How Things Work 2-minute video · ages 4-8 · free coloring page
What would the world be like without math?
What would the world be like if there was no math?
2 min
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Free coloring page
The scene from the video as a coloring page, plus the three-sentence answer, the experiment, and a QR code back to this page. One sheet, US Letter, black and white.
The answer in three parts
Why?
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Math is not just homework!
Math is counting, measuring, shapes, and patterns. It is a way of thinking that helps us understand the world.
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Without math, nobody could count, or tell the time.
How many cookies are there? Did everyone get the same? How old are you? There would be no clocks and no calendars, so you would not know when school starts, or when the bus comes.
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Without math, things would wobble and fall down.
Builders use math to measure. Without it, walls would be crooked, doors would not fit, and bridges would wobble. And phones, computers and video games are all made of numbers inside.
For grown-ups: Without math there would be no money and no prices: to get an apple you might have to trade a shoe, but how many apples is one shoe worth? People did not make math up from nothing. Long, long ago they noticed patterns and started counting with fingers, with pebbles, and with scratches on bones. Math is the language we use to describe our world.
Math hiding in nature
- Beesbuild with six-sided shapes
- Sunflowersseeds grow in spirals
- Snowflakessix arms
A tiny experiment
Try it!
Math hunt
You need: just your eyes
- Today, count every time you use a number.
- Look at the clock, your shoe size, the pages of a book, the points in a game.
- How many did you find? I bet you will find more than twenty!
What happened? Numbers are everywhere. Math is a superpower, and it belongs to all of us.
Did you know?
Long, long ago, people counted with fingers, with pebbles, and with scratches on bones.
Even music uses math. Musicians count the beats: one, two, three, four. Without counting, the band could not play together.
Your guide in this video
I'm Digit, a little number one. Today we will imagine something very strange!
Digit is a little blue number one who loves counting, measuring, shapes and patterns.
For grown-ups
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