Two (Three?) Games Philip Rash, NCSSM 2016 Teaching Contemporary Mathematics Conference

Two (Three?) Games Overview: Game #1 (Bigger Exponent) Game #2 (Biggest Product)

Game #1

“Bigger Exponent” – What’s the best strategy? Game #1

“Bigger Exponent” – What’s the best strategy? Game #1

Game #2

Two (Three?) Games So, it seems the answer is always “three”! But what’s so special about 3?

Game #2 – Continuous Version

“Bigger Exponent” Two players simultaneously write down two positive real numbers. The number a player writes down is the base, and the opponent’s number is the exponent. The player with the higher value wins. What is the best strategy? Why? Game #1 – Continuous Version

Game #1 See any resemblance?

Two (Three?) Games So, it seems the answer is always “three”!

Two (Three?) Games

Philip Rash, What’s So Special about 3?, Debra K. Borkovitz, Mathematics Teacher, Vol 108 No 1, August 2014, pp