Episode 801: The Hacker’s Challenge

To prove he’s smarter, Hacker challenges the kids to solve number puzzles in 3 hours or he ruins Solaria, so they experiment and adjust to try to find the numbers in time.

For Real segment: To stop Harley from taking his bike, Harry makes a new lock combination, a series of puzzles that stump Harley until he tries different numbers to find the solution.

Learning Goals

When your child is stuck on a numbers problem and doesn’t know where to start, she can experiment with different numbers and use the results to adjust her next choices until she finds the numbers that work.

Topics: Using Numbers, Pre-Algebra, Problem Solving, Solution by Trying Numbers

Episode 802: Face-Off

Fluff and the kids have to analyze a sneaky ad to prove that the hockey team’s new cyberskates, made in the Northern Frontier, are not going to help them win the Penguia Cup.

For Real segment: To sell an ugly necklace in a yard sale, Bianca’s ad claims it will “make you feel like a princess,” but her niece convinces her to stick with the facts and fix the ad.

Learning Goals

When an ad tries to make your child buy a product, he can use reasoning to analyze its claims so he can make an informed choice about what to do.

Topics: Problem Solving

Episode 803: Peace, Love and Hackerness

Hacker destroys the Far Out Radio antenna to shut down Cyberspace and the team must learn how to add fractions in measurement to stop him.

For Real segment: On the job at a ribbon store, Bianca struggles at adding measurements with mixed-numbers until she learns that a yardstick can help her add the fractions.

Learning Goals
When your child needs to find a total length from several measurements, and her measurements are mixed numbers, she can first add the whole numbers, then add the fractions to get the total length.

Topics: Fractions, Measurement, Adding Mixed Numbers in Measurement

Episode 804: Hackerized!

The mysterious Ledge transforms the folk in Sensible Flats to look and act like Hacker, and Inez must train to climb a cliff in under 3 minutes or be ‘Hackerized’ herself!

For Real segment: To train himself to run a mile in ten minutes, Harry starts slowly and uses a graph to track his progress, sticking to his plan until he achieves his goal.

Learning Goals
When your child has a goal he wants to achieve, he can measure his performance with numbers and keep track of it over time to help him reach it.

Topics: Using Data, Measurement, Measuring Performance

Episode 805: The Bluebird of Zappiness

To embarrass Hacker, Ledge sets out to find the key to cure Motherboard, and Hacker is forced to team up with the kids and use ‘shadow math’ in Groundhoggia to unravel clues to stop him.

For Real segment: Harry and Harley find a wad of cash on the sidewalk and use some photos they took, plus shadow math, to figure out the rightful owner and return the money.

Learning Goals

When your child knows the height of an object, she can use the length of its shadow to figure out the height of something else – even if it is too tall to measure directly.

Topics: Pre-Algebra, Measurement, Measuring Shadows to Find Height