The Twelve Days of Mathematics for Christmas: Day 3

Welcome to Day 3 of the Twelve Days of Mathematics for Christmas:

One of my grandsons’ favorite Christmas songs is the Twelve Days of Christmas. In honor of this song I am creating The Twelve Days of Mathematics for Christmas. There are activities for K-3. Intermediate – MS (grade 4 – grade 7), and Secondary (Grade 8 –Grade 12) and correlated to the number of the day. Check below for the links to the FREE resources for both TES US and TES UK.

The Twelve Days of Mathematics
Day 3: Three French Hens, Two Turtledoves and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me three French hens, two turtledoves and a partridge in a pear tree.

We move to the number 3.

The Archimedes’ Laboratory: archimedes lab

If students have been given the opportunity to review and study the different forms of the numerals shown on the Archimedes’ Lab pages they may note that the number 3 is still written with three lines in many language systems. There are many interesting facts about three – a beginning list follows.

Three is the first odd prime number.
Students with more mathematical experiences can look at Mersenne and Fermat primes. Three is the first of both these types of prime numbers.
Pythagoras and his followers studied triangular numbers – the focus of today’s activities for intermediate, middle schools, and high school students.
The number three is found in the Fibonacci sequence.
In terms of measurements: there are 3 feet in one yard, three miles in one league, and three barleycorns in one inch!
Also in measurement – there are three dimensions: length, width, and height.
Three sides forms the first polygon – the triangle – the focus of the younger mathematicians’ activities for today.

There are also many aspects of three that are important in various religions, mythology, etc. Some students might like to research and report on their findings.