friends, look no further than Palo Alto’s Lawn Bowling Club! Never heard of lawn bowling?  No problem, I will explain everything you need to know about this fun game of angles and acrobatics. Then, if you want to try the game yourself, you can head to the courts in Palo Alto and try out your bowling arm.

In order to play the game, you need a jack ( small white ball), and a set of rolling balls. The aim of the game is to roll your team’s balls as close to the jack as possible, especally closer than your opponent’s rolling balls! The balls are weighted to one side, so you have to perfect the angle of the ball, and the aim and strength of your toss in order to get the rolling ball going the direction you desire. Though our bodies may adjust to this automatically, as we adjust to walking upright when carrying something on only one side, we are subconsciously doing complex calculations to keep balance and roll the ball straight towards the jack.

 

As you can see from the picture of people playing the lawn bowling game, sometimes you even have to bend down to keep stable, and to better see which exact angle you are throwing the ball in. Though this game is much different than regular bowling, it requires the same amount of practice and attention to the throwing speed and angle. The best part about it is, you can play lawn bowling outside! And Palo Alto has the perfect climate for this type of outdoor fun. See you on the green!

Want more?  Visit our websiteat  http://www.mathnasium.com/paloalto-menlopark

Possible Math Career: Stanford Researcher!

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When faced with a  challenging math problem, many kids ask “why am I doing this?” or “when I will ever use this?”. A lot of times these questions are dismissed, but the students’ question of “how will learning this help me in the future?” is a very valid point. Well, if your child wants to know of a career that will require mathematical knowledge, look no further than your backyard! Many professors and researchers and even lab technicians working at Stanford use advanced math, and make really cool and useful things using it!

Possible Research Projects that require math

  • Brain modeling. Researching make computer models of brain parts to figure out their functions.
  • Learning robots! At Stanford, researchers are building and testing robots that can learn and make decisions all on their own, using computer science and math.
  • Energy saving technologies. Researchers also use math — algebra, calculus, statistics, etc– to design technologies, such as electric engines and solar powered systems that help reduce our consumption of oil and in turn save the environment.

   

In order to work on all these cool projects, Stanford researchers had to first master all the skills that young math students are learning right now. If you want to work on something cool like this one day, make sure to constantly practice and work on your math skills little by little!

Mathnasium can help. Want more? Make sure to check out our other posts about summer camps around the bay area. In addition to registering for cool camps, don’t forget to leave time for relieving summer “brain drain” at Mathnasium this summer! Visit our websiteat  http://www.mathnasium.com/paloalto-menlopark

 

How does a wave work?

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Here in Redwood City, we live just a few short miles from the beach. The beach is full of sand, sun, fun, and of course, waves! You like to play in the waves, but have you ever wondered how they really work? In fact, all waves work in the same way– whether sound, light, or beach waves– and this fact is just another phenomenon that can be explained by math!

 

In order to truly understand waves inside out, you first need to know the parts of a wave. The crest is the highest part of a wave, while the trough is the lowest. A wavelength is the distance between either two crests or two troughs, and lastly, the height of a wave is the vertical distance between the crest and the trough. Meanwhile, the period is the time it takes for an entire wavelength to pass one stationary point. This means that if you are sitting out in the water, and it takes 6 seconds between the two highest parts of the waves to pass you, the period of this wave is 6 seconds! Next time you head out of Redwood City towards the beach, remember this fact and count it yourself!

The next thing you should know about is the speed of a wave!

Since we already know that speed = distance/ time, we can figure out the wave’s speed! “How?”, you ask, “We don’t know either the distace or the time.” Well, yes we do, but in the form of the wavelength and period. The wavelength is the distance value, and the period is the time value. Therefore, you can also calculate the speed of a wave by using the formula speed = wavelength / period. Just make sure to head out of Redwood City with a measuring tool in hand!

 

 

Want more? Make sure to check out our other posts about summer camps around the bay area. In addition to registering for cool camps, don’t forget to leave time for relieving summer “brain drain” at Mathnasium this summer! Visit our website at  http://www.mathnasium.com/paloalto-menlopark

Valentine’s Day at Mathnasium

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A great opportunity to enjoy time with your child and brush up on their math skills is to celebrate Valentine’s Day with them.

Brief History about Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is celebrated every year on February 14.

There are many different stories that explain how Valentine’s Day came to be. One story is about a priest named St. Valentine who did an amazing and dangerous deed to help others. St. Valentine was a Roman priest who served under Emperor Claudius II. Claudius II outlawed marriage for every man who was serving in his army. St. Valentine was against Claudius II’s decision and decided to marry the soldier’s and their loves secretly. Now, every year, we celebrate Valentine’s Day with our loved one in honor of St. Valentine’s want to spread the love.

Happy Valentine's Day from Palo Alto - Menlo Park Mathnasium

Happy Valentine’s Day from Palo Alto – Menlo Park Mathnasium

Math and Valentine’s Day

Here are some fun ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your child.

  1. Bake some sort of fantastic dessert with your child.
    This is a great way for your child to practice fractions. Look at the measurements of each dry item and ask them to add it. For example, if a recipe calls for 1 1/4 cup of flour, 2 cups of sugar, 1/4 cup of cocoa powder, and 1/8 teaspoon of salt, ask your child to add up all of the measurements to see how many cups of total dry ingredients they need. You can do the same for the liquidy ingredients.
    Along with fractions, baking can help your child with multiplication and determining areas and perimeters of shape. If you are using a rectangular pan, ask your child to calculate the area, perimeter, and volume. You can do the same with a circular pan, just ask them to calculate circumference, area, and volume as well!
  2. Take your child to a nice brunch in order to practice their money skills. Ask them to calculate the total cost of their meal with tax and tip if applicable. If their meal is less than $20, ask them how much change they would get if they paid with a 20 dollar bill. (You can do this with other bills too :))
  3. Make Valentine’s Day cards for your child’s friends! Buy some chocolates and make cards. In each card put two chocolates. Ask your child how many chocolates they need for the number of friends he/she is giving cards to. For example, if I am giving a Valentine’s Day card to 9 friends. I would need 18 chocolates.

We hope you have an awesome Valentine’s Day filled with some math!

For more information about Mathnasium of Palo Alto-Menlo Park and other unique word problems, visit our website at  http://www.mathnasium.com/paloalto-menlopark

 

Alternative to Summer Camp in Palo Alto & Menlo Park

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Summer is quickly approaching, which means it’s time to start thinking about what summer camps to sign your child up for. If you want your child to excel in math and to exceed in their math skills, Palo Alto – Menlo Park Mathnasium’s summer camp is perfect for your child. At Mathnasium’s summer camp we ensure that your child will learn new math skills as well as have fun! We have a wide range of fun, summer related math games for your child to do.

We also have tons of programs to solidify your child’s math skills and to brush up on new materials during the summer camp session. This includes our Master Series which teaches concepts and skills, Power Work Outs, which prepares your child with new information and brushes up on already learned math topics, and Math Game Sessions which teaches your child math skills in a fun way by playing games.

Summer Camp Math

Summer Camp Math

Here are some exciting summer related math problems.

  1. You and a friend are playing in the sand at the beach. You have a bucket that can fill up to 6 cups of sand. If you use a 1/4 of a cup measuring cup to fill up the bucket, how many times will you need to use the measuring cup? What if you use a 1/3 of a cup measuring cup?
  2. Every 30 seconds, there is a huge wave in the ocean. How many huge waves will there be in 30 minutes? How about in an hour? What about in a whole day?
  3. The radius of a beach ball is 6 inches. What is the volume of the beach ball? (Volume = 4/3 * pi *r^3)

We hope to see your child at our summer camp! For more information about Mathnasium of Palo Alto-Menlo Park and other unique word problems, visit our website at  http://www.mathnasium.com/paloalto-menlopark