Math Trivia
This famous English mathematician is often credited as the inventor of calculus also had a deep interest in alchemy, spending many years of his life conducting secret experiments in the hope of discovering the fabled Philosopher’s Stone.
Sir Issac Newton
What is 3/5 + 2/7?
31/35
Isabella got 16 out of 40 questions wrong on her quiz. What percent did she get correct?
16/40 = 40%
This means she got 60% correct.
Determine the constant of proportionality given y = -72 and x = 9
k = -8
Mr. Turner had two major surgeries - ACL reconstruction and facial reconstruction. From the two surgeries, how many pieces of metal does he have in his body?
19 (16 screws and 3 plates)
What is the smallest prime number?
2
-4 + 10
6
Fully simplify 38/72
Divide both the numerator and denominator by 2...
19/36
Given the equation y = 5x, determine the constant of proportionality
5
What is the world record for the longest amount of time someone has held their breath underwater? (must be within 1 minute)
24 minutes 37 seconds
List your multiples of 12 through 144 in under 10 seconds
12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, 108, 120, 132, 144
Solve for x.
x + 1 = 0
x = -1
Determine the product of 2/9 and 3/4. Simplify your answer.
6/36 = 1/6
Write an equation that represents a proportional relationship that intersects the point (3,12)
k = y/x = 12/3 = 4
y = 4x
What colors are the Olympic rings?
Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, and Black
During the math competition scene in the movie “Mean Girls,” the answer to the calculus problem “what is the limit as x approaches zero of [ln(1-x)-sinx]/(1-cos²x)” is this.
"The limit does not exist"
Allison went to ask her teacher for help. Allison has red hair, blue eyes, and a pink dress on. She is 5ft 2 inches tall. She is 9 years old and in 4th grade. She lives in the state of Arizona. She asks her teacher "If I have one apple and my friend has two apples, how many apples do we have together?"
3 apples
A recipe calls for 3/4 cup of sugar for one batch of cookies. Mia wants to make 2 1/2 batches of cookies.
How many cups of sugar will she need in all?
3/4 x 5/2 = 15/8
15/8 = 1 7/8
A cheetah can reach speeds of up to 440 feet in just 4 seconds. Determine the unit rate per second.
440 / 4 = 110
110 feet per second
What was the first toy advertised on television?
Mr. Potato Head
In which 1993 movie did Jeff Goldblum play Dr. Ian Malcom, a mathematician who specialized in chaos theory.
Jurassic Park
A school is collecting canned food for a community drive. On Monday, students collected 128 3/4 cans of food. On Tuesday, they collected 96 5/8 cans.
How many cans of food did the students collect altogether?
128 3/4 + 96 5/8 = (126 + 96) + (3/4 + 5/8)
126 + 96 = 224
3/4 + 5/8 = 6/8 + 5/8 = 11/8 = 1 3/8
224 + 1 3/8 = 225 3/8
A hiking trail is 5 1/4 miles long. Jake has already walked 2 2/3 miles.
How many miles does Jake still need to walk to finish the trail? Write your answer in simplest formm
5 1/4 - 2 2/3 = 21/4 - 8/3
21/4 - 8/3 = 63/12 - 32/12
63/12 - 32/12 = 31/12
31/12 = 2 7/12
What letter represents constant of proportionality?
k
In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, what were the two feuding families?
Montagues and Capulets