A famous math problem that has vexed mathematicians for decades has met an elegant solution by Cornell University researchers. Graduate student Yash Lodha, working with Justin Moore, professor of ...

Here’s a simple-sounding problem: Imagine a circular fence that encloses one acre of grass. If you tie a goat to the inside of the fence, how long a rope do you need to allow the animal access to ...

This is an updated version of a story first published on May 5, 2024. For many high school students returning to class, it may seem like geometry and trigonometry were created by the Greeks as a form ...

You can probably think of a time when you’ve used math to solve an everyday problem, such as calculating a tip at a restaurant or determining the square footage of a room. But what role does math play ...

Looking for some math problem-solving activities for middle school? Good, you’re at the right page then. Right before children enter Middle School (around the age of 11 or 12), they enter a critical ...

Introducing new math concepts via already-worked examples can give students a significant boost in learning. But choosing the right problems makes a big difference. An analysis earlier this year of ...

Katie has a PhD in maths, specializing in the intersection of dynamical systems and number theory. She reports on topics from maths and history to society and animals. Katie has a PhD in maths, ...

For all of the recent strides we’ve made in the math world—like a supercomputer finally solving the Sum of Three Cubes problem that puzzled mathematicians for 65 years—we’re forever crunching ...

Math offers us lots of problem-solving techniques that help us distill the essence of questions. Many of us will be familiar with reading a math problem, and needing to figure out what's being asked, ...

A set of guidelines adopted by 45 states this year may turn children into "little mathematicians" who don't know how to do actual math. A few weeks ago, I wrote an article for TheAtlantic.com ...