Origin
In the axiomatization of arithmetic, a mathematician is not going to say that the integers are 1, 2, 3, and so on. Instead, the mathematician will say:
- 1 is and integer
- adding 1 to an integer creates an integer
That creates all the integers starting from 1 by recursion. That might seem needlessly abstract to you, but that's how mathematicians think. (Mathematicians like recursion and don't like long lists.)
These problems are based on that idea. But the problems go beyond that and stand on their own. They teach recursion and number facility, and of course thinking skills, and maybe still lean a little towards the concepts of axiomatization.
The Frodo Problem
The basic problem is this:
0 is a frodo.
adding 1 to a frodo makes another frodo.
How many frodos can be made?
I think this is the best way of asking the question. Of course, the question really is, what frodos can be made, not how many.
Perhaps ironically, I now like to start with problems that are just as simple but have a little more structure to the answer.
4 is a frodo
adding 3 to a frodo makes a new frodo
How many frodos can be made?
2 is a glodo
adding 2 to a glodo makes a new glodo
How many glodos can you make?
1 is a brodo
adding 2 to a brodo makes a brodo.
Don't ask me why, but on their first try at a problem, everyone so far has just produced one frodo. So I ask them to make another. If they make just one more, I ask them to make another. If they make just one more, I ask them to make all that they can.
Two Constructors
There are several different small variations to these problems. One is to have two different numbers you can add. For these problems, a great follow-up question is "What is the largest integer you can't make with these particular rules. I suspect this is a good "Day 2" problem, which is to say, just do the above on the first day. Or try these, but not the subtraction problems too.
0 is a lodo
Adding 2 to a lodo makes a lodo.
Adding 3 to a lodo makes a lodo.
0 is a jonathodod
Adding 3 to a jonathodo makes a jonathodo.
Adding 4 to a jonathodo makes a jonathodo.
0 is a modo
Adding 6 to a modo makes a modo.
Adding 7 to a modo makes a modo.
Negatives
Being able to subtract changes things.
10 is a crodo
adding 1 to a crodo makes another crodo.
subtracting 1 from a crodo makes another crodo.
7 is a maxilodo
Adding 5 to a maxilodo makes a maxilodo.
Subtracting 2 to a maxilodo makes a maxilodo.
Make as many different maxilodos as you can.
1 is a zodo
Adding 5 to a zodo makes a zodo
Subtracting 4 from a zodo makes a zodo
0 is a wodo
Adding 183 to a wodo makes a wodo
Subtracting 184 from a wodo makes a wodo
A Slightly Different Construction Rule
1 is a dodo
adding two dodos makes another dodo
(You can add the same dodo to itself to make a new dodo.)
0 is a stodo.
adding two stodos makes another stodo
Fractions
0 is a plodo.
adding 1/2 to a plodo makes another plodo.
0 is a spodo.
adding 1/2 to a spodo makes another spodo.
adding 1/3 to a spodo makes another spodo
Multiple Choice
These problems are more closely tied to the axiomatization of numbers. The first problem is a construction that doesn't work. After doing it, hopefully students will appreciate the construction that does work (which comes second).
0 is a ingimodo.
adding 2 to a ingimodo makes another ingimodo.
adding 3 to a ingimodo makes another ingimodo.
Imagine all the ingimodos and answer these questions.
If you add two ingimodos, do you get a ingimodo?
a. never
b. sometimes (specify)
c. always
If you subtract 1 from a ingimodo, do you get a ingimodo?
a. never
b. sometimes (specify)
c. always
If you multiply two ingimodos, do you get a ingimodo?
a. never
b. sometimes (specify)
c. always
If you divide one ingimodo by another, do you get a ingimodo?
a. never
b. sometimes (specify)
c. always
This is the conventional axiomatization:
0 is a frodo.
adding 1 to a frodo makes another frodo.
Imagine all the frodos and answer these questions.
If you add two frodos, do you get a frodo?
a. never
b. sometimes (specify)
c. always
If you subtract 1 from a frodo, do you get a frodo?
a. never
b. sometimes (specify)
c. always
If you multiply two frodos, do you get a frodo?
a. never
b. sometimes (specify)
c. always
If you divide one frodo by another, do you get a frodo?
a. never
b. sometimes (specify)
c. always
Going Backwards
Allow your students to make up rules for constructing frodos. Then you, or another student, constructs the set of all frodos. The potential problem is if they get into division, you don't want to be supplying the answers.
Choose some rules that make as few frodos as possible.
Choose some rules that make as many frodos as possible.
The Ultimate Frodo Problem
1 is a frodo
adding 1 to a frodo makes another frodo
Dividing one frodo by second frodo makes another frodo
How many frodos can you make?
Technically/philosophically, this is even more difficult than it looks. The first rule creates the counting numbers, but not negative numbers or zero. I left out zero because it doesn't work for the second rule. The second rule creates the positive rational numbers. It does not create all of the positive numbers, because it does not create the real numbers. I have no idea how students could express their answer. It is more like if they can think the answer, then you can give them the word for the answer.
Teachers' Guide
I think some students will have no difficulty with the frodo problems as they are stated. Many will need a start, and some will have difficulty. There are some subtle unstated rules, so you probably need to explain things to the students who can't get started.
One explanation is this. In each problem, you are first given "starters". These are numbers that you are told are frodos. Then you are given "production rules". You use these rules to make new frodos. At first, you use the production rules on the starters. When you have made new frodos, you can then use the production rules on them.
The easiest problems seem to be ones in which there is one starter and one adding number. There are, of course, endless variations of these to give to a beginner.
10 is a frodo.
subtracting 1 to a frodo makes another frodo.
1 is a brodo
adding 2 to a brodo makes a brodo.
Some of the problems allow you to add two frodos together, instead of adding a constant to a frodo. In some sense, this is a trivial change, and two of my students hardly noticed it. The third was completely befuddled by it.
Odd-Even Variations
This is just an extension of the frodo problems, plus they could help develop the conceptual understanding of odd and even numbers. For example, there is a simple proof that the sum of two odd numbers is an even number. To understand this proof, you need to know that the addition of two integers always yields an integer. The frodo problems are designed to teach that concept.
1 and 2 are podos
adding an odd podo to an even podo makes a new podo
2 and 3 are jodos
adding an even jodo to an even jodo makes a new jodo
1 and 3 are nodos
adding an odd nodo to an odd nodo (or, as always, adding an odd nodo to itself) makes a new nodo
More Problems
I think the problem of adding 6 or 7 is probably about as arithmetically complex as you would want. In other words, you wouldn't want to do that problem with higher numbers. However, if your student is not adept at manipulating numbers, the jump from adding 2 and 3 to adding 6 and 7 might be substantial. So a transition would be numbers of intermediate size. These are some problems exploring this aspect of number facility.
0 is a lodo
Adding 2 to a lodo makes a lodo.
Adding 5 to a lodo makes a lodo.
Make as many different lodos as you can.
0 is a silimodo
Adding 3 to a silimodo makes a silimodo.
Adding 4 to a silimodo makes a silimodo.
3 and 4 are klodos
adding two klodos makes another klodo
(You can add the same klodo to itself to make a new klodo.)
Make as many new klodos as you can
2 and 3 are quodos
multiplying two quodos makes another quodo
(You can multiply the same quodo by itself to make a new quodo.)
Make as many new quodos as you can
