Height Equation
N ot a day of my teaching career has gone by without at least one student asking me how tall I am.
Early on, I decided to use this curiosity as an opportunity to further student learning.
As a result, I put together the following math riddle.
I'm exactly this tall...
Notes:
Ⅰ: the dividend(numerator) is in hexadecimal and must be converted to decimal
Ⅱ: the divisor(denominator) is in binary and must be converted to decimal
Solving the above formula requires knowledge of the following mathematical concepts:
- Addition
- Subtraction
- Multiplication
- Division
- Conversion from inches to feet
- Order of Operations
- Exponents
- 𝛑
- Binary
- Hexadecimal
Aside from binary and hexadecimal, middle school students are expected to know all the other concepts necessary for solving this problem. If you happen to be one of my students, don't despair: while you may never have learned binary or hexadecimal before, these concepts aren't half as scary as they sound. There are all sorts of internet resources for learning about both binary and hexadecimal.
The secret to solving most math problems — as with many things in life — is to have the courage and determination to try. None of the students who solved this problem knew how to do it immediately. The difference between them and every other students is that, while other students would get intimidated and think that they just couldn't do it, these students decided that — whether they had to ask for help or research these concepts on their own — they were going to solve this problem.
Good Luck and Happy Mathing!
