Why I love this problem: At first, students usually think it is impossible to beat the tax collector. After some trial and error, they figure out it is possible to beat the tax collector. By this time, they are highly motivated to try and find the best possible set of paychecks and to explore other …
Math Treat
4×4 Magic Sum
Why I Love This: This trick always gets kids excited and you can try it with students as young as 2nd grade. They are surprised that I am able to predict their sum even though that had “free” choice over their numbers. They start wondering if the sum is always the same and I invite them to try it on …