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MathXplosion, Ep 39: Area vs perimeter

Want to know the trick to making a really big fort? Using cushions to build a fort, explore the concept of finding the largest area for a fixed perimeter. Surprisingly, there is no direct relationship between the perimeter of a rectangle and its area.

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Catalyst: Magical maths

At first glance, maths and magic might not appear to have much in common, but did you know that you can use maths and logic to come up with solutions to problems that can seem magical? Learn one such maths trick in this video from ABC Catalyst. What is the probability of the letter not being 'e'?

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Mixed Up Maths, Ep 3: What's in a year?

You may know of the four seasons. In the southern parts of Australia the year is often divided up into spring, summer, autumn and winter. But what about other parts of Australia? Find out what seasons they have in northern Australia. See how the year is divided into months and shown as a calendar. You'll also see how many ...

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For the Juniors: Measure ingredients to make a cake

Sarah is following a recipe. There are some different units of measure used in the recipe. Watch the video to see what these measurement words are. How much of each ingredient is needed? How are the ingredients combined to make the cake?

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What skills are important for programming robots?

Listen as David McKinnon from UNSW describes some of the skills that are useful to have if you want to program robots. David explains an activity that exercises problem solving skills. Why don't you try doing it? Look at a map and find some towns that are close to yours. Use the scale on the map to work out the distances ...

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Fractions in the real world

How many quarters make up a whole? Watch this video to find out how else you can represent 2/4 and how to add up quarters to make a whole.

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MathXplosion, Ep 38: How to tell time using a sundial

Find out how to tell the time without a clock! A sundial uses the position of the sun to indicate the time. Typically, a stick (gnomon) casts a shadow upon a plane or surface that has markings, which indicate the time by the position of the shadow. See if you can create a sundial of your own.

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MathXplosion, Ep 50: How to use a tetrahedron to solve the tree problem

How can you place four trees exactly the same distance apart from one other? By making a model! By using miniature trees to make a model of the problem, it becomes clear that a 2D solution is impossible. We learn how objects can help us visualise the problem situation, which in this case requires a 3D solution: a tetrahedron.

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Modelling climate changes

There is a saying: 'climate is what you expect and weather is what you get'. |Understanding climate change is very difficult for most people, especially when the weather we experience is different from the information we are given by scientists about the climate changing. The difference is that weather reflects short-term ...

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Mixed Up Maths, Ep 7: Daredevil geometry

What does a daredevil jumps rider need to know about geometry? Find out as we discover angles for take off and for landing. But before we do that sit down for some angles basics! A good place to start is angles of turn through a circle from a 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, all the way to one full turn. See how many each represents as an angle.

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Mixed Up Maths, Ep 13: Shapes glorious shapes

Did you know that not all pyramids have a square base? Investigate the bases and faces of some pyramids. Travel around the world as we view some famous structures. First stop, we're in search of a building that is a rectangular prism. Find out which world famous building is a pentagonal prism. See what type of 3 dimensional ...

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Spiral away with Fibonacci

Do you know the Fibonacci sequence? Learn how to draw a cool spiral as Vi Hart shows you an easy way. See how a spiral is an example of Fibonacci numbers. Vi shows examples of spirals from nature. You might be surprised at some of her examples! This is the first in a series.

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Maths inside bees and beehives

Bees are necessary for assisting many plants to produce the food we eat, including meat and milk. Colony collapse disorder, which describes the disappearance of beehives, could have catastrophic effects on food production. Australian scientists are applying their maths and science knowledge to build up a picture of a healthy ...

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MathXplosion, Ep 8: Birthday probability

What is the probability there are at least two people in your class who have the same birthday? If you have at least 23 people in your class, the chances are good. Find out the maths behind this theory.

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BTN: How many time zones are there in Australia?

Did you know that we have three time zones in Australia? This means that when it's 8am in Western Australia, it's 10am in Queensland and 9.30am in South Australia! Watch this clip to find out why we have different time zones and why South Australia is thinking about changing its time zone.

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Types of triangles

What is the difference between equilateral, isosceles and scalene triangles? See if you can find and classify triangles based on the definitions given in this maths video.

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What Are the Chances?

Do you know what chance is? It's the probability or the likelihood of something happening. Watch this video as Grace explains the probability of picking a red marble out of a bowl. What's the probability of picking a green marble?

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Mixed Up Maths, Ep 4: Late again!

Ever missed an appointment because you misread a timetable? Well it is easily done if you don't know how to read 24 hour time. In this clip, see how to read 24 hour time and find out where it is commonly used. Look at the other time system used -12 hour time. Find out what those letters 'am' and 'pm' really mean! Compare ...

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Mixed Up Maths, Ep 12: Super Cyril's circus supplies

Do you know how to draw up a budget? Find out how it's done. In our example our host is throwing a circus party and has $100 to spend. See how he plans to spend the money. Throw in a few discounts of 10% and 50% and look what he can afford. Does he mange to stick to his budget?

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A mini chemistry set in a stick

Do you know how glowsticks work? Watch this clip and discover the chemical reaction that takes place when you snap a glowstick and release the reactants. Find out about chemiluminescence in nature, when scientists first created glowing sticks and the chemical equation that describes the reaction. Can you guess which glowstick ...