Parallelogram 37 • Level 1 • 16 May 2024To infinity and beyond
Noun: Parallelogram Pronunciation: /ˌparəˈlɛləɡram/
- a portmanteau word combining parallel and telegram. A message sent each week by the Parallel Project to bright young mathematicians.
- Tackle each Parallelogram in one go. Don’t get distracted.
- Finish by midnight on Sunday if your whole class is doing parallelograms.
- Your score & answer sheet will appear immediately after you hit SUBMIT.
- Don’t worry if you score less than 50%, because it means you will learn something new when you check the solutions.
1. Infinities on different levels
All infinities are equal, but some are more equal than others!
Watch as mathematician Emily Riehl explains the weird concept of infinity.
(If you have problems watching the video, right click to open it in a new window)1 mark
1.1 What does the term finite mean?
- Not infinite
- Less than a trillion
- To find out
- Goes on forever
- (Not answered)
2 marks
1.2 Can you fit infinitely many jars of glitter into the observable universe?
- Yes
- No
- It depends on the size of the jar
- (Not answered)
Show Hint (–1 mark)
–1 mark
The observable universe has a finite amount of space.
1 mark
1.3 Does a beach have finitely or infinitely many grains of sand?
- Finitely many
- Infinitely many
- Depends on the size of the beach
- Depends on the size of the grains of sand
- (Not answered)
2 marks
1.4 How many beaches would you need to accumulate infinitely many grains of sand?
- Just one
- A thousand
- A million
- Infinitely many
- (Not answered)
2. Some puzzles with smaller numbers!
2 marks
2.1 Which is the largest?
0 5 1 4 2 3 3 2 4 1 - (Not answered)
2 marks
2.2 How many of these calculations equal 1?
-
1 2 1 2 -
1 2 1 2 -
1 2 1 2 -
1 2 1 2 -
0
-
1
-
2
-
4
- (Not answered)
Before you hit the SUBMIT button, here are some quick reminders:
- You will receive your score immediately, and collect your reward points.
- You might earn a new badge... if not, then maybe next week.
- Make sure you go through the solution sheet – it is massively important.
- A score of less than 50% is ok – it means you can learn lots from your mistakes.
- The next Parallelogram is next week, at 3pm on Thursday.
- Finally, if you missed any earlier Parallelograms, make sure you go back and complete them. You can still earn reward points and badges by completing missed Parallelograms.
Cheerio, Simon.