We've Got Your Number - Hardcover

Patel, Mukul

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0753470721 ISBN 13: 9780753470725

Publisher: Kingfisher, 2013

Synopsis

Numbers are all around us. They can explain where electricity comes from, why we look like our parents, why moons revolve around planets, and why it's so hard to win the lottery. Arranged in thematic chapters that are easy for the non-mathematical mind to navigate and understand, We've Got Your Number investigates all aspects of math and numbers. As an added bonus, each chapter also contains concise and accessible mathematical fun facts in one of four forms: Good at Sums, which profiles great mathematicians; Try This at Home, entertaining number games and puzzles; What's Your Problem?, common real-life math challenges like calculating the size of the Earth (don't worry it shows you how to solve them); and What's In a Number? a fact-file 'biography' filled with iconic numbers as zero, 1, 3, 'unlucky' 13 and 1 million.

About this title

About the Author

Mukul Patel worked for DK for some years, developing and editing science & technology titles. He developed the content, including animations in liaison with designers, for the Maths section of the DK Encyclopedia of Science II CD-ROM. He was the consultant/contributing editor on Scientific American's How Things Work Today (Marshall Edns) and has also written technology articles for NASDAQ magazine.

Reviews

Gr 5-8-This book kicks off with a fantastic definition of math as an art and a living subject, which, in the right hands, could be great fun. Divided into topics that are unexpected for a math book, the text shows that numbers surround us wherever we are: "From Here to Infinity," "Bizarre Shapes, Weird Spaces," "The Living World," "Everyday Life," and "Language of the Universe." There is also a lot of history, with some really mind-blowing facts; "Try This at Home" boxes to get budding mathematicians thinking; quotes from famous minds; and, for even more fun, page numbers in base 10 and base 16. All of these features, plus the silly cartoons and brightly colored pages, add up to a lot of clutter. Kids already in love with math will find much to wonder at and figure out here; those who are not as enamored with digits are unlikely to be won over.-Heather Acerro, Rochester Public Library, MNα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Patel makes a case that there is a math connection to everything in the universe and beyond, and even though math is considered to be closely related to science, it can also be an art. With that much territory to cover in 96 pages, there are a number of quantum leaps that will leave some readers in the dust—or at least with their heads spinning. Others, though, will appreciate this romp through the fun, fantastic, and mind-blowing world of math. Subjects touched upon include theorems through the ages; mathematical biology; the bizarre shapes and weird spaces of geometry; and patterns, probability, and physics in the living world and everyday life. This is all dished up in an oversize format with highly designed pages combining blocks of text in an astonishing variety of shapes placed against boldly colored backgrounds and interspersed with cartoon illustrations and photo inserts. Mathletes up for an extra challenge will appreciate the math problems woven into the text and the “try this at home” exercises. Grades 5-8. --Randall Enos

Edition details

• Publisher: Kingfisher
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0753470721
• ISBN 13: 9780753470725
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Sahai Supriya
• Number of pages: 96