Happy 11111011111

Happy 2015 in binary

Happy New Year, Happy 2015, Happy 11111011111 which is, of course, 2015 in binary, Base 2.*

And its a palindrome, which, as you know, I like.

Speaking of palindromes, Monday is not only the first day back at school, its also the first palindromic date of the year:

5 1 15

and we won’t see another palindromic date until October when we get one a month for the last three months of the year:

5 10 15

5 11 15

5 12 15

The 6th October is an interesting date as it is a Triangle Day:

6 10 15

as 6, 10, 15 are three consecutive triangle numbers.

(American) Pi Day, 3.14,  is particularly good this year (remember, Americans write the month, then the day) as it becomes:

3.14 15

which is Pi to the first 4 decimal places. An if you want to be really precise, make a note of what you are do at 9.26 and 53 seconds as it will be:

3.14 15 9 26 53

Pi to nine decimal places.

As ever, there are always a few ‘n’ days, the first of which is 5 October:

5 10 15 or 5n

some other ‘n’ days are:

1 8 15 or 7n – 6

3 9 15 or 6n – 3

7 11 15 or 4n + 3

9 12 15 or 3n + 6

I’m sure you spotted a pattern in those dates – perhaps your pupils could too?

With a little poetic licence, we have 30 – 5n day on the 2nd May (2 5 2015) Geddit?!

And of course, every year we have Approximate Pi day on 22/7 and the Root of All Evil Day on 25th August.

With so many exciting dates, there’s plenty to look forward to in 11111011111, sorry, 2015.

Happy New Year!

*I always think that it is a shame that different number bases is not part of the curriculum. Perhaps that’s a post for another day.

I converted 2015 into binary using this site.

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5 Comments

  1. joy
    Posted 01/01/2015 at 11:46 am | Permalink

    How I wish I could calculate pi (3.141592)
    What is n , please?
    Joy x x

    • A Maths Teacher
      Posted 01/01/2015 at 1:10 pm | Permalink

      Hi Joy

      “n” stands for any number, and we typically use it when describing a number sequence, so first of all we make n = 1, then n= 2, n = 3 and so on.

      So, for example, when we have 4n + 3 when n=1 we do 4×1 + 3 = 7, when n=2 4×2 +3 = 11 etc. so 4n + 3 is the general form for the sequence 7, 11, 15 …

      Hope that makes some sense!

      Happy New Year.

      • joy
        Posted 01/01/2015 at 2:11 pm | Permalink

        So does that mean that with your 5 10 15 or 5n that n is 6? I always thought I was quite good at maths, but that stuff has thrown me. (I did only get an O level – in 1964!)

        • A Maths Teacher
          Posted 01/01/2015 at 2:23 pm | Permalink

          No, for 5, 10, 15 n is 1, then 2 then 3 etc. 5n describes, or is the rule for creating, the series of numbers 5, 10, 15 etc. Then next number in this pattern would be 20, made when n is 4 as 5 x 4 = 20.

          5n could be written as 5xn (as lazy mathematicians, we often leave out a times sign).
          5×1 = 5 is the first number in the sequence, when n= 1
          5×2 = 10 is the second number in the sequence, when n = 2
          5×3 = 15 is the third number in the sequence, when n = 3 etc.

          • joy
            Posted 01/01/2015 at 2:28 pm | Permalink

            OK, I think I understand. Thanks

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