Paul referenced the special features on the Bender’s Game DVD, and the guys talked about a number of math-specific inside jokes.

Presented below are some links which highlight and build upon the math in Futurama that Paul and the guys discussed.

• Dr. Sarah’s Futurama Math – http://mathsci2.appstate.edu/~sjg/futurama/
• List of Mathematical References on Futurama – http://theinfosphere.org/List_of_mathematics_references
• Got Futurama – http://www.gotfuturama.com/

1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1-1+1+1+1+1+1+1×0 =?

As of noon PST on Tuesday June 14, the correct answer was NOt the most popular answer.

781,143 people believe the expression is equal to 0.

[These people are forgetting their order of operations. The 0 is multiplied by the final 1 and this takes place before any addition or subtraction.]

185,218 people belive the expression is equal to 16.

[These people are simply being careless and not noticing that there is a minus sign mixed in with the addition signs.]

34,805 people believe the expression is equal to 17.

[We can only assume these people miscounted the number of ones or counted all the digits. Either way, the answer is wrong.]

Only 663,922 people (barely 40% of the sample) would make their math teachers proud because they recognize the correct answer to be 14.

The most troubling part to us is the fact that the question is treated as an opinion problem as opposed to having a single correct answer.

• 8 of the 9 parents said they feel they cannot help their child with their homework
• 0 of the 9 parents said they looked through their child’s math notebooks at least once a week

This troubles us to no end.

If your child is in an Algebra 1, Geometry, or Algebra 2 class, then they should have both a textbook and a set of class notes designed to illustrate how to solve homewok problems. Not to mention that the topics students learn in each of the three courses are progressive and build upon previously learned material, so any child who needs help on Day Q, should have an understanding of days A – P and those resources to help parents understand well enough to make a reasonable attempt at helping with homework. If this is not true, then the issue was allowed to fester too long.

We will run our unScientific study of parent conference comments in the coming weeks, but we will tease that “I can’t help my child with their homework anymore” and “I was never good in [Subject]” topped the list for high school instructors.

We are not suggesting that every adult needs to be at the top of their game in high school mathematics for the rest of their lives; however, they should certainly be able to read the child’s notes and skim the textbook and get the gist of it. Alas, none of the parents we surveyed regularly looked through their child’s math notebooks. As one staffer at J2 Content puts it “A notebook should read like a textbook. Teachers create lesson narratives that students are to either copy verbatim or take notes from. They are creating a resource. If a student cannot open to any page in their notebooks and explain to anyone [especially their parents] what is being illustrated there and describe the concept, then the child is not being an active participant in their education and that issue should be addressed immediately by the parent and teacher.”

What were your experiences with parents helping or being unable to help children with high school mathematics? Please share your thoughts below.

Click to Enlarge

This image is one of three quizzes asking you to figure out movie titles expressed as math pictograms among the comics at spikedmath.com.

The other quizzes can be accessed by clicking these links: Quiz 2 Quiz 3.

If you aren’t already familiar with the site, Spikedmath.com hosts regularly updated math themed comics and is well worth your time exploring.

While these quizzes or and the math comics may not be grade-level appropriate, you should be able to find at least a few to use as examples of the clever way mathematics is used and to inspire your students/children to develop similar projects: creating their own math-themed comics or pictograms of song titles, TV shows, common phrases.

This artwork was designed by “art101″ and sold on a t-shirt at http://shirt.woot.com back in 2010.  Unfortunately, the shirt is no longer available to purchase; however, the image remains an interesting way to introduce, explore, or revisit the concept of order of operations with your child(ren).

Novelty t-shirt sites are often home to imaginative ways of re-expressing ideas educators and parents wish to emphasize. Consider this Venn Diagram design from snorgtees.com,

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There are many sites where you will find novelty t-shirts with clever puns and witty representations of concepts that children are learning. We do not endorse or have an affiliation with any of these sites or artists. Our intent is soley to bring to your attention the existence of this artwork.

[Please be advised: the links in this post will take you to images that ARE appropriate for all ages. However, if you explore other parts of the snorgtees or shirt.woot sites you MAY encounter a few designs with Spencers'-style suggestive humor which some people may consider inappropriate for younger children.]