for your family and friends!
This mathemagic trick is named after the 19th-century German mathematician and astonomer, August Ferdinand Mobius. Over 150 years ago, Mobius traveled around Germany performing mathemagic shows and this trick was one of his favorites.
What You Need
A pair of scissors
Cellophane tape
3 Strips of paper (Cut each strip about 3 inches by 28 inches)
- Tape the first strip together with no twist
- Tape the second strip together with a half twist
- Tape the third strip together with a half twist
What To Do
Carefully cut the first two strips straight down the middle until you get back to where you started. If you cut correctly, you will get 2 separate circles and one big circle. Carefully cut the third strip one-third of the way from the right edge. Keep cutting until you get back to where you started (it will take twice as long), and you will get two circles connected like a chain.
Other Things To Do
Try cutting down the center of the big circle and you will be surprised with the result!
The Mathemagical Secret
This trick uses a kind of mathematics called topology. Topology is the study of shapes and what happens to those shapes when they are changed by folding, pulling, bending, twisting, or stretching.
Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., New York, NY
Copyright 1991
This is a delicious mathemagical calculator trick. Carefully follow the directions, and you'll be amazed by what appears in your calculator's display!
What You Need
A calculator
What To Do
1. Enter into your calculator the number of times you eat chocolate in one week.
2. Multiply that number by 2
3. Add 5 to that result
4. Multiply that answer by 50
5. If you ALREADY HAVE HAD your birthday this year, add 1,761
If you HAVE NOT HAD your birthday yet this year, add 1,760
6. Subtract the year you were born from that total
