 |
Just
for Fun
|
This new page is
for funny things related to math. Do you ever give
essay questions on tests and get unusual answers? Or do you have
students say amusing things in class? Or do you know any math jokes?
Let's share
those! Please e-mail Daryl with any funny
stories or jokes you would like to add! This page is for jokes that you
might not be able to share with your friends because they might not
understand them.
Funny students
- Occasionally I give writing questions to students. Here are some of the
answers I got:
- [Question: What is the difference between (-4)2 and -42?]
"The difference is (-4)2 is in prefrency and -42 is
not."
- "...-240 or in simplest form -80."
- When I taught junior high school, one student obviously didn't read the
word problem. Instead, he just added all the numbers in the problem, including
the problem number. I use this example in my classes to stress the importance
of reading the problem first.
- John Hawn sent this along: I once had a student that did not turn in her
assignment. When asked what her reason was she said "I tried to divide
by zero and my paper blew up!"
Jokes
- A physicist, a chemist, and a mathematician are in a classroom.
Suddenly the trash in the trash can catches fire. The physicist grabs a
fire extinguisher, sets the trash can on top of the desk, puts the fire
out, and places the trash can back on the floor next to the desk. A few
minutes later, the trash catches fire again. The chemist picks up the
trash can, places it on the desk, and uses the fire extinguisher again
to put it out, then sets the trash can back down on the floor. Yet a
third time the flames return. This time the mathematician picks up the
trash can, sets it on the desk, and says, "This reduces to the previous
case."
- Forwarded in an e-mail: Math
terrorists
At New York's Kennedy airport today, an individual, later discovered to
be a public school teacher, was arrested trying to board a flight while
in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a set square, and a calculator.
Attorney General John Ashcroft believes the man is a member of the
notorious al-gebra movement. He is being charged with carrying weapons
of math instruction. Al-gebra is a very fearsome cult, indeed. They
desire average solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on
a tangent in a search of absolute value. They consist of quite shadowy
figures, with names like "x" and "y", and, although they are frequently
referred to as "unknowns", we know they
really belong to a common denominator and are part of the axis of
medieval with coordinates in every country.
As the great Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, there are 3 sides
to every angle, and if God had wanted us to have better weapons of math
instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes. Therefore,
I'm extremely grateful that our government has given us a sine that it
is intent on protracting us from these math-dogs who are so willing to
disintegrate us with calculus disregard.
These statistic bums love to inflict plane on every sphere of
influence. Under the circumferences, it's time we differentiated their
root, made our point, and drew the line. These weapons of math
instruction have the potential to decimal everything in their math on a
scalene never before seen unless we become exponents of a Higher Power
and begin to factor-in random facts of vertex. As the father of our
Great Leader would say, "Read my ellipse".
Here is one principle he is uncertainty of---though they continue to
multiply, their days are numbered and the hypotenuse will tighten
around their necks.
- Any more? Certainly there are better math jokes than this one!
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This page is maintained by Daryl
Stephens at East Tennessee State
University and is updated as time permits
Added November 26, 2003
Last modified June 3, 2005