Last week saw the exciting world-wide launch of a new iPhone app ‘Quaso’ devised by Ardingly College maths teacher, John Enock. Mr Enock who says: “A lot of maths is all about fun and messing about with numbers and shapes,’ has been a lover of puzzles for many years and has had two books published.
Out of the latest, ‘24’ The Challenging New Number Puzzle’, came an idea to create a popular puzzle based on algebra. In Quaso, Mr Enock has a taken a crossword grid with equations on the side, in which symbols substituted for letters enable you to work out the numbers the symbols represent . Then you have to work out where the numbers go. The word Quaso is derived from equation but, like the puzzle, is pure invention by Mr Enock!
The Mail on Sunday has started running Quaso and the new craze has its followers already in the newspaper, on the iPhone… and in the Ardingly playground! George Gutteridge from year 6 was heard to remark:”I tried the app at home and it’s fun – a crossword with numbers!”
John Enock lives in Sussex with his wife, a successful writer. A former senior school teacher in Battle, John has been Head of Maths at Ardingly College Prep School for the past 8 years. Headmaster Chris Calvey says: “John is an inspiring maths teacher and I am not surprised that his ability to make maths teaching interesting and fun has surfaced in this talent for setting puzzles.”
So – challenge yourself! Can you get from the Quicky Level to the Tricky in The Mail or up to Level 5 on your iPhone? And be warned, Mr Enock has plans to go up to level 8.
Attached is a photo of John with some of his math’s class, l-r Crispin McCutcheon, George Gutteridge, Will King, Imogen Waters, George Gavoyannis – please note the phones are for demonstration purposes only as the Prep School has a strict no mobile phone policy.
Mon 17th May 2010
