This article considers steps towards making a numeracy-across-the-curriculum policy. Numeracy means more than the kind of everyday arithmetic a person (a competent independent adult) needs to handle whole number (and simple decimal) calculations; e.g., money, time, and simple measurement. Importantly, aspects of numeracy arise in any everyday task…

Computers have been in schools and indeed some mathematics classrooms for more than 35 years. Some schools have chosen to centralise their computers in laboratories, while others have a mix of configurations and networks. Whatever the case, how extensive has been the classroom use of computers for teaching and learning in mathematics? What has…

This article is about a very small subset of the positive integers. The positive integer N is said to be "perfect" if it is the sum of all its divisors, including 1, but less that N itself. For example, N = 6 is perfect, because the (relevant) divisors are 1, 2 and 3, and 6 = 1 + 2 + 3. On the other hand, N = 12 has divisors 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6, but…

For mathematics teachers who are continually looking for ways in which to engage their students in the learning process, the capabilities offered by technology answer the call. Whether the technology comprises computer based applications or graphics calculators, often boring aspects can be bypassed so that students can work on the "good bits" and…

In the Western Gregorian Calendar, the date of Easter Sunday is defined as the Sunday following the ecclesiastical Full Moon that falls on or next after March 21. While the pattern of dates so defined usually repeats each 19 years, there is a 0.08 day difference between the cycles. More accurately, the system has a period of 70 499 183 lunations…

Reams of paper come in a standardised system of related sheet sizes. Most people are familiar with the international paper sizes A4, A3 and B4, but there are others. The ratio of the sides of any sheet in the series is such that if the paper is cut or folded in half on itself then the ratio of the sides remains unchanged. Due to this property of…

Inference, or decision making, is seen in curriculum documents as the final step in a statistical investigation. For a formal statistical enquiry this may be associated with sophisticated tests involving probability distributions. For young students without the mathematical background to perform such tests, it is still possible to draw informal…

In "Just Perfect: Part 1," the author defined a perfect number N to be one for which the sum of the divisors d (1 less than or equal to d less than N) is N. He gave the first few perfect numbers, starting with those known by the early Greeks. In this article, the author provides an extended list of perfect numbers, with some comments about their…

In recent times there has been considerable commentary regarding the need to enhance mathematical assessment as evidenced by "Numeracy, A Priority for All: Challenges for Australian Schools" (2000). This emphasis on assessment is timely because, although the mathematical reform movement has produced much needed improvements in both curriculum and…

Mathematics is like a language, although technically it is not a natural or informal human language, but a formal, that is, artificially constructed language. Importantly, educators use their natural everyday language to teach the formal language of mathematics. At times, however, instructors encounter problems when the technical words they use,…

Sets of numbers where not only their sums are equal but the sums of other powers are also equal have been called multigrades. This article presents several mathematical equations that portray how multigrades are generated. By further extension of the process outlined in this article, students can generate higher-order multigrades. (Contains 1…

The author's secondary school mathematics students have often reported to her that quadratic relations are one of the most conceptually challenging aspects of the high school curriculum. From her own classroom experiences there seemed to be several aspects to the students' challenges. Many students, even in their early secondary education, have…

This article comes largely from observations made on-the-job while teaching mathematics in a government high school in the ACT. The issues canvassed will be familiar to those who have considered the arguments for and against ability grouping in mathematics education. It is speculative in nature, hinting at a synthesis of opposing views in the…

The transfer of data from one part of a computer to another has always been a complex task in which speed is traded against accuracy and the time required for error correction. Much more complex therefore is the transfer of information from one machine to another of a different type. Difficulties arise when machines are updated, when file formats…

A cube is a solid in three dimensions, with three mutually perpendicular right angles evident at the vertices. In this article, the author describes how to create a four-dimensional cube. Before searching this extra dimension, she first reviews what people know about zero, one, two, and three dimensions, and certain shapes in each of these. She…