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Middle School Archive

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When is the expression Q.E.D. used? [02/15/1999]

More on Q.E.D.

Who Invented the Square Root? [12/11/1996]

I've only seen long, stringy roots!

Whole Numbers and Multiples [09/11/2001]

My students and I have been trying to figure out what numbers are in the set of "Whole Numbers." Is zero a whole number?

Why Cubed? [11/27/2001]

Why do we use "cubed" for the volume of a figure?

Why Does 1 Degree Equal 60 Minutes? [07/28/2004]

In 60 minutes, the minute hand of a clock makes a full circle, which is 360 degrees. How can 60 minutes equal 1 degree when measuring angles?

Why Do We Have Leap Year ? [02/25/1998]

Why do we need to have one extra day each 4 years?

Why Is a Circle 360 Degrees? [07/01/1998]

Why is a circle defined as 360 degrees?

Why is K Used as an Abbreviation for Area? [11/29/2004]

Many textbooks use the letter K to represent area in formulas, instead of A. Do you know why that is?

Why Isn't a Kilobyte 1,000 Bytes? [03/29/2001]

If the prefix kilo- means 1000, why is a kilobyte 1024 bytes instead of 1000 bytes?

Why Is 'Pound' Abbreviated 'lb'? [03/08/2004]

Why is "pound" abbreviated lb? Is it because of its Latin roots? I know libra means pound. What is the history of it?

Why is the Word "Number" Abbreviated to "No."? [05/13/2002]

Why is the word number abbreviated to no.?

Why Use Q and Z? [09/12/2001]

Why is the letter Q used for rational numbers and Z for integers?

Wondrous Numbers [02/07/2001]

What is a wondrous number?

Word for a 225th Birthday [07/10/2001]

This year America is celebrating its 225th birthday. As we celebrated the bicentennial in 1976, is there a term for 225 years?

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