a middle school math/history quest

A Middle SchoolMath/History Quest

By Dea JonesSummit Parkway Middle School

Columbia, SC

dejones@richland2.org

• Encourage active engagement• Promote collaboration • Promote school as community• Encourage research and extension• Encourage “thinking outside the box”

Why?

Common Core State Standards; Standards for Mathematical Practice:

Students should:• Make sense of problems and persevere in

solving them.• Reason abstractly and quantitatively.• Use appropriate tools strategically

A Mathematical Quest 

Should you choose to take this challenge,You’ll work hard, to be sure.

There are riddles, codes, and puzzlesYou’ll have to endure.

 A puzzle leads to a clue master,Who will guide you with a clue.

All the clues point to a mathematician,And you must tell me who.

Continued…Complete the clue sheet.

Find the importance of each.Then make a presentation,

In order to teach. 

So...prepare to be challengedSharpen your mind like a sword!

For those who complete this treasure hunt... 

There waits a BIG reward!

continued

One little hint….it’s a secret,Shhhhhhhh...don’t tell!

This little web siteMight help you as well:

http://www.nsa.gov/kids/•  

A clue…Clue #1

Here is all you need to do.First, solve the sudoku.

If this puzzle you dare enterLook at the panel bottom center

Read diagonal increasing left to rightThree little numbers are in your sight

It’s not as hard as it might appearThe numbers form an important year

1 7 6 3

8 6 7

4 1 5 7 2

6 5 4 3 2

7 3 6 4

8 6 1 5 9

8 2 9 4

8 5 2

3 6 9 7

Another…

Clue #2

Here’s the next clue. It totally rocks!

To figure out this one,Explore CAESAR’S BOX.

S D L Y X A T A I I A E U T B N N G D T R A D Y I H A L R P E E R E I T

And another…Clue #4

Three important PEOPLELie in wait for you to find

Get your brain juices flowing,put code-breaking on your mind.

Listen carefully lest you be cursed!Let the 19TH letter be the first!

13 26 9 2 23 1 2 16 13 22 13 1

24 16 17 12 17 9 1

11 23 22 23 22

Just one more…Clue #7

How many grains of sand Would fill in the universe?

This question might be a challenge.Or maybe it’s really a curse!

To find the next clue, beware!The word is carefully hid.

You’ll need to explore and practice a littleWith a cipher called POLYBIUS GRID.

44 11 34 14 43 15 13 31 35 34 15 43

How?

1. Choose a mathematician/scientist- someone who interests you.

2. Research and choose 8 facts (dates, places, people, interesting tidbits)

3. Create clues using puzzles and codes.4. Distribute puzzles to school personnel and give them

passwords.5. Introduce the project. Have students research and figure

out all the clues and their significance.6. Set due date (allow for collaboration and research,

presentation design, etc.)

1. Choose a Person…

Albert Einstein

Emmy Noether

Srinivasa Ramanijan

This year: Neil deGrasse Tyson!

2. Research 8 Facts…• Dates…• Accomplishments…• People…• Places…• Important tidbits…

3. Create clues using puzzles and codes…

Dates…Are you ready to quit?

Don’t stop now, you can do it!Here’s the next clue.Step up and go to it!

Mayan numbers are cool, You’ll soon discover,If this important DATEYou hope to uncover!

MCMXIX

You’re almost there,Don’t give up, keep on trying!

Else others will reapWhile you sit crying!Here’s the last clue,

An important YEAR you must findTo figure this one out

Let ROMAN NUMERALS fill your mind!Why is this year important?

One more challenge to beat…Just like the adversity she faced

To live her life complete!

Oh Smart one, so eagerFor your quest to start,

You’ve crossed the first obstacle,So perk up and take heart!The first clue’s a challenge.

An important DATE awaits youExplore BINARY NUMBERS

To uncover this clue.

1100 / 10110 / 11101011111

You’ve met every challengeThrown at you so farDo you think you can finish?Are your skills up to par?This brain tickler is wicked,And vicious, it’s true.Study EGYPTIAN NUMBERSto discover this clue.An IMPORTANT DATEIs what you seek.So be bold! Be brave!No time to be meek!

Here is all you need to do.First, solve the sudoku.

Then, if this puzzle you dare enterLook at the panel in the center.

Don’t count the number in the center exact

Proceed with caution and carefully act.

Look center top, center bottom, Center right, and center left, my dear

This is how you’ll find a very important year

7 1 3 8

4 7 9 2

5 8 7 1 3 6

2 3 7

1 6 8

6 7 5 8 1

3 8 1 5 6 9

2 4 7 5

5 3 2 1

People, Places, Things…The first clue made your brain hurtBut your troubles have just started.

Just stay fully focused And don’t get down-hearted!To a very important PLACE

This next clue will lead.CAESAR’S CIPHER you must practice

And you’ll be smart indeed.It’s not that hard,

But for a key you will thirstThis might be helpful …Make the 14th letter first!

18 5 2 17 18, 7 14 26 22 25 1 14 17 8

To find this place, look across the sea to “the boot”.The island it kicks is a start

An ancient Greek city thrived here long agoWith a powerful HIERO at its heart.

Your clue is the nameof this ancient city so fairFind postal code 96100

… if you dare!

Intrepid cryptographer,Here is your clue.It’s a place where a personGives education its due.Ivy is its league Its halls are for learning,Over many a year, It calls out with yearning.There’s royalty in its nameIt’s motto you can betIn an ancient language written“Dei sub numine viget”

Descartes had it rightWhen he spotted that fly!

We needed a system To help us to spy.

“Where is this place on earth?”,You may ask with dismay.

Use these numbers to Help you find your way

46° 57’ N 7° 27’ E

So you’ve not given up?You continue your quest.Here’s a new type of codeGive it a shot, do your best!The mystery person had a NICKNAMEIt’s your job to uncover it.Use ONE PIG”S PENIf you dare to discover it.

Ah, you’ve come back for more,How quaint!

If you’re wanting an easy oneThis ain’t!

Here’s a code breaker’s nightmareFor you.

It’s a challenge even for a genius To do!

Find an important PLACEStudy WINDING WAYS

Important keys you need to surviveAre DIAGONAL and SIX BY FIVE.

Here’s another hint,( if you must peek)It is one of the seven sisters that you seek!

B Y A O E N R M C G E L N R E P Y N W L N S A A L I N V A X

You’ve come so far,2 challenges you’ve won.This test is even tougher

You may wish you’d never begun!Find a PERSON, a PLACE, and a THING

Using a code you’ve never seenStudy all you can about POLYBIUS GRIDS

Find the clues…and what they mean!

22 23 23 11 43 14 55

1311 33 12 43 24 14 22 15

45 11 54 24 13 11 12

Accomplishments…You are pretty good

At this code breaking stuff.But don’t get too cocky

Up to now, it’s all been fluff.A serious cryptographer Can do this, of course!

To find the GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENTSpend time learning Morse!

-../../…/-.-./---/…-/./.-././-..//.-//..-./---/.-./--/..-/.-../.-//..-./---/.-.//..-./../-./-../../-./--.//

-/…././/./-..-/.-/-.-./-//-./..-/--/-…/./.-.//---/..-.//.--./.-/.-./-/../-/../---/-./…//..-./---/.-.//.-/-./-.--//

.--./---/…/../-/../…-/.//../-./-/./--././.-.//

This next clue’s a tough oneBut you can solve it if you try

Learn about her CONTRIBUTION, (What she did and why).

Oh, code-breaking maniac,So nervous and so tense,

You’ll need to exploreCiphers called RAIL FENCE!

A S R C A G B A B T A T L E R

Are you ready for a clue?This one’s a real teaser!To unlock the puzzle,Study BOXES by CAESAR!

HAINIEISNCMLSWFEMKIELDAADRUBNNEEEYUT

Throw in Something Obscure!

Have you given up yet?Hold on! One more clue!

Let’s give this mathematician’sInspiration its due.To solve this puzzle

Find your way through the maze.Don’t let the dead endings

Leave you in a daze!Pick up the letters

As you enter the right sectionsThe word they spell

Will guide your DIRECTION

Start Finish

• Taxicab…

• Pluto…

Distribute the clues to the cluemasters…

Cluemasters…2

The leader of the 8thIs who you should find

The password is “Pythagoras”He’s got the clue, so be kind!

4He’s the BIG KAHUNA,

The one in chargeThe password is “Euler”For a clue that is large!

6She works in Math AND scienceMaking rockets and a tv show

The password is “Newton”For a clue you should know.

Introduce the Quest…

Final InstructionsFor the mathematical quest

Make a presentation!It’s easy to do.

Include pictures, Info from the clues,

And a famous quote, too!Tell about this person’s mathematical contribution

Why is his/her work an institution?Congratulations! You’ve accomplished a great deal!

Me personally, I’m exhausted, If you had to rhyme like this,

How would you feel?

But seriously, though,Always remember this, do.Math can be a challenge,

For me and for youMake it a fun thing, don’t let it scare.

Because you can’t escape itMath is EVERYWHERE!!!

Are you impressed with my rhyming? I rhyme with great clout!

All I have to say is Dr. Seuss, eat your heart out!

Accommodations/Differentiation

• Students could work alone or with a partner• Students without computer access were given

time in class to search online at school• Students had two complete class periods to work

on the computer presentation with their partner.• Students used fair trade opportunity• Creativity encouraged in presentations

Implications…• Interesting observations:

• Students were eager to work together!• Students were in need of validation• Students were captivated by the clues and the puzzles

• Positive Outcomes:• Powerful class discussions about jobs that use code breaking

and computers, ancient historical places and people, and even tombstones!

• Excellent collaborative work• Great school community build up• Students attained a deeper understanding of a famous

mathematician as a person, warts and all• Students were able to take dry math facts and put a human

face to them.

Conclusions…• Over 90% of the students liked this project best of

all.

• Learning the history behind the math helped the students understand that math is a human endeavor. It is a quest for the truth and a need to make sense of our natural world. It is done by people just like them who find our world a fascinating place with many unexplored and undiscovered possibilities.

Would you like the answers?...

Clue #1

287 b.c.The year of Archimedes’s birth

Clue #2“Studied at the library in Alexandria Egypt”

Archimedes studied here with followers of Euclid

Clue #4

• Eratosthenes- a close friend and the librarian at Alexandria

• Phidias-an astronomer who was the father of Archimedes

• Conon (of Samos) - a Greek mathematician and astronomer who was also a close friend of Archimedes

Clue #7Sandreckoner

The title of a book written by Archimedes that tries to mathematically calculate the number of

grains of sand it would take to fill the universe. In it he creates a system of large

numbers

Questions?Comments?

Try it out! Email me!!!

Dea JonesSummit Parkway Middle School

dejones@richland2.org