Maths in Minutes by Paul Glendinning has an ambitious aim - to introduce 200 of the most important mathematical concepts with a picture and a concise explanation. Given that it took me about five weeks to explain to my Year 7s what a fraction was, I was sceptical.
But where I failed, Maths in Minutes prevails. The entries are briefly but coherently written, spanning the range of maths in both content and history. There are entries on everything from the number zero all the way up to infinity. Never has Riemann’s zeta function made as much sense (well, as much sense as it could ever make).
Books like this are ideal to inspire even the mathematically reluctant to find out more about this wonderful subject.
What else?
For some fast classroom maths, try sammywe’s quick mental maths card game. Or get pupils puzzling with the reverser conundrum shared by maths126.
Find Craig on Twitter @TESMaths.
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