The Flying Colours Maths blog has been running posts twice weekly since 2012, covering maths from the basics to… well, the most advanced stuff I have a clue about.
Here they all are, sorted by date. Some day, other ways to filter them will be possible.
Many moons ago, I looked into the game theory of Minesweeper, and - in particular, what you should do in this situation: I think I got my probabilities wrong there, and want to put that right. If you want to work out the correct move (and associated probabilities), you should read no further than …
Dear Uncle Colin, I have the parametric equations $x = (t+1)^2$ and $y = \frac{1}{2}t^3 + 3$ and the lines $y = 16 - x$ and $x=1$. I need to find the area enclosed by the curve, these two lines and the $x$-axis, but my answer doesn’t agree with the book’s! Can you help? - Frankly I’m Surprised How …
“The Mathematical Ninja is currently on sabbatical. Leave a message after the tone… or else!” Oh dear! How are we going to figure out $e^e$ now? Let alone $e^{-\frac{1}{e}}$? We’ll just have to roll up our sleeves and get our thinking hats on, that’s all. OK, $e^e$ …
In the 71st episode of Wrong, But Useful, we’re joined by @nookiedv, who is Anouk de Vos in real life. We discuss: Number of the podcast: 1729, a fairly uninteresting number. Sums of cubes updates: …
Dear Uncle Colin, I just solved $2\cos^2(4x)=1$ between 0 and $2\pi$ and found four solutions: $\frac{1}{16}\pi$, $\frac{3}{16}\pi$, $\frac{5}{16}\pi$ and $\frac{7}{16}\pi$. The answer scheme says there are sixteen solutions! Where have I gone wrong? Have You Perhaps A Trig Identity Answer? Hi, …
A puzzle via @CmonMattTHINK (Matt Enlow): (I think we may have used this as a @WrongButUseful puzzle). Double roots I set this up as a double roots puzzle: we need to find where $y = mx + c$ and $y = x^4 - x^3$ have two double solutions. Now, I don’t know about you, but I sort of dislike finding …
Dear Uncle Colin, I have a little problem. You see, there’s this bird, A, in its nest at time $t=0$ - the nest is at $(20, -17)$ - and it travels with a velocity of $-6\bi + 7\bj$ (in the appropriate units). But there’s another bird, B, whose nest is at $(-8,9)$ and who travels at $p\bi + 2p\bj$. …
My cunning plan, back last August, was sadly foiled: @christianp refused to rise to the bait. I’d written a post about finding the smallest number such that moving its final digit to the front of the number doubles its value. It turned out, to my surprise, to be 17 digits long. Christian, …
Dear Uncle Colin, I’m told that the graphs of the functions $f(x) = x^3 + (a+b)x^2 + 3x -4$ and $g(x) = (x-3)^3 + 1$ touch - and I need to express $a$ in terms of $b$. Can you help? - Can’t Understand Basic Introductory Calculus Hi, CUBIC, and thanks for your message! I can see two ways to do this. …
I… I… I… *Looks up Ito’s Lemma* *Reaches for bargepole, then doesn’t touch it.* I… I… I… Oh! It says here, there’s a thing called Ivory’s Theorem1! What is Ivory’s Theorem? Despite the main paper I could find about it calling it “the famous Ivory’s Theorem”, it was fairly tricky to pin down a …
Dear Uncle Colin, I need to find the area between the curves $y=16x$, $y= \frac{4}{x}$ and $y=\frac{1}{4}x$, as shown. How would you go about that? Awkward Regions, Exhibit A Hi, AREA, and thanks for your message! As usual, there are several possible approaches here, but I’m going to write up the …
The Mathematical Ninja peered at the problem sheet: Given that $(1+ax)^n = 1 - 12x + 63x^2 + \dots$, find the values of a and n Barked: “$n=-8$ and $a=\frac{3}{2}$.” The student sighed. “I get no marks if I just write down the answer.” Snarled: “You get no scars if you don’t talk back.” “Are you …
Dear Uncle Colin, A seven-digit integer has 870,720 as its last six digits. It is the product of six consecutive even integers. What is the missing first digit? Please Reveal Our Digit! Underlying Calculation Too Hi, PRODUCT, and thanks for your message! There are several approaches to this (as …
Once upon a MathsJam, Barney Maunder-Taylor showed up with a curious object, a wedge with a circular base. Why? Well, if you held a light above it, it cast a circular shadow. From one side, the shadow was an equilateral triangle; along the third axis, a rectangle. A lovely thing. Several challenges …
Dear Uncle Colin, I have to show that $\Pi_1^\infty \frac{(2n+1)^2 - 1}{(2n+1)^2} > \frac{3}{4}$. How would you do that? Partial Results Obtained Don’t Undeniably Create Truth Hi, PRODUCT, and thanks for your message! That’s a messy one. I can see two reasonable approaches: one is to take the …
On a recent MathsJam Shout, an Old Chestnut appeared (in this form, due to @jamestanton): If you’ve not seen it, stop reading here and have a play with it - it’s a classic puzzle for a reason. Below the line are spoilers. Counting is hard The first thing you’d probably try is to draw out the lines …
In this episode, we’re joined by special guest co-host @sophiebays, who is Dr Sophie Carr in real life, and the world’s most interesting mathematician1. We discuss: The Big Internet Math-Off. My favourite pitch wasn’t really in the contest! I also liked Alex’s wobbly table and Anna’s …
Dear Uncle Colin, If $e = \left( 1+ \frac{1}{n} \right)^n$ when $n = \infty$, how come it isn’t 1? Surely $1 + \frac{1}{\infty}$ is just 1? - I’m Not Finding It Natural, It’s Terribly Yucky Hi, INFINITY, and thanks for your message. You have fallen into one of maths’s classic traps: infinity1 is not …
What are they? I thought, until I looked closely, that we had a Hoberman sphere in the children’s toybox. We don’t: we have something closely related to it, though. The Hoberman mechanism comprises a series of pairs of pivoted struts arranged end to end. Each pair looks a little like a pair of …
Dear Uncle Colin, I’ve been struggling with this: “If the surface area of a sphere to cylinder is in the ratio 4:3 and the sphere has a radius of 3a, calculate the radius of the cylinder if the radius if the cylinder is equal to its height.” Can you help? Can You Look Into Necessary Details of …
I love Futility Closet – it’s an incredible collection of interesting bits and pieces, but it has a special place in my heart because they love and appreciate maths. Not only that, they appreciate maths that I find interesting. The internet has many interesting miscellanies, and many …
Dear Uncle Colin, I have to solve $615 + x^2 = 2^y$ for integers $x$ and $y$. I’ve solved it by inspection using Desmos ($x=59$ and $y=12$ is the only solution), but I’d prefer a more analytical solution! Getting Exponent Right Makes An Interesting Noise Hi, GERMAIN, and thanks for your message! My …
Via @markritchings, an excellent logs problem: If $a = \log_{14}(7)$ and $b = \log_{14}(5)$, find $\log_{35}(28)$ in terms of $a$ and $b$. One of the reasons I like this puzzle is that I did it a somewhat brutal way, and once I had the answer, a much neater way jumped out at me. The brutal way …
In this episode, we’re joined by @christianp, who is Christian Lawson-Perfect in real life, our first returning special guest co-host1. We discuss: The Big Internet Math Off and associated stickerbook 99 variations on a proof by Philip Ording The Art of Statistics - Learning from Data by David …
Dear Uncle Colin, How would you write $\frac{1}{10}$ in binary? Binary Is Totally Stupid Hi, BITS, and thanks for your message! I have two ways to deal with this: the standard, long-division sort of method, and a much nicer geometric series approach. Long division-esque While I can do the long …
Here’s a tweet from @colinthemathmo: I’m not big on origami, but if Colin thinks it’s an interesting puzzle… (I’m going to make the unstated assumption that the bottom-left corner of the square is at (0,0) and that the side-length is 1.) There are, as always, several ways to tackle it. Circular …
Dear Uncle Colin, I lost the first game of my Big Internet Math-Off tournament - can I still win the group and qualify for the semi-finals? - Surely Combinations Of Talent, Luck And Nous Deliver? Hi, SCOTLAND, and thanks for your message! Because the tie-break rules aren’t currently clear, I can’t …
As a loyal listener to More or Less, my first thought here is, “is that a big number?” And as a proud geek, my second thought is, let’s model it! How many children are middle children? Let’s suppose that the cliche of 2.4 children is reasonable, and that the number of children in a famliy follows a …
A quick extra post today: I’m in the Big Internet Math-Off, which decides who will become the World’s Most Interesting Mathematician of 2019. My first group match is today, against @kyledevans, and I’ve done a video for it! Go over to the Ap’, have a look at the pitches, and vote for the one you …
Dear Uncle Colin, If I know that $a+b+c = 0$, how can I show that $(2a-b)^3 + (2b-c)^3 + (2c-a)^3 = 3(2a-b)(2b-c)(2c-a)$? - Something You Might Merrily Explain? Thanks! Regards! Yippee! Hi, SYMMETRY, and thanks for your message! As usual, there are myriad ways to attack this, of which I can see two …