Adrienne Hestenes
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ahestenes.bsky.social
Adrienne Hestenes
@ahestenes.bsky.social
90 followers 190 following 140 posts
Math, books, crochet.
#MTBoS #ITeachMath
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ahestenes.bsky.social
In #MathsToday we did an old fashioned card sort. Arranged the polynomials by end behavior, then matched up the equations to the graphs. After, I gave them some equations and they had to sketch the graph on the whiteboards, paying attention to end behavior and x-intercepts.

#Algebra2 #iTeachMath
8 cards containing a unique polynomial graph . One group of 3 cards that have end behavior of positive, even degree polynomials. One group of 2 cards that have the end behavior of negative, even degree polynomials. One group of 2 cards with end behavior of positive, odd degree polynomials. And the fourth group has one card with end behavior of a negative, odd degree polynomials. The 8 graphs in the previous image have been arranged by increasing degree, then matched with an equation. The equations range from degree 2 to degree 6. Some equations are factored, some in standard form.
October 23, 2025 at 12:02 AM
ahestenes.bsky.social
In #MathsToday we did one of my favorite’s, the painted cube problem. A nice thinking problem to introduce polynomials.
Student work on a whiteboard showing some diagrams, working out, and lists of results. There is a 5x5x5 cube with individual cubelets numbered by how many sides are showing. There is 6x6 square showing the arrangement of 1,2,3 surface cubelets. There are some lists and tables keeping track of numbered totals for different size cubes. And the beginnings of a formula for an nxnxn cube. Student work on a whiteboard showing lists of cubelet totals for cubes of size n=3,4,5,6. Cubelet types are ones with 3 sides painted (corners), 2 sides painted (edges), 1 side painted (faces) and 0 sides painted (interior). There is also a list of formulas for any size nxnxn cube the students figured out.
September 26, 2025 at 9:15 PM
ahestenes.bsky.social
I found this problem somewhere (here or mathstodon?). But I saved the image they posted of the problem. It completely took over my brain. I brought it up over lunch with a few other math teachers, and we argued about it. And I think we came to great solution.

Thanks OP!
#Teach180 #iTeachMath
Standup and Ponder 1. There are three boxes. One is labeled “APPLES” another is labeled “ORANGES”. The last one is labeled “APPLES AND ORANGES”. You know that each is labeled incorrectly. You may ask me to pick one fruit from one box which you choose. How can you label the boxes correctly?
September 18, 2025 at 1:37 AM
ahestenes.bsky.social
Ta daaa! I give you the Lorentz Attractor thanks to the free pattern from #ThreadedTheorems and also @samjshah.bsky.social whose posted work I admired.

#StemBroidery #MathArt #MathSky
An embroidery in a circular hoop of the Lorentz Strange Attractor. Embroidered using backstitch and variegated thread of colors aqua, indigo, and pink. The pattern loops around giving a two lobed appearance of a butterfly.
September 6, 2025 at 10:08 PM
ahestenes.bsky.social
Pullback cars must mean it’s time for Vroom Vroom ala @fawnnguyen.substack.com . Reviewing linear regressions was never so fun.

#iTeachMath #Algebra2
Three boxes of 3inch long pullback car toys, ready for students. My favorite are the pink and red mini coopers with the Union Jack on the roof, followed closely by the Volkswagen buses. Roughly 30 toy cars can be seen of various styles.
August 29, 2025 at 10:47 PM
ahestenes.bsky.social
Building hypercubes to round out level surfaces today. Students had fun building 2 different perspectives and trying to match it up with Schlegel diagrams in order to identify the 8 cubes within. A fun pre-Labor Day weekend activity.
#iTeachMath #MathSky
Zometool construction of a hypercube sitting on a student desk behind a sheet of paper containing 8 Schlegel diagrams of a hypercube. The student has shaded the location of 8 different cubes, one for each diagram. Two zometool constructions of a hypercube, one larger than the other. This is a different perspective from the previous picture. This construction is a small cube inside a large cube. The large model is connected to the small model at the corresponding vertices. Evidence of students working lies around but no humans in the picture. Schlegel diagrams of the hypercube can be seen on the desk.
August 29, 2025 at 10:42 PM
ahestenes.bsky.social
Beautiful view on the way to work. Had to pull over and photograph.

#sunrise #clouds #sky
A photo of the morning sky, covered in light fluffy clouds after a storm the night before. Sun rays are peaking through. In the foreground are palm tree sillouhettes, the road and sidewalk. 6:45 am, no cars or people out yet.
August 15, 2025 at 11:21 PM
ahestenes.bsky.social
Had an extra day with one class compared to others today, so we tried out a @mathforlove.bsky.social activity “Squarable Numbers”. Had 100% participation and lots of good discussion.

#iTeachMath #MTBoS

mathforlove.com/lesson/squar...
Students work on graph paper showing her square disections into smaller squares. Photo shows a students work on a mini whiteboard. A 9 by 9 square is drawn and students is dividing it into smaller squares.
August 8, 2025 at 9:05 PM
ahestenes.bsky.social
Creating 3D visualization of z=f(x,y) from a table of numbers.

#iTeachMath #MTBoS
A student is placing a tower of 5 snap cubes into an arrangement of other towers of snap cubes. We see the students notebook and hand as she is placing her construction.
August 8, 2025 at 8:50 PM
ahestenes.bsky.social
All ready to explore the 3rd dimension. Tri-tac-toe and Qubic. How many ways can you win?

#ITeachMath
Four games lined up and ready for students. In front is Tri-Tac-Toe, a tic tac toe game on 3 levels. Behind are 3 games of Qubic, which adds a fourth layer to the tic tac toe game.
August 8, 2025 at 12:44 AM
ahestenes.bsky.social
Just a reminder kids. Thinking can be messy. But it is so much fun!

#iTeachMath #maths #MTBoS
Showing my scattered work while learning about how modular arithmetic works. There are lists of sequences I created by adding the two previous numbers in module 10 to generate the next numbers. There is a table I made trying to sort out which 2 numbers generate a cycle length of a particular length. Lots of erasures, notes to self, and partial work while thinking things through.
July 27, 2025 at 12:29 AM
ahestenes.bsky.social
Had some fun folding up the Weaire-Phelan structure made using these instructions: www.cutoutfoldup.com/214-weaire-p...

This is a model of idealized bubbles fitting together and was the inspiration for the Beijing National Aquatics Center in the 2008 Olympics.

#MTBoS #ITeachMath
A paper model consisting of 2 irregular dodecahedrons (purple) and 6 tetrakaidecahedrons (white). They are joined together to create a model of idealized foam bubbles.
July 18, 2025 at 8:58 PM
ahestenes.bsky.social
Thinking about pentaminoes today. And it reminded me of a puzzle I hadn’t done in awhile. Looking at it anew, I see one piece is actually a hexamino. I wonder if this puzzle could be redesigned to only use pentaminoes?

#iTeachMath #MTBoS
DragonFjord’s A Puzzle A Day currently in the silver position for today’s date, July 7th. The puzzle is brown particle board with 8 pieces. The pieces are 7 different pentaminoes and one hexamino. Moving the pieces around leaves gaps in the puzzle which show the month and day.
July 7, 2025 at 6:13 PM
ahestenes.bsky.social
Navajo wedding vase symbolizing two becoming one will be my submission for #even #MathPhoto25

Next I will work on some even/odd Sodoku variant puzzles while I eat a #pair of cookies for good measure.
A black Navajo wedding vase with two spouts coming together at the base.
June 30, 2025 at 3:00 AM
ahestenes.bsky.social
I’m a bit late with #symmetry for #MathPhoto25 but I was cleaning out and found a bunch of pencils and was inspired to make this ala George Hart.

How many pencils did I use? What sort of symmetry does it have?

This will look great until the kids need to borrow a pencil. #iTeachMath
A sculpture made of pencils. There are 4 groups of 19 pencils arranged into hexagons and interleaved between each other.
June 24, 2025 at 7:20 PM
ahestenes.bsky.social
#MathPhoto25 is about #angles this week. I took this photo at the California Science Center.

How many unique angles do you see? Are there more acute or obtuse angles?

#ITeachMath #MTBoS
Photo of the roof at the California Science Center. A large circular, purple dome window covered in a grid of squares. Lots of randomly placed beams intersecting in front of the window make a variety of angles. From the beams are suspended small spheres, several hundred? Filling up the space.
June 21, 2025 at 4:29 AM
ahestenes.bsky.social
I was watching James Tanton show how to get a formula using the leading diagonals of difference tables at this webpage: gdaymath.com/lessons/gmp/...

But I’m stuck on #9. I believe the constant might be off but I not sure why or how. Any ideas?
#ITeachMath #MTBoS
Math work showing a difference table for a sequence of numbers. The first row is 0,2,10,30,68,120,222. The second row are the differences 2,8,20,38,62. The third row are the second differences 6,12,18,24. The 4th row are the third differences 6,6,6,…. The finals row are all zeros. Underneath is a table showing the leading diagonals for n cubed 1,7,12,6,0: for n squared 1,3,2,0,0: for n 1,1,0,0,0: and for one which is 1,0,0,0,0. The sequences leading diagonal is written 0,2,6,6,0. Then there is some work I did to try to find a combination of the given leading diagonals to find and equation of my unknown sequence. I found n cubes minus 3 n squared plus 4n -2.
June 20, 2025 at 10:47 PM
ahestenes.bsky.social
Wall art in my home. I forget the artist. Sorry!

How many ways could you rearrange the tiles to get a different picture? #MathPhotos2025 #MTBoS
June 6, 2025 at 2:09 AM