A Day's Adventure

in
MatK Wonderland
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 A D a / 5 Adventure
in
HatK Wonderland

Din Akiyama
Tokai University Japan

MariOo Ruiz
Ateneo de Manila University Philippines

Illustrations by Frances Alcaraz

World Scientific
NEW JERSEY • LONDON • SINGAPORE • BEIJING • SHANGHAI • HONG KONG • TAIPEI • CHENNA
Published by
World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
5 Toh Tuck Link, Singapore 596224
USA office: 27 Warren Street, Suite 401-402, Hackensack, NJ 07601
UK office: 57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HE

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Akiyama, J.
A day's adventure in math wonderland / Jin Akiyama & Mari-Jo P. Ruiz.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN-13: 978-981-281-476-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 981-281-476-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Mathematics—Study and teaching. 2. Manipulatives (Education). 3. Mathematical models.
4. Mathematics in literature. I. Ruiz, Mari-Jo P. II. Title.
QA19.M34A452008
510-dc22
2008009416

Book design by Irwin Cruz

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Copyright © 2008 by Jin Akiyama and Mari-Jo P. Ruiz

All rights reserved.

Printed in Singapore by Mainland Press Pte Ltd

 To Javy Ruiz,

may he learn to appreciate math like Ichiro

and

to Gisaku Nakamura,

may he continue to produce mathematics

into his nineties.
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 CONTENTS

Chapter 1 Math is Fun? 1

Chapter 2 Fat Triangles & Flattened Bagels 7

Chapter 3 Cool Curves 27

Chapter 4 A Roomful of Right Triangles 43

Chapter 5 Math in Music 59

Chapter 6 Pachinko Math 73

Chapter 7 GCF-LCM Machine 81

Chapter 8 Baumkuchen, Spaghetti & Watermelon 89

Chapter 9 Automat(h) 101

Chapter 10 A Slice of a Cone 119

Chapter 11 Paper Twists 141

Chapter 12 Fold and Cut 157

Chapter 13 Jigsaws fro m Tetrah ed ro ns 171

Chapter 14 Single & Double Duty Solids 185

Chapter 15 Reversible Solids 203

Chapter 16 All the Way Home 217

Acknowledgments 225

ExplanatoryNotes 227

References 229
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Matk is Fun?
 A \ bell signals recess time. Boys rush
to the playground from all directions.
Ichiro looks around for his best
friends Jai and Kino. He sees them with a
group of boys gathered around Kentaro.
They seem so engrossed in what he is
saying.
"I wonder what Kentaro is saying that
is so interesting." Ichiro moves to within
hearing distance.

3
 "It was really fun! I rode on a tricycle with
square wheels ..., I ran down a musical staircase
..., I won a race on some huge slides ...," Kentaro
goes on and on breathlessly

4
 "Where did he go?" Ichiro asks.
"Math Wonderland/' Kino answers.
"Oh, that place again." Ichiro says.
"What do you mean?" Jai wonders.
"My grandmother couldn't stop talking about
that place over breakfast. She saw some TV
footage and she said the kids looked like they
were having fun with the mathematical models/'
Ichiro answers. "I can't imagine what could be
fun about math/' he adds.
"Math is not so bad/' Jai counters.
Ichiro is doing well in school without much
effort but math does not particularly interest
him. He finds his math class just a notch above
boring. At times, he can hardly keep awake.
Besides, his math homework takes much time
away from computer games, TV, and his other
favorite activity - taking apart and putting
together his toy robots.
Kino, always eager and impulsive, taps him
on the shoulder, "Let's go there this weekend."
"I'd like to see it," says Jai.
On his own, Ichiro would not have planned
on going, but with his best friends, it might be
an adventure.
 The next weekend, Ichiro, Jai and Kino take
the bus and soon they find themselves standing
in front of an ordinary two-story building.
"Are we at the right place?" Kino wonders.
He gets to the door first, with Ichiro and Jai
trailing him. They all see a sign above:

MATH WONDERLAND
They slowly push the door open, wondering
whether the visit will be a waste of time.
As soon as they get inside, they hear the shrill
voices of many excited kids.