Understanding Irrational Numbers with Math Games

3 games

This series of math games is designed to teach students about irrational numbers, numbers that are not rational. The Understand Irrational Numbers learning objective — based on CCSS and state standards — delivers improved student engagement and academic performance to your classroom, as demonstrated by research. This learning objective directly references 8.NS.A.1 as written in the common core national math standards.

Scroll down for a preview of this learning objective’s games and concepts.

Irrational Numbers: Concepts Covered

Any number—including fractions, percents, and square roots—can be written as a decimal. A repeating decimal can be converted into a fraction, and every fraction can be expressed as a repeating decimal. Over time, the decimal expansion of a fraction will always repeat.

A rational number is any number that can be written as a/b where a and b are integers and b≠0. An irrational number, on the other hand, cannot be expressed as a ratio of two integers. Its decimal form goes on infinitely without any repeating pattern.

Below is a preview of each game in this learning objective.

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Dino Island Estimated Duration: 23 minutes Embark on an adventure to a new and unexplored land, searching for the traces of an unknown species of dinosaur. Dig through rock layers, retrieve and examine ancient fossils and document your expedition through Dino Island!

Geo Journey Estimated Duration: 15 minutes Set off on a "Geo Journey," a riveting educational adventure that turns players into aspiring geologists. Dig deep into the Earth's crust to discover hidden fossils, interpret the secrets within rock strata, and engage with fun mini-games that illuminate the mysteries of our planet's past. Reassemble a scientist's notes and consult with an expert to link your findings to the grand chronicle of Earth's history. "Geo Journey" invites you to explore and uncover the geological wonders of our world!

Fossil Explorers Estimated Duration: 15 minutes Become the best paleontologist in this exciting adventure! Dig up hidden fossils, analyze them carefully, and discover the secrets left behind by the dinosaurs. Explore, learn, and solve the mysteries of these legendary creatures. Enjoy 4 unique mini-games! Use tools to dig up fossils, discover which dinosaur they belong to in the lab, investigate their era with relative dating, and determine their exact age with absolute dating.

Newton Pool Estimated Duration: 15 minutes The game consists of hand-crafted levels where the player controls a white ball. The goal of each level is to get the white ball to the end of the level in as few moves as possible, while racking up points by bumping golden balls into obstacles on the way! The game does not have any instructional math content, it simply has math review questions spread throughout.

Galaxy Escape Estimated Duration: 20 minutes 10 Bright Monsters have been captured in space and they need your help to cross the galaxy jumping between platforms, finding them, and releasing them by correctly answering each question. Each monster that you release and unlock will be available to play with in the next level, in the search for the next monster. In your journey, you’ll be able to find power-ups, like ‘Double points’ and ‘Slow down’, which can be activated by finding gems, and their duration can be extended by correctly answering a question. Unlock and release the 10 different monsters and a spaceship along 10 different levels, while you make the most possible points.

Fossil Records Estimated Duration: 6 minutes Rocks are solid natural substances composed of one or more minerals. A rock's age can be determined by relative dating or absolute dating. Relative dating gives geologists an approximate age based on the principle of superposition or presence of fossils. Absolute age gives us the precise age of the rock using radiometric dating.