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Interactive Activities and Games

You can select any of the items below:

Games with a Twist

These are some simple games you can play against the computer. But the mathematics behind the games is not simple at all!

You can play these games just for fun, or you can test your wits by trying to figure out the mathematics behind them, discover winning strategies, and find convincing proofs of why they work.

Classic Fallacies

A collection of false proofs: arguments that seem convincing, but end up proving ridiculous things like 1=2! Can you spot the flaws? Try your hand at it; tell the computer which step you think is wrong. The computer will tell you if you are right or not, and will give you more information about why that step is or isn't legitimate. There's also a lot of information about such topics as complex numbers and mathematical induction.

Keep the Traffic Moving

See if you can figure out the mathematics needed to minimize the time cars need to spend waiting at red lights, based on some assumptions about how the cars behave. You can also run a computer simulation: program the lights on a computer here on our web site, and watch the effect of your light timings on the traffic. See if you can beat the high scores for the three competition scenarios!
This page last updated: September 27, 1999
Original Web Site Creator / Mathematical Content Developer: Philip Spencer
Current Network Coordinator and Contact Person: Any Wilk - mathnet@math.toronto.edu

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