Mathematics in Education and Industry

Mathematics in Education and Industry was founded in the early 1960s and is an independent UK curriculum development body.

MEI is an independent charity; any income generated through MEI's work is used to support mathematics education.

MEI is committed to improving mathematics education and is involved in a range of activities to fulfil this aim:

• Opinion
• Resources
• CPD and Support
• Curriculum
• Industry
• Further Mathematics Support Programme

The majority of MEI's members are classroom mathematics teachers in schools and colleges.

Maths item of the month

February 2012

How odd is Pythagoras?

Pythagorean triples are sets of positive integers (a,b,c) where a²+b²=c². A Pythagorean triple is primitive if there isn't a common factor that divides a, b and c.

(3,4,5) and (5,12,13) are primitive Pythagorean triples but (6,8,10) is not as 2 divides 6, 8 and 10.

• Is the smallest number in a Pythagorean triple always odd?
• Is the largest number in a Pythagorean triple always odd?

Share using:  StumbleUpon  Reddit  Digg  Delicious  Facebook