Max's Super Stars

Max Math's Adventure

I pointed to a star and counted "1."

Counting stars would be lots of fun!
I looked up again and counted 2, 3, 4.
It seemed that I was ready for more!
Next came 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.
There were so many, I couldn't stop then!
I counted stars all the way to 20.
But guess what, my friends? There were still plenty.
I was tired of counting each little star —
There are so many, so high and so far!
I said to Ruthie, with a smile on my face,
It's tough to count things in outer space!

Marvelous Math

How fast does a New York taxi go?

What size is grandpa's attic?
How old is the oldest dinosaur?
The answer's in Mathematics!

How many seconds are in an hour?

How many in a day?
What size are the planets in the sky?
How far to the Milky Way?

How fast does lightning travel?

How slow do feathers fall?
How many miles to Istanbul?
Mathematics knows it all!

By: Rebecca Kai Dotlich

That’s Mathematics
by Tom Lehrer

Counting sheep
When you’re trying to sleep,
Being fair
When there's something to share,
 Being neat
When you’re folding a sheet,
That’s mathematics!
When a ball
Bounces off of a wall,
When you cook
From a recipe book,
When you know
How much money do you owe?
That’s mathematics!
How much gold can you hold in an elephant’s ear?
When it's noon on the moon, what time is it here?
If you could count for a year, would you get to infinity,
Or somewhere in that vicinity?
When you choose
How much postage to use,
When you know
What’s the chance it will snow?
When you bet
And you end up in debt,
Oh try as you may,
You just can’t get away
From mathematics!
Andrew Wiles gently smiles,
Does his thing, and voila!
Q.E.D., we agree,
And we all shout hurrah!
As he confirms what Fermat
Jotted down in that margin,
Which could’ve used some enlarging.
Tap your feet,
Keeping time to a beat,
Of a song
While you’re singing along,
Harmonize
With the rest of the guys,
Yes, try as you may,
You just can’t get away
From mathematics!

The interpretation
The stanza which talks about Andrew Wiles is a reference to the proof of Fermat’s last theorem.
which was proposed by Fermat, found in the margin of a book after his death in 1665, and was
finally proven by Andrew Wiles (a mathematician at Princeton) 350 years later, in 1994. Fermat’s
last theorem asserts that x
n+yn=z
n
has no whole number solutions for values of n > 2

A Pi Limerick
There once was a number Pi
Very special like e and phi
Circumference to d
Is the ratio for me
And it's not a multiple of I

Derivatives, Derivatives
By: Denise Fuji McCleary
Derivatives, derivatives
They help us find the rate of change.
Derivatives, derivatives
They’re not that hard, they’re in our range.
The product rule is so much fun
It's one prime plus two prime one
Derivatives, derivatives
They help you find the rate of change.

A Maths Poem
by Andrew N.
Is it a decimal or is it a fraction,
Should I divide or use subtraction?
Can anyone tell me what this shape is?
Do we use a ruler or maybe a tape?
One hundred centimetres make one metre.
How many millilitres are in a litre?
Push the buttons on a calculator,
Teacher shouts 'Use your brains!' - you'll need them later.
Three times six, find the factor,
(But not using a protractor)

Robert Fuller Murray (1863-1894)

The Delights of Mathematics
It seems a hundred years or more
Since I, with note-book, ink and pen,
In cap and gown, first walked the floor
Which I have often walked since then;
Yet well do I remember when
With fifty other fond fanatics,
I sought delights beyond my understanding,
The deep delights of Mathematics.
 I knew that two and two made four,
I felt that five times two were ten,
But, as for all profounder lore,
The robin redbreast or the wren,
The sparrow, whether male or female,
Knew quite as much about Quadratics,
Was less confused by x and n,
The deep delights of Mathematics.
The Asses' Bridge I did not cross,
I floundered in the foul marsh
Which lies behind it and before;
I wandered in the gloomy glen
Where Surds and Factors have their den.
But when I saw the pit of Statics,
I said Good-bye, Farewell, Amen!
The deep delights of Mathematics.
O Bejants! blessed, beardless men,
Who strive with Euclid in your attics,
For worlds I would not taste again
The deep delights of Mathematics.
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Valentine
You disintegrate my differential,
You dislocate my focus.
My pulse goes up like an exponential
whenever you cross my locus.
Without you, sets are null and void --
so won't you be my cardioid?

Circumference and Area

Fiddle de dum, Fiddle de dee,
A ring round the moon is pi times d;
But if you want a hole repaired,
You use the formula Pi r squared.

Math Poem
My mind is turning into scrambled eggs!
What is x and y to the power of three?
Whole numbers, mixed numbers and absolute,
exponents, integers and factoring trees.

Terms, expressions and what is the root?

It all sounds like Greek to me.
 I must write a poem for another class.
I’m running out of time much too fast.
So I’ll talk about digits and my reaction,
while I attempt to work these equations.

Mixed operations in an expression

must be done in the following manner.
Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally
to help me remember the proper order.

Parentheses, exponents, multiplication,

addition or subtraction,
that is the order of proper action
for solving math, numbers and fractions.

With fractions when I multiply

it is best to quickly simplify,
the denominators remain the same
these do not need to change.

If I add or subtract fractions

I must remember it works like this,
each denominator must be the same
then add the top like a list.

Multiply two positives they remain just that.

Two negatives will spoil the batch.
Mixed signs will keep the minus too,
keep this in mind or stay confused.

I wish that I could remember more

But that is as far as I have gotten.
Off to bed I must go,
or tomorrow I will feel rotten.

Algebra One
By Daphne N., Needham, MA

Remember all those rationals and irrationals, the ones we got confused?

I still get them wrong and I am not very amused.

Digits and decimals, too many D's

But wait until we start on those x, y, and z's.

Powers of 10 are expressed by exponents in many ways,

But, remember, there is only one and that is to have them raised.

Counting all those zeros makes me very crazy,

So use that scientific notation and don't be so lazy.

Collections of elements in sets are a breeze.

Elements follow a pattern just like 1, 2, and 3's.

A variable is a symbol like x which has 1 value, not 2.

If you put the right variable in an open sentence, the statement will be true.

Factoring numbers can be such a bore!

But, prime numbers are the best since the factors are only 1 and itself, and nothing more.

Basic axioms of algebra leave you in awe,

But not to understand them is one major flaw.

The most important axiom is the distributive one.

It's the one we used the most, but it wasn't that fun.

Reciprocals are the numbers that always do a flip upside down.

Inverses are very different and in their own special way they turn around.

Numbers and variables are jumbled disorderly,

They are called equations and are solved only algebraically.

Solving inequalities can make you want to die,

But, there are only 3 choices: greater than, less than, or equal to, so there is no need to cry.

Polynomials can leave you in such a disarray,

But, just remember there are coefficients and constant terms and then you will be straightened
out today.
Products of binomials can take you so long to do a few.

But, just skip the steps and use FOIL without a big fuss.

Figuring out ordered pairs can leave you in such a mess.

But, if you remember the x-axis, y-axis, and origin, you'll do them with success.

Systems of linear equations can be solved in 4 different ways.

Substitution, addition method, determinants, and graphing with different rays.

The slope always equals rise over run.

If you remember this you'll always get those problems done.

Quotients of 2 polynomials are called Rational Algebraic Expression.

If you don't reduce them fully they will leave you in a great big depression.

Square roots and cubic roots leave me very puzzled, But the index and radicand leave me
troubled.

Square-free integers can't be broken down anymore.

They are like 2, 3, and 5, but never integers like 16 or 4.

There are many other rules, guidelines and steps to Algebra 1

But, we still have Geometry, Algebra 2, and Analysis to continue the fun!!!