Appendix A

Combinatorics Problems

Listed here are the major combinatorics problems the students encountered from
elementary school through high school, along with brief discussions of solutions.
1. Shirts and Jeans (May 1990, Grade 2; October, 1990, Grade 3) Stephen has
a white shirt, a blue shirt, and a yellow shirt. He has a pair of blue jeans and a
pair of white jeans. How many different outfits can he make?
He can make six different outfits; each of the two pairs of jeans can be
matched with each of the three shirts. The outfits are: blue jeans/white shirt,
blue jeans/blue shirt, blue jeans/yellow shirt, white jeans/white shirt, white
jeans/blue shirt, and white jeans/yellow shirt.
2. Shirts and Jeans Extended (October, 1990, Grade 3) Suppose Stephen had
another pair of jeans, a black pair. How many different outfits can he now make?
He can make 12 different outfits: number of shirts times number of jeans.
3. Four-Tall Towers (October 1990, Grade 3; December 1992, Grade 5) Your
group has two colors of Unifix cubes. Work together and make as many different towers four cubes tall as is possible when selecting from two colors. See if
you and your partner can plan a good way to find all the towers four cubes tall.
At each position in the tower, there are two color choices. Therefore, there are
2222=16 possible towers that are four cubes tall. This can be generalized
to an n-tall tower with two colors to choose from; there are 222. . . 2=2n
possible towers that are n cubes tall, when there are two colors to choose from.
This can also be generalized to an n-tall tower with m colors to choose from;
there are mmm. . . m=mn possible towers that are n cubes tall with m
colors to choose from. In the following discussions, we will call the first generalization (the n-tall tower with two colors) the towers problem, and we will call
the second generalization (the n-tall tower with m colors) the generalized tower
problem.
4. Cups, Bowls, and Plates (April 1991, Grade 3) Pretend that there is a birthday
party in your class today. Its your job to set the places with cups, bowls, and
C.A. Maher et al. (eds.), Combinatorics and Reasoning, Mathematics
Education Library 47, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-0615-6,
Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

205

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Appendix A: Combinatorics Problems

plates. The cups and bowls are blue or yellow. The plates are blue, yellow,
or orange. Is it possible for ten children at the party each to have a different
combination of cup, bowl, and plate? Show how you figured out the answer to
this question.
Each of the two cup choices can be matched with each of the two bowl choices,
and each cup-bowl pair can be matched with any of the three different plate
choices. Therefore, there are 223 = 12 possibilities. Therefore, yes, it is
possible for ten children at the party each to have a different combination of
cup, bowl, and plate.
5. Relay Race (October 1991, Grade 4) This Saturday there will be a 500-m
relay race at the high school. Each team that participates in the race must have a
different uniform (a uniform consists of a solid colored shirt and a solid colored
pair of shorts). The colors available for shirts are yellow, orange, blue, or red.
The colors for shorts are brown, green, purple, or white. How many different
relay teams can participate in the race?
There are four choices for shirts and four choices for shorts, so there are 44
= 16 ways to make uniforms. Sixteen different relay teams can participate.
6. Five-Tall Towers (February 1992, Grade 4; December 1997, Grade 10) Your
group has two colors of Unifix cubes. Work together and make as many different towers five cubes tall as is possible when selecting from two colors. See if
you and your partner can plan a good way to find all the towers five cubes tall.
There are 25 = 32 towers five cubes tall.
7. Four-Tall Towers with Three Colors (February 1992, Grade 4) Your group has
three colors of Unifix cubes. Work together and make as many different towers
four cubes tall as is possible when selecting from three colors. See if you and
your partner can plan a good way to find all the towers four cubes tall.
Since there are three choices for each of four positions, there are 34 = 81
possible towers that are four cubes tall when selecting from three colors.
8. A Five-Topping Pizza Problem (December 1992, Grade 5; December 1997,
Grade 10) Consider the pizza problem, focusing on the number of pizza combinations that can be made when selecting from among five different toppings.
There are 25 = 32 different pizzas.
9. Guess My Tower (February 1993, Grade 5) You have been invited to participate in a TV Quiz Show and the opportunity to win a vacation to Disney
World. The game is played by choosing one of four possibilities for winning
and then picking a tower out of a covered box. If the tower you pick matches
your choice, you win. You are told that the box contains all possible towers that
are three tall that can be built when you select from cubes of two colors, red,
and yellow. You are given the following possibilities for a winning tower:

Appendix A: Combinatorics Problems

207

All cubes are exactly the same color.

There is only one red cube.
Exactly two cubes are red.
At least two cubes are yellow.
Which choice would you make and why would this choice be better than any
of the others?
In order to decide which is the best choice, we need to find the probability of
each choice. The total number of 3-tall towers is 8. The probabilities are:
All cubes are exactly the same color: There are two ways (all red or all
yellow). The probability is 28 = 0.25.
There is only one red cube: There are three ways; the red cube can be on the
top, in the middle, or on the bottom. The probability is 38 = 0.375.
Exactly two cubes are red: This is the same as saying exactly one cube is
yellow. The probability is the same as for exactly one red cube: 38 = 0.375.
At least two cubes are yellow: This is equivalent to saying that either exactly
two cubes are yellow or exactly three cubes are yellow. As discussed above,
the probability that exactly two cubes are yellow (the same as the probability
that exactly two cubes are red) is 0.375. Since there is one way for exactly
three cubes to be yellow, that probability is 18 = 0.125. The probability of
either event is therefore 0.375 + 0.125 = 0.5. (We can add because the two
events are mutually exclusive.)
At least two cubes are yellow is the most likely event.
Assuming you won, you can play again for the Grand Prize which means you
can take a friend to Disney World. But now your box has all possible towers
that are four tall (built by selecting from the two colors yellow and red). You
are to select from the same four possibilities for a winning tower. Which choice
would you make this time and why would this choice be better than any of the
others?
The total number of four-tall towers is 24 = 16. The probabilities are:
All cubes are exactly the same color: There are two ways (all red or all
yellow). The probability is 216 = 0.125.
There is only one red cube: There are four ways; the red cube can be on the
top, second from the top, second from the bottom, or on the bottom. The
probability is 416 = 0.25.
Exactly two cubes are red: The number of ways to accomplish this is C(4,2)
= 6. The probability is therefore 616 = 0.375.

208

Appendix A: Combinatorics Problems

At least two cubes are yellow: This means that exactly two cubes are yellow,
exactly three cubes are yellow, or exactly four cubes are yellow. As discussed
above, the probability that exactly two cubes are yellow (the same as the
probability that exactly two cubes are red) is 616 = 0.375. The probability
that exactly three cubes are yellow is the same as the probability that one
cube is red: 416 = 0.25. Since there is one way for exactly four cubes to
be yellow, that probability is 116 = 0.0625. The probability of any one of
the three events is therefore 0.375 + 0.25 + 0.0625 = 0.6875.
At least two cubes are yellow is the most likely event.
10. The Pizza Problem with Halves (March 1993, Grade 5) A local pizza shop
has asked us to help them design a form to keep track of certain pizza sales.
Their standard plain pizza contains cheese. On this cheese pizza, one or two
toppings could be added to either half of the plain pizza or the whole pie. How
many choices do customers have if they could choose from two different toppings (sausage and pepperoni) that could be placed on either the whole pizza
or half of a cheese pizza? List all possibilities. Show your plan for determining
these choices. Convince us that you have accounted for all possibilities and that
there could be no more.
With two topping choices, there are four possibilities for the first half pizza,
because each topping can be either on or off that half of the pizza. The four
choices are: plain (sausage off, pepperoni off), sausage (sausage on, pepperoni
off), pepperoni (sausage off, pepperoni on), and sausage/pepperoni (sausage on,
pepperoni on). Consider each of the four possibilities in turn.
Case 1: Plain. There are four possibilities for the other half of the pizza, the
four listed above (plain, sausage, pepperoni, and sausage/pepperoni).
Case 2: Sausage. There are three possibilities for the other half of the pizza:
sausage, pepperoni, and sausage/pepperoni. (We omit plain, because we
already accounted for the plain-sausage pizza in Case 1.)
Case 3: Pepperoni. There are two possibilities remaining for the other half of
the pizza: pepperoni and sausage/pepperoni. (Plain and sausage are already
accounted for.)
Case 4: Sausage/pepperoni. There is only one possibility left for the other
half of the pizza; that is sausage/pepperoni.
There are 4+3+2+1 = 10 possible pizzas with halves.
11. The Four-Topping Pizza Problem (April 1993, Grade 5) A local pizza shop
has asked us to help design a form to keep track of certain pizza choices. They
offer a cheese pizza with tomato sauce. A customer can then select from the
following toppings: peppers, sausage, mushrooms, and pepperoni. How many
different choices for pizza does a customer have? List all the possible choices.

Appendix A: Combinatorics Problems

209

Find a way to convince each other that you have accounted for all possible
choices.
There are 2222 = 16 possible pizzas.
12. Another Pizza Problem (April 1993, Grade 5) The pizza shop was so pleased
with your help on the first problem that they have asked us to continue our
work. Remember that they offer a cheese pizza with tomato sauce. A customer
can then select from the following toppings: peppers, sausage, mushrooms, and
pepperoni. The pizza shop now wants to offer a choice of crusts: regular (thin)
or Sicilian (thick). How many choices for pizza does a customer have? List all
the possible choices. Find a way to convince each other that you have accounted
for all possible choices.
Each of the 16 four-topping pizzas has two choices of crust, so there are 32
pizzas.
13. A Final Pizza Problem (April 1993, Grade 5) At customer request, the pizza
shop has agreed to fill orders with different choices for each half of a pizza.
Remember that they offer a cheese pizza with tomato sauce. A customer can
then select from the following toppings: peppers, sausage, mushroom, and pepperoni. There is a choice of crusts: regular (thin) and Sicilian (thick). How many
different choices for pizza does a customer have? List all the possible choices.
Find a way to convince each other than you have accounted for all possible
choices.
The first half of the pizza can have 24 = 16 possible topping configurations,
as described above. Consider each of those configurations in turn. Following
the procedure described above for the two-topping half-pizza problem, we find
that there are 16+15+14+. . . +3+2+1 possible pizzas; this sum is given by
16172. Since each pizza can have a thick or thin crust, we multiply by 2.
The number of possible pizzas is 161722 = 272.
14. Counting I and Counting II (March 1994, Grade 6) How many different twodigit numbers can be made from the digits 1, 2, 3, and 4? Each of four cards is
labeled with a different numeral: 1, 2, 3, and 4. How many different two-digit
numbers can be made by choosing any two of them?
Counting I: Assuming that you are not permitted to reuse digits, there are four
choices for the first digit and three for the second digit, giving 12 two-digit
numbers. (They are 12, 13, 14, 21, 23, 24, 31, 32, 34, 41, 42, and 43.)
Counting II: There are four choices for the first digit and four choices for the
second digit. This makes 16 different two-digit numbers. (They are 11, 12, 13,
14, 21, 22, 23, 24, 31, 32, 33, 34, 41, 42, 43, and 44.)
15. Towers-Binomial Relationship (March 1996, Grade 8) In an interview,
Stephanie discusses the relationship between the towers problems and the
binomial coefficients.

210

Appendix A: Combinatorics Problems

Binomial coefficients arise in connection with the binomial expansion formula

(a+b)n . The following can be shown by induction:
n  

n nr r
(a + b) =
a b
r
n

r=0

The coefficient of anr br is given by:

 
n!
n
=
r
r!(n r)!
This number is the rth entry in the nth row of Pascals Triangle, and it gives
the number of towers with exactly r cubes of one color, when building towers
that are n-tall and there are two colors to choose from. Hence, the binomial
expansion and the towers problem are isomorphic, with the number of instances
of a in the rth term being equal to the number of towers having exactly r cubes.
16. Five-Tall Towers with Exactly Two Red Cubes (January 1998, Grade 10) You
have two colors of Unifix cubes (red and yellow) to choose from. How many
five-tall towers can you build that contain exactly two red cubes?
You are selecting two items (the positions of the two red cubes) from five
choices (the number of cubes in the tower); there are ten ways to do this:
 
5!
5
= 10
=
2
2!(5 2)!
17. Ankurs Challenge (January 1998, Grade 10) Find all possible towers that are
four cubes tall, selecting from cubes available in three different colors, so that
the resulting towers contain at least one of each color. Convince us that you
have found them all.
Suppose the colors are red, blue, and green. We are counting the towers in three
cases: (1) those with two red cubes, one blue cube and one green cube, (2) those
with one red cube, two blue cubes, and one green cube, and (3) those with one
red cube, one blue cube, and one green cube. The following equation gives the
number of ways of selecting m groups of objects of size r1 through rm :


n
r1 , r2 , ..., rm


=


n!
, where
ri = n
r1 ! r2 ! ... rm !

So the number of four-tall towers containing exactly two red cubes, one blue
cube, and two green cubes is:


4
2, 1, 1


=

4!
= 12
2! 1! 1!

Appendix A: Combinatorics Problems

211

Similarly for the other two cases:



4
1, 2, 1


=

4
1, 1, 2


= 12

Hence the number of towers with the required condition is 12+12+12 = 36.
18. The World Series Problem (January 1999, Grade 11) In a World Series, two
teams play each other in at least four and at most seven games. The first team to
win four games is the winner of the World Series. Assuming that the teams are
equally matched, what is the probability that a World Series will be won: (a) in
four games? (b) in five games? (c) in six games? (d) in seven games?
The number of ways for a team to win the series (four games) in n games is
the number of ways it can win three times in n1 games (and then win the
last game). This is given by C(n1,3). The probability of any given set of outcomes for n games is 12n (since there are two equally likely outcomes for
each game). So the probability that one team wins the series in n games is
given by C(n1,3) 2n , and the probability of a win for either team is double
that: C(n1,3) 2n1 . The probabilities are:
(a) C(41,3) 241 = C(3,3) 23 = 18 = 0.125.
(b) C(51,3) 251 = C(4,3) 24 = 416 = 0.25.
(c) C(61,3) 261 = C(5,3) 25 = 1032 = 0.3125.
(d) C(71,3) 271 = C(6,3) 26 = 2064 = 0.3125.
19. The Problem of Points (February 1999, Grade 11) Pascal and Fermat are
sitting in a caf in Paris and decide to play a game of flipping a coin. If the
coin comes up heads, Fermat gets a point. If it comes up tails, Pascal gets a
point. The first to get ten points wins. They each ante up 50 francs, making the
total pot worth 100 francs. They are, of course, playing winner takes all. But
then a strange thing happens. Fermat is winning, eight points to seven, when he
receives an urgent message that his child is sick and he must rush to his home
in Toulouse. They carriage man who delivered the message offers to take him,
but only if they leave immediately. Of course, Pascal understands, but later, in
correspondence, the problem arises: how should the 100 francs be divided?
We can list all the circumstances where Fermat gets two points before Pascal
gets three points. He can do this in two flips, three flips, or four flips. (The game
cannot proceed past four flips. As soon as both players get to nine points, the
next flip will produce a winner. It takes three flips for this to happen.)
(a) Two flips: Fermat wins both. Probability =122 = 14.
(b) Three flips: Fermat wins one of the first two and the last one. Probability
= C(2,1)23 = 14.

212

Appendix A: Combinatorics Problems

(c) Four flips: Fermat wins one of the first three and the last one: Probability
= C(3,1)24 = 316
Probability of any of these events = 14 + 14 + 316 = 1116. Therefore
Fermat should get 100 1116 Francs 69 Francs and Pascal should get 31
Francs.
20. The Taxicab Problem (May 2002, Grade 12) A taxi driver is given a specific
territory of a town, shown below. All trips originate at the taxi stand. One very
slow night, the driver is dispatched only three times; each time, she picks up
passengers at one of the intersections indicated on the map. To pass the time,
she considers all the possible routes she could have taken to each pick-up point
and wonders if she could have chosen a shorter route. What is the shortest route
from a taxi stand to each of three different destination points? How do you
know it is the shortest? Is there more than one shortest route to each point? If
not, why not? If so, how many? Justify your answer.

Using Powells et al. (2003) notation to denote coordinates on the taxicab grid,
(n,r) indicates a point n blocks away from the taxi stand and r blocks to the
right. So the blue dot is at (5,1), the red dot is at (7,4), and the green dot is at
(10,6). Taking the shortest route means going in two directions only (down and
to the right). Finding the number of shortest paths from the taxi stand (0,0) to
any point (n,r) involves the number of ways to select r segments of one kind of
movement in a path that includes two kinds of movements; i.e., the number of
shortest paths to (n,r) is C(n,r). For the specific cases given above, the shortest
paths are:
Blue: C(5,1) = 5.
Red: C(7,4) = 35.
Green: C(10,6) =210.

Appendix B
Counting and Combinatorics Dissertations
from the Longitudinal Study

Franciso, J. M. (2004). Students reflections on their learning experiences: Lessons

from a longitudinal study on the development of mathematical ideas and
reasoning. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ
Glass, B. H. (2001). Mathematical problem solving and justification with community college students. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers University, New
Jersey.
Kiczek, R. D. (2001). Tracing the development of probabilistic thinking: Profiles
from a longitudinal study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers University,
New Jersey.
Martino, A. M. (1992). Elementary students construction of mathematical knowledge: Analysis by profile. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers University,
Newark, NJ.
Muter, E. M. (1999). The development of student ideas in combinatorics and proof:
A six year study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers University, Newark,
New Jersey.
OBrien, M. (1994). Changing a school mathematics program: A ten-year study.
Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers University, New Jersey.
Powell, A. B. (2003). So lets prove it!: Emergent and elaborated mathematical
ideas and reasoning in the discourse and inscriptions of learners engaged in a
combinatorial task. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers University, New
Jersey.
Muter, E. M. (1999). The development of student ideas in combinatorics and proof:
A six year study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers University, Newark,
New Jersey.
Sran, M. K. (2010). Tracing Milins development of inductive reasoning: A case
study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ.
Steffero, M. (2010). Tracing beliefs and behaviors of a participant in a longitudinal
study for the development of mathematical ideas and reasoning: A case study.
Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ.
Tarlow, L. D. (2004). Tracing students development of ideas in combinatorics and
proof. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers University, New Jersey.
Uptegrove, E. B. (2005). To symbols from meaning: Students investigations in
counting. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers University, New Jersey.
213

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Index

A
Abstraction, 10, 17, 24, 77, 85
Addition rule, 13, 73, 77, 82, 111114,
124125, 129130, 133, 136138, 141,
152, 181
Addition rule of Pascals Triangle, 181
Adults, 171183
Ali, 99100
Alston, Alice S., 56, 35, 45, 67, 97,
121, 182
Amy-Lynn, 59, 6263, 6667, 121122,
124126
Angela, 9798, 103, 121, 127129
Angelas Law of Towers, 98
Ankur, 59, 6264, 6671, 8990, 9294,
105107, 109119, 133135, 138140,
142, 157, 159160, 162, 164165,
167, 185
Ankurs Challenge, 8995, 110, 183, 185,
199200, 210
Another Pizza Problem, 70, 209
Argument, 13, 27, 31, 3334, 35, 37, 4043,
4557, 61, 6667, 72, 75, 8995,
97, 102103, 175176, 185, 191,
195, 200
B
Beliefs, 157159, 168169
Binary notation, 106, 108, 116, 118120, 135,
141, 143
Binary numbers, 106, 137
Binomial, 12, 14, 73, 7677, 104105,
108112, 114, 116, 121131, 134136,
143, 152, 209210
Binomial expansion, 12, 14, 108112, 114,
116, 134136, 210
Bobby (Robert), 45, 59, 62
Branches, 103, 201

Brian, 59, 6263, 66, 6871, 8992, 94,

105108, 110, 119, 133135, 138139,
142, 145150, 153, 157, 159, 161, 163,
166167
C
Cases, 12, 14, 3334, 3637, 3943, 4546,
49, 51, 56, 62, 66, 68, 74, 77, 85, 90, 94,
97100, 104, 110, 119120, 127128,
130, 143, 145, 153, 158, 174175, 177,
182, 185192, 194195, 200
Choices, 1112, 5960, 6971, 103, 107108,
116, 122, 124, 127128, 130, 143, 151,
177, 196
Choose, 12, 43, 59, 98, 107, 123, 127,
135140, 142
Choose notation, 135136, 140
Claims, 145153, 164, 168, 202
Coefficient, 77, 106, 135
Collegiate, 183
Combinations, 13, 1923, 25, 2830, 33,
3638, 40, 4243, 4546, 6067,
6971, 77, 79, 82, 85, 8990, 92, 94,
101103, 106, 110, 122, 124, 127128,
130, 137, 172, 175179, 182, 189, 192,
195196, 200
Combinatorial reasoning, 73, 202
Combinatorics, 3, 6, 911, 14, 1718, 2425,
73, 110, 112114, 120, 122, 131, 133,
140141, 144146, 169, 198, 201
Combinatorics problems, 11, 14, 1718,
112113, 131, 133, 144
Conditions, 3, 28, 142, 158, 168169, 171,
183, 190191
Conjecture, 99, 147
Connections, 34, 9, 18, 72, 74, 82, 105120,
130131, 141, 143, 171172,
178182
Consumer math, 173

221

222
Contemporary Mathematics, 172173
Contradiction, 14, 31, 40, 6667, 97, 99
Controlling for variables, 14, 35, 43,
97, 99
Convincing arguments, 4, 104
Counting I, 209
Counting II, 209
Counting methods, 172173
Cousin, 3133, 36, 42, 46
Critical events, 9
Cups, Bowls, and Plates, 205206
D
Dana, 11, 17, 19, 2125, 2732, 43, 60
Danielle, 171, 174
Discourse, 4, 74, 142, 146, 150, 159,
164165, 202
Discursive, 150151, 164, 167, 201
Donna, 171, 186187
Doubling rule, 3940, 42, 49, 56,
106, 130
Duplicates, 19, 2930, 33, 36, 56, 61, 72,
7882, 100, 122, 127, 197
Durability of ideas, 141
Dyadic choice, 151
E
Educational Studies in Mathematics, 202
Elevator, 31, 34, 37
Empirical, 82, 152
Epistemological beliefs, 157159, 168
Errol, 171, 175176, 192, 199
Euclidean geometry, 150
Explanation, 21, 40, 5155, 67, 70, 74, 9295,
97, 101, 106, 109, 112, 115117, 119,
123, 126, 135136, 141, 172175,
180181, 197, 200
F
Factorials, 122
Family tree, 5253
Fermat, 77
Fermats Recursion, 7778
Final Pizza Problem, 70, 209
Five-tall towers with exactly two red cubes, 33,
109, 119
Five-tall towers selecting from two colors, 31
Five-topping pizza problem, 13, 106, 112, 135,
174, 181
Forms of reasoning, 6, 11, 14, 39, 7273, 185,
200201
Formula, 7778, 82, 103104, 108109, 122,
125, 128, 130, 141, 143, 178, 199
For the Learning of Mathematics, 201

Index
Four-tall towers selecting from 2 colors, 28,
196197
Four-tall towers selecting from 3 colors, 195
Four-topping pizza problem, 6870, 123, 127,
174, 181, 208
Francisco, John M., 157169
G
Gang of Four, 38, 4243, 51, 75
Generalization, 3, 17, 91, 94, 98, 106, 126
Generalize, 3, 10, 18, 41, 90, 95, 104105,
133, 147, 151, 172
General rule, 9798, 101, 124, 135, 141, 143
Geometric, 108109
Glass, Barbara, 171183, 185200
Grade 1, 7
Grade 2, 2022, 24, 73
Grade 3, 3, 7, 2223, 28, 74
Grade 4, 56, 31, 3342, 77
Grade 5, 45, 59, 77
Grade 6, 7
Grade 7, 75
Grade 8, 33, 73, 75, 85
Group work, 25, 31, 36, 70, 103, 121, 162,
165, 177
Guess My Tower, 42, 45, 50
H
Harding School, 6
Heuristic, 1113, 25, 27, 43, 59, 67, 147,
201, 203
High school, 48, 14, 89, 97, 105, 133134,
142, 145146, 157158, 161, 169,
172173, 182183, 185186, 200
Hilbert, David, 201
I
Inductive argument, 4243, 4557, 67,
97, 102103, 176177, 182, 185,
191195, 199
Inductive reasoning, 14, 3839, 5056, 97,
100, 195
Interlocution, 151
Isomorphic relationship, 108, 118, 120
Isomorphism, 4, 14, 77, 109, 126, 130, 133,
147, 151153, 179180
J
Jaime, 17, 23
Jeff C., 171, 174, 176177, 179180
Junior year, 134
Justification, 1112, 14, 24, 34, 39, 42, 46,
59, 67, 90, 94, 97, 100, 104, 109110,
118119, 126, 147, 168, 173, 175177,
185193, 196, 199200, 203

Index
Justification by cases, 97, 104, 119, 177, 185,
192, 199
Justify, 3, 12, 19, 39, 4243, 49, 61, 6566,
73, 92, 130131, 146153, 168, 172,
175176, 183, 194, 200, 203
K
Kenilworth, 47, 12, 59, 6970, 161, 182
Kiczek, Regina, 121, 133
Knowing deeply, 203
L
Learning environment, 131
Lecture classes, 118120
Letter codes, 106, 122, 142
Liberal-arts, 171173, 185
Linda, 171
Lisa, 171, 175, 180
Logic, 39, 172
Logical reasoning, 10, 17
Longitudinal study, 38, 1011, 14, 18,
24, 27, 75, 86, 89, 9899, 105, 130,
157161, 167169, 172, 177, 183,
185200, 203
M
Magda, 9799, 103, 121, 127130
Maher, Carolyn A., 4, 4557, 5972, 8995,
105, 121, 133
Making sense, 131, 134, 141, 145
Martino, Amy M., 4, 9, 1721, 2728, 33, 35,
39, 41, 47, 49, 7475, 178, 180, 182
Mary, 171, 175, 195, 197198, 200
Mathematical beliefs, 157, 159, 168169
Mathematical concepts, 6, 119, 161, 172173
Mathematical ideas, 45, 911, 1719, 24, 57,
7475, 85, 95, 130131, 133, 142, 145,
158, 162, 172, 201203
Mathematical structure, 3, 147
Melinda, 171, 178, 180
Metaphor, 13, 85
Michael, 17, 1921, 23, 35
Michelle, 27, 38, 41, 45, 5054, 56, 5960, 62,
64, 97, 99103, 121122, 127
Michelle I., 27, 45, 5054, 56, 59, 6465
Michelle R., 45, 50, 5253, 56, 59, 62
Mike, 59, 6264, 6668, 7071, 8990, 9294,
105110, 114120, 133142, 145152,
157, 159160, 162, 165167, 171, 177,
181182
Milin, 25, 27, 3541, 4552, 5556, 5961,
6465, 71, 77
Muter, Ethel M., 59, 8995, 105120

223
N
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
(NCTM), 5, 17, 144, 168
National Science Foundation, 5
Night session, 112, 116, 118, 133,
135143, 181
Notation, 1314, 1819, 2425, 27, 42, 5961,
65, 67, 7274, 77, 103, 105108, 110,
112, 116, 133142, 201
n-Tall tower, 12, 27
N-tall towers selecting from r-colors,
42, 77
O
Opposite, 29, 31, 3536, 42, 46, 54, 67,
99100, 150, 175
Order, 6, 12, 24, 70, 75, 8990, 106107, 113,
118, 124, 127128, 130, 133, 140,
143144, 153, 173, 175, 182, 189,
191, 202
Outfit, 11, 1921, 2324, 43
Over time, 73, 75, 160, 162, 168, 171,
201, 203
P
Pantozzi, Ralph, 121, 161162, 166167
Papert, 7475
Partial cases, 42
Pascal, 211212
Pascals Identity, 1314, 105, 111115, 118,
120121, 124125, 127130
Pascals Triangle, 1214, 7273, 77, 8183, 86,
104105, 110117, 120121, 123126,
128131, 133138, 140141, 143144,
147, 151153, 160, 181182
Pattern, 6, 10, 18, 24, 2728, 31, 3334, 3743,
46, 5054, 7374, 77, 8182, 85, 90,
99, 101, 104, 106, 119, 123, 128, 130,
147, 174175, 181183, 190
Penny, 171, 177, 195, 199
Permutations, 172, 178, 182, 192
Pirie, Susan, 97, 158, 203
Pizza
with halves problem, 1213, 6769, 174
plain, 12, 59, 106107, 113, 117118,
122123, 125, 127, 141, 208
problem, 1213, 59, 6870, 7273,
104107, 111113, 116123, 125, 127,
129130, 135136, 141, 145, 169,
172174, 177178, 180181, 183
Powell, Arthur B., 9, 145154
Power of 2, 122, 124
Probability, 165, 172

224
Problem of Points, 211
Proof
by cases, 41, 72, 119, 130, 175, 191, 194
by contradiction, 99
R
Reasoning, 34, 6, 911, 14, 17, 2425, 27, 31,
3839, 42, 45, 50, 52, 5455, 5972,
7576, 84, 9495, 97, 100, 112, 145,
147153, 158, 168, 171183, 185, 188,
191, 195, 201203
by contradiction, 97
Recursive argument, 72, 199
Relay Race, 206
Representation, 34, 1014, 1725, 27, 46, 51,
59, 62, 64, 73, 76, 9495, 97, 105120,
133144, 168, 172, 203
Rica, Fred, 45
Rob, 171, 175, 177178, 181182, 187
Robert, 121122, 124127
S
Samantha, 171, 179
Scheme, 21, 24, 94, 105106, 109, 174
Second International Congress of
Mathematicians, 201
Senior year, 145, 200
Sense making, 6, 1112, 24, 159162, 200,
203204
Shelly, 121127
Sherly, 99100, 121, 127129
Shirts and jeans, 11, 1724, 27, 29, 5960,
64, 73
Shirts and jeans extended, 205
Socially emergent cognition, 150
Sociomathematical norms, 153
Sophomore year, 119, 134135, 140, 143
Specialize, 147148, 151
Speiser, Robert, 33, 7386, 105112, 201
Sran, Manjit K., 2743, 4557, 5972

Index
Staircase, 33, 40, 42, 174175
Standard notation, 133144
Statistics, 172, 178
Stephanie, 11, 17, 1925, 2835, 4042,
4562, 71, 7385, 121127, 171, 178,
180, 182
Stephanie C., 171, 178, 180
Steve, 171, 175, 181
Strategy, 13, 21, 23, 29, 31, 3536, 43, 45, 51,
67, 69, 72, 92, 94, 9899, 100, 119,
147, 153, 177, 182, 192, 194, 197, 200
T
Tarlow, Lynn D., 59, 97104, 121131
Taxicab geometry, 150, 202
Taxicab problem, 14, 144147, 150153, 212
Theory, 51, 74, 102103, 175, 202
Tim, 171, 177, 190
Tower
binomial relationship, 209
families, 3132, 34
Tracy, 171, 178
Tree diagrams, 122, 127
Trial and error, 29, 31, 3542, 51
U
Understanding, 45, 9, 12, 18, 21, 24, 33,
41, 43, 4546, 5154, 57, 7376, 95,
101, 105106, 109, 121, 134, 140, 158,
160164, 180, 201, 203
Unifix cubes, 12, 27, 42, 50, 97, 126
Uptegrove, Elizabeth B., 914, 97104,
105120, 133144
W
Wesley, 171, 175176, 180
Y
Yankelewitz, Dina, 1725, 2743, 4557,
5972