Math Story : Even And Odd Numbers
Mr Perfect Pair
Uncle Math is really busy. It looks like he is designing something. Come on, let us find out.
“Hello, Uncle Math! What are you doing?” ask the kids. “I am designing a new gadget that will help the people of Samper town to pack their objects faster”, he answers. The kids are curious.
“This is Mr Perfect Pair! It packs all the objects in pairs,” explains Uncle Math. “Pair? What is that?” questions Squarho. “Set of two makes a pair”, he answers. “Wow!” utter the kids looking at the unique Mr Perfect Pair.
Cirho gets excited.“We also want to try Mr Perfect Pair on some objects,” he says. Others agree with him.
“Alright! Here are some juice packets. You need to put the packets from one side and collect them from the other side. Okay?” instructs Uncle Math and continues his work.
Cirho goes first. He takes just one juice packet and puts it in Mr Perfect Pair.
The juice packet does not get packed. Cirho is disappointed. “Haha! loser Cirho” mocks Squarho and pushes him away to try his hands on the gadget.
Squarho puts 2 packets in Mr perfect pair. “Wow! They look ultra new”, he exclaims. Mr Perfect Pair packed the 2 packets beautifully.
Cirha goes next. “I will put 3 juice packets”, she says and grabs the packets.
Oh No! Mr Perfect Pair does not work again! Cirha is also disappointed. Squarho mocks Cirha too. Cirho and Cirho are hurt.
It is Triho’s turn now. He puts 4 packets in Mr Perfect Pair. Do you think it will work?
Of course! Mr Perfect Pair packed the packets beautifully again. Cirha is frustrated now. “Mr Perfect Pair is partial Uncle Math. It works only for Triho and Squarho. Not for Cirho and me. Bad Perfect Pair”, she says.
Hearing this, Uncle Math stops his work and comes near them. He asks Cirha to explain her reason for calling Mr Perfect Pair partial. She narrates everything with disappointment. “Haha! Cirha, you’re angry for no reason”, laughs Uncle Math.
“You forgot that Mr Perfect Pair packs the objects only in pairs. To make a pair, you need a set of two packets. When Cirho put 1 packet, it was not a pair. Whereas when Squarho put 2 packets, they formed a pair.”
“Similarly, when you put 3 packets, two of your packets could form a pair, but still, one would be left? And finally, when Triho added 4, the packets formed two pairs and came out packed”, explains Uncle Math.
“Thus, if we put 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 packets in Mr Perfect Pair, it will work like a trick. But if you put 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 packets, it won’t pack them. Cirha, can you explain why?” questions Uncle Math. “Ohh! Because in 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9, every time one extra packet will be left which will not make these numbers a perfect pair”, she answers.
Uncle Math agrees and says, “Such numbers which can be easily divided into groups of 2 are called Even Numbers. 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 are even numbers. And the numbers which cannot be divided into groups of 2 are called Odd Numbers. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 are odd numbers.”
“That means Mr Perfect Pair takes only even numbers. It does not take odd numbers”, says Triho.
Uncle Math agrees and appreciates him. But, Cirha and Cirho are still upset.
“They must be upset because of Squarho”, thinks Triho. He asks Squarho to apologize for teasing and being rude to them. Squarho realizes his mistake and apologizes without hesitancy.
“Bullying is wrong. Any act that hurt others and their feelings are wrong. Remember that!” says Uncle Math. Squarho learnt his lesson. Now, it is time for some more even and odd experiments with Mr Perfect Pair.
We Learnt That…
- Numbers that can be divided into groups of 2 are called Even Numbers. 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 are even numbers.
- Numbers that cannot be divided into groups of 2 are called Odd Numbers. 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 are odd numbers.
- Bullying is wrong.
- Any act that hurt others and their feelings are wrong.
Let’s Discuss
- What was Uncle Math designing?
- What was special about Mr Perfect Pair?
- What are even and odd numbers? Explain with an example.
- Why were Cirha and I upset?
- Squarho bullied us by calling them ‘losers’. Was he right? Should we bully others?
Experience the immersive video version of this captivating story by clicking the link below, and let the excitement come to life :
Please refer this guide by Fun2Do Labs for teaching even and odd numbers to kids :
