A Learning in Motion Top Ten Selection

Classic Fallacies

Subject Area:

Mathematics

Address/URL:

http://www.math.toronto.edu/mathnet/falseProofs/fallacies.html

Description:

If it is wise to learn from other's mistakes, troubleshooting these mathematical 'proofs' will make your students a whole lot smarter! Five mathematical fallacies are presented step-by-step with conclusions that sound bizarre! It's up to students to find where the mathematical reasoning went wrong. You can click on each step to find out if you have the culprit or not, and why it is or is not the answer. Problems range from simple to more complex.

How You Can Use This Source:

Let your students have fun proving other people's theories wrong.Have students solve the original problem correctly and compare the two processes.Feel free to start your own collection of mathematical fallacies for future generations of students to muse on!

Go to Classic Fallacies.