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MathXplosion, Ep 17: Develop mathematical mind-reading skills

Amaze your friends with your super mind-reading skills. Here’s a brain game you can play by asking a few questions and substituting letters for numbers! Learn to follow a specific sequence of arithmetical steps to always arrive at the same answer.

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Working out the areas

Do you know how to work out the area of a square, a rectangle or a triangle? Learn the simple maths formulas needed from this video. What would be the area of a rectangle with a height of 5cm and a length of 3cm?

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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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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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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 11: Fun facts about the number seven

Did you know that the digits on opposite faces of dice will always add up to seven? Use dice as fun tools to reinforce fact families of seven, multiples of seven and subtraction skills.

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BTN: What is the GST?

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a tax placed on things people buy with money or things people do for money. Can you name some goods and services that have GST? What about some goods and services that don't have GST? Find out when and why the GST was first introduced.

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Catalyst: Probability and the birthday paradox

Even when a maths problem seems simple – for example, the chance of two people sharing a birthday – the maths can run counter to our human intuition. Mathematician Lily Serna poses a maths problem to the Clovelly Bowling Club: how many people do you need to gather to get a 50 per cent chance of any two people in that group ...

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MathXplosion, Ep 25: Mobius strip twist

Can you make a set of linking rings from one strip of paper? You could if you made a small change to a mobius strip! A mobius strip is a piece of paper with one surface and a half-twist. Take a regular mobius strip and divide it into thirds. As you cut the twisty strip lengthwise into three pieces, something magic happens: ...

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Can We Help Same birthday whats the chance video

Mathematician Adam Spencer answers a question about something called the 'birthday paradox'. Find out what this has to do with birthdays and the number of people in a room.

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ABC News: Mapping a sea voyage: calculating distance

Scientists involved in the Two Bays Project describe data collection methods for their 20-day expedition around Port Phillip and Western Port bays. Watch this clip to view the route mapped out by the scientists. Use Google Maps to recreate the route and calculate the total distance travelled.

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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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MathXplosion, Ep 1: Magic 9s

Follow these simple calculations to illustrate the special properties of the number 9. Pick your favourite number between 1 and 9 and multiply that number by 3. Add 3 to your answer. Multiply the result by 3. Treat your two-digit answer as two separate numbers and add them together. No matter what number you pick to start ...

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Catalyst: Take the Phi Golden challenge

The golden ratio, Phi: fact or fallacy? What about the Fibonacci sequence? We are told this ratio and its cousin Fibonacci occur everywhere in nature. Let's see which of these claims stacks up when put to the test.

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Catalyst: Probability and the gambler's fallacy

Mathematician Lily Serna visits Luna Park to explain a great probability pitfall. She shares a century-old tale from Monte Carlo casino, and then she puts its lesson to the test. If you flip a coin and it lands on heads three times in a row, what result would you predict for the next flip? Find out why intuition might land ...

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Catalyst: Prime numbers and unbreakable codes

Imagine if anyone was able to read all our secret, encrypted messages and information. Watch and find out how scientists at the Australian National University are developing a new encryption system using quantum physics and quantum computing.

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MathXplosion, Ep 20: Crack an ancient Roman code

Decrypt the ancient cipher box used by Julius Caesar over 2,000 years ago! By shifting the alphabet or replacing one letter for another further down the alphabetical sequence, you can crack a coded message. The secret to a cipher is one special piece of shared information, known as a key. This shared key is required for ...

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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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Australian Historical Population Statistics to 2014 - dataset

The dataset provides statistics about the population of Australia in terms of age and sex from 1901 to 2014. It is made available by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The dataset is in MS Excel format.

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TIMES Module 14: Number and Algebra: fractions - teacher guide

This is a 16-page guide for teachers that provides an introduction to fractions. It covers ordering, the four basic arithmetic operations, cancelling, writing in simplest form, the use of the area model for multiplication and the use of the number line for ordering, adding and subtracting. A history of the development of ...