October Tidbit special: Free shipping on any kit. Use promo code FREEJANE. Expires October 31, 2014.
Your October 2014
ShillerLearning Tidbit
Why math study is a good investment
Thinking ahead to when your children graduate from college?
That's a smart plan: A recent survey says jobs with a focus on engineering, computer science, math, and physics - jobs directly related to math - comprise eight of the ten highest paying jobs for college grads.
But wait. Does that mean that your children should learn math simply so they can earn more money? Is that the value system we wish to impart to the next generation?
Not to worry: It's the other way around. That is, by and large in our society, people earn more when they have more value. And when people earn more (up to a certain point, anyway, which is a fascinating topic for a future Tidbit), they generally live longer and have more enriching lives.
Wow. Who knew that learning and loving math could increase your life span and quality of life? Math could just be the new wonder drug!
October 2014 Puzzler [Grades 7-9]
Provide the correct answer by October 25, 2014 to be this month's puzzler winner.
At ShillerLearning our elevator has only two buttons: 8u and 11d. Press the 8u button and you go up 8 floors. Press the 11d button and you go down 11 floors. Say you were on the 3rd floor. You couldn't go down because the 1st floor is as low as you can go. You could only press the 8u button to take you to the 11th floor. It's possible to enter the elevator at the 1st floor, visit each floor exactly once, and return back to the 1st floor. But if our building had one floor less this wouldn't be possible. ShillerLearning has how many floors? Your answer should include the floor numbers you'd visit in order - and why one fewer floor would make it impossible.
Previous Puzzler [Grades 4-6]
Chris lives on the ninth floor of a building. There are 12 stairs between two connecting floors. The elevator is broken. How many stairs does Chris have to climb to reach the ninth floor, starting from the first floor?
To get from floor one to floor nine requires climbing eight floors. 8x12=96.
I hope you enjoyed this short math break.
Sincerely,
Larry Shiller
Publisher
October Tidbit special: Free shipping on any kit. Use promo code FREEJANE. Expires October 31, 2014. Only at shillerlearning.com.
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