OG Activities

Matisse turns lunchtime into a fun time with math tricks and brainteasers. Make copies of these pages, cut on the dotted lines and stash one of these surprises along with your sandwich. Do you buy your lunch at school? Tuck one in your pocket to take with you.

Calculator Magic

Find the answer to this riddle with a simple calculator.
(Clue: It’s one of Captain Cabot’s favorite tools.)

1. Enter the number of days in a year.
2. Divide that by the number of toes on your right foot.
3. Press the equal sign.
4. Add the number of candles on Willow’s birthday cake.
5. Press the equal sign.
6. Multiply that by the number of Priscilla’s paws.
7. Press the equal sign.
8. Subtract the total number of days there are in the month of February (when it’s not a leap year).
9. Press the equal sign.
10. Turn your calculator upside down to see the answer spelled out!

Pound Puzzler

You are at the cash register at the corner market. Señora Sanchez, the owner of the store, puts your purchases into two bags.

The red bag contains a pound of lemons.

The blue bag contains a pound of pink cotton candy.

Which bag weighs more?

Comical Cobs

Captain Cabot loves to garden. This year he’s grown more corn than he can eat. He puts a sign in his yard that says:

Pick Your Own Corn
It’s tasty, fresh and free!
C’mon in and help yourself.

When you walk into his garden, you count 22 ears of corn.
When you walk out of the garden you have 3 ears.
How much corn is still in Captain Cabot’s garden?

Number Fun

In math class, your teacher writes this on the chalkboard: IX=
She explains that the Roman numeral IX (as used in ancient Rome) has a value of 9.

Your homework assignment is to make IX into a 6 by adding just one line—
without lifting your pencil off the paper.

How will you do this?
(Your teacher gives you a hint: This answer is more about
being creative than about math.)