Palindromes

A Palindrome is a word, phrase or sequence which reads the same in both directions. Derived from the Greek palíndromos, meaning running back again, a palindrome reads the same forward and backward, with general allowances for adjustments to punctuation and word dividers. There are many types of palindromes from many fields including math, language arts, history, music, poetry and biology^[1].

Examples of words include: MOM, DAD, NOON, RACECAR, LEVEL, DEED, CIVIC, RADAR, KAYAK

Examples of phrases and sentences include: STRAW WARTS and NEVER ODD OR EVEN and MADAM I'M ADAM.

Examples of palindromic numbers include:

535
3773
59695
76067
374473
416614
87966978
246191642

The third palindrome date of the 21st century is Nov 2, 2011 or 11-02-2011. Can you think of another one in November of this year? Post your answer on our Facebook page. Learn more about calendar palindromes at these sites:

BTW, palindrome days will vary depending on which country you live in, and how dates are written in that country (e.g. mm/dd/yyyy). What is your palindrome calendar? Tell us on Facebook!

Here is a clever palindrome puzzle from Danica Mckellar:

Clue:	"What did the mathematician say when she was offered cake?"
Answer:	"I prefer pi."

Now check out my palindrome puzzles. The puzzles below pose questions, the answers to which are phrases with a math theme. Read all of them carefully to see how they work, then try the last two on your own. Be sure to post your answers on our Facebook page.

Clue 1:	"What did the right triangle trade with the hairdresser?"
Answer 1:	A leg for a jar of gel

Clue 2:	"After getting an incorrect remainder, the math teacher asker her student to be a _____________ ?"
Answer 2:	redivider

Clue 3:	"What kind of payment did the mathematician want from the accountant?"
Answer 3:	net ten

Clue 4:	"What type of number is never odd or even?" (Hint: Work backwards)
Answer 4:	A fraction

Clue 5:	"What did the apple pie want on its mean, median and mode?"
Answer 5:	stats ala stats

Clue 6:	"What was the weight of the car in metric units?
Hint:	It involves a negation
Answer 6:	Not a ton

Clue 7:	"What happened when the number 13 came across the number 31?"
Hint:	What happened when the prime went in reverse?
Answer 7:	prime saw I was emirp

Share your own puzzles with math themes on our Facebook page.