Thirteen cookies, four friends and one happy dog4 panels. 1: thirteen cookies and four friends. 2: they deal out three each. 3: one cookie is left on the plate, and everyone looks at it. 4: the dog. Shows: 13 ÷ 4 is 3 with a remainder of 1.
Three and Four swap places and the answer does not notice3 panels. 1: 3 + 4 stand in line, and the sign above reads 7. 2: they swap to 4 + 3. Still 7. 3: they try it with a minus sign: 4 − 3 is 1, and 3 − 4 is not. Shows: adding works in either order, and subtracting does not.
Numerator and Denominator share a bunk bed3 panels. 1: Denominator, on the bottom bunk: 'I say how many equal parts make the whole.' 2: Numerator, on top: 'I say how many of them we have.' 3: they stand as 3/4 beside a pie with three of its four slices left. Shows: what the two numbers of a fraction mean.
Five and Negative Five meet on a number line3 panels. 1: Five stands five steps from zero on one side, Negative Five five steps away on the other. 2: they walk toward each other. 3: they meet at zero and vanish in a puff. Shows: a number added to its opposite makes zero.
Odd numbers at a dance where everyone needs a partner3 panels. 1: Eight dancers pair off with nobody left. 2: Nine dancers pair off, and one stands alone. 3: the one left over dances with the coat rack. Shows: an even number divides by two exactly, and an odd number does not.
One feels useless at multiplying3 panels. 1: Two multiplies Five and makes 10. The crowd cheers. 2: One multiplies Five and gets 5, then Nine and gets 9. 3: Five thanks One for the mirror. Shows: any number multiplied by one stays the same.
One is turned away at the door of the primes' club3 panels. 1: Two, Three, Five and Seven each show the doorman two divisors: 1 and themselves. 2: One shows its only divisor, itself. 3: the doorman points at the rule on the wall: exactly two. Shows: 1 is not a prime number.
Seven tries to split into equal teams and cannot4 panels. 1: Six splits into two teams of three. 2: Seven tries teams of two and has one left over. 3: teams of three, and one is left over again. 4: Seven stays as one team of seven. Shows: a prime number has exactly two divisors, 1 and itself.
Six brags that it is a perfect number3 panels. 1: Six lines up its smaller divisors: 1, 2 and 3. 2: it adds them: 1 + 2 + 3 = 6. 3: Eight tries the same with 1, 2 and 4 and gets 7. 'So close.' Shows: a perfect number equals the sum of its divisors, not counting itself.
Square numbers line up in squares for the class photo3 panels. 1: Four stands as 2 rows of 2 dots, Nine as 3 rows of 3. 2: Sixteen arrives as 4 rows of 4. 3: Ten tries every way and always has dots sticking out. Shows: a square number is a whole number multiplied by itself.
Three and Four swap places and the answer does not notice3 panels. 1: 3 + 4 stand in line, and the sign above reads 7. 2: they swap to 4 + 3. Still 7. 3: they try it with a minus sign: 4 − 3 is 1, and 3 − 4 is not. Shows: adding works in either order, and subtracting does not.
Zero joins the multiplication team and ruins every score3 panels. 1: Seven and Three multiply, and the scoreboard reads 21. 2: Zero asks to play and multiplies with Seven. 3: the scoreboard drops to 0, and the same happens with Three. Shows: zero times any number is zero.
Shapes 9
A circle unrolls its edge and measures it in diameters3 panels. 1: a circle unrolls its edge into a straight line. 2: it lays its diameter along the line: once, twice, three times. 3: a small piece is left over. 'Every time.' Shows: a circle's circumference is pi times its diameter, and pi is a little more than 3.
A cube unfolds to show it is six squares3 panels. 1: a cube brags about being solid. 2: it unfolds flat into a cross of six squares. 3: it folds itself back up. Shows: a cube has six square faces, and a flat pattern that folds into a solid is called a net.
A dog on a leash draws a perfect circle3 panels. 1: a leash is tied to a post in the grass. 2: the dog runs round at full stretch. 3: the worn path is a circle, and the leash is its radius. Shows: every point of a circle is the same distance from the center.
A farmer with one length of fence tries two pens3 panels. 1: a pen 5 long and 1 wide holds 5 sheep, a square each. 2: the same fence as a pen 3 by 3 holds 9. 3: the farmer measures both fences: 12 each. Shows: two shapes with the same perimeter can have different areas.
A hexagon moves into a honeycomb4 panels. 1: regular pentagons try to cover a floor and leave gaps. 2: regular octagons try and leave gaps too. 3: hexagons click together with none. 4: Triangle and Square: 'We can do that as well.' Shows: among regular polygons, only triangles, squares and hexagons tile a flat surface alone.
A right triangle checks itself with three squares3 panels. 1: a right triangle with sides 3, 4 and 5 builds a tiled square on each side. 2: it counts the tiles on the two short sides: 9 and 16. 3: the square on the long side has 25. Shows: in a right triangle, the squares on the two short sides add up to the square on the longest.
A square is told it is also a rectangle3 panels. 1: a sign on a door: rectangles only, four right angles. Square walks in. 2: Rectangle objects, and Square shows its four right angles. 3: Rectangle tries the squares' door, four equal sides, and is turned away. Shows: every square is a rectangle, and not every rectangle is a square.
A triangle tries to make one angle bigger3 panels. 1: a triangle stretches one corner wider. 2: its other two corners are squeezed narrower. 3: it adds the three up, and the total has not moved. Shows: the angles of a triangle always total 180 degrees.
Two parallel lines who will never meet3 panels. 1: two lines wave to each other across a gap. 2: they run on for miles, and the gap never changes. 3: a third line crosses both and carries their letters. Shows: parallel lines stay the same distance apart and never cross.
Fractions and sharing 9
A pizza cut three ways that is always half4 panels. 1: a pizza in 2 slices, 1 taken. 2: a pizza in 4 slices, 2 taken. 3: a pizza in 8 slices, 4 taken. 4: the three plates hold the same amount. Shows: 1/2, 2/4 and 4/8 are equivalent fractions.
An order for five quarters of a pizza3 panels. 1: the order slip says 5/4 pizzas, and the cook stares at it. 2: the cook boxes one whole pizza and one more quarter slice. 3: the label on the box: 1 1/4. Shows: a fraction can be more than one whole, and 5/4 is the same as 1 1/4.
Fifty percent and one half find out they are twins3 panels. 1: Fifty Percent shades 50 squares of a grid of 100. 2: One Half shades half of the same grid. 3: they hold the two grids up, and they match. Shows: percent means out of a hundred, so 50% is one half.
Half a sandwich, halved again3 panels. 1: a sandwich is cut in half. 2: a little brother asks for half of one half. 3: the whole sandwich drawn as four equal pieces, with one in his hand. Shows: half of a half is a quarter.
Numerator and Denominator share a bunk bed3 panels. 1: Denominator, on the bottom bunk: 'I say how many equal parts make the whole.' 2: Numerator, on top: 'I say how many of them we have.' 3: they stand as 3/4 beside a pie with three of its four slices left. Shows: what the two numbers of a fraction mean.
Thirteen cookies, four friends and one happy dog4 panels. 1: thirteen cookies and four friends. 2: they deal out three each. 3: one cookie is left on the plate, and everyone looks at it. 4: the dog. Shows: 13 ÷ 4 is 3 with a remainder of 1.
Twelve cookies and nobody to share them with3 panels. 1: twelve cookies shared by three friends: four each. 2: shared by one: all twelve. 3: shared by zero friends: nobody to hand them to, and the teacher writes 'undefined' on the board. Shows: a number cannot be divided by zero.
Twelve cookies, four friends and no arguments3 panels. 1: twelve cookies on a plate and four friends round it. 2: they deal the cookies out one at a time, like cards. 3: three each, and an empty plate. Shows: dividing is sharing into equal groups: 12 ÷ 4 = 3.
Two kids argue over a third and a quarter of a cake3 panels. 1: one kid picks 1/4 'because four is bigger than three'. 2: two equal cakes are cut, one in three pieces and one in four. 3: the quarter is the smaller slice. Shows: the larger the denominator, the smaller each part.
Word problems acted out 9
A coin that came up heads five times in a row3 panels. 1: five heads in a row, and the crowd says tails is due. 2: the coin: 'I do not remember any of that.' 3: the sixth toss hangs in the air, still one chance in two. Shows: each toss of a fair coin is independent of the last.
A farmer counts heads and legs over the fence4 panels. 1: chickens and cows in one field: 10 heads and 28 legs. 2: if all ten were chickens there would be 20 legs, 8 too few. 3: each cow swapped in adds 2 legs, so four cows. 4: 6 chickens and 4 cows pose for the answer. Shows: two clues can pin down two unknown numbers.
A snail climbs out of a ten-meter well4 panels. 1: the snail climbs 3 meters each day and slides back 2 each night. 2: a frog: 'One meter a day. Ten days.' 3: on day eight the snail starts at 7 meters and reaches the top before night. 4: the snail, from the rim: 'Check the last step.' Shows: a pattern can end early, so work the last step by hand.
A train that knows it is in a word problem3 panels. 1: the board says: a train travels at 60 miles an hour for 2 hours. 2: after one hour the train passes mile marker 60. 3: after two it passes 120, and a passenger asks if anyone else feels watched. Shows: distance is speed multiplied by time.
The average score that nobody scored4 panels. 1: five friends skip rope: 3, 5, 6, 10 and 11 jumps. 2: they add the scores: 35. 3: they divide by five: 7. 4: 'Who got 7?' Nobody. Shows: the mean is the total divided by how many there are.
Five friends count their handshakes3 panels. 1: five friends each shake hands with every other friend once. 2: the first shakes four hands, the next three new ones, then two, then one. 3: the tally: 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 10. Shows: five people make ten pairs when each pair is counted once.
One grain of wheat, doubled on every square3 panels. 1: one grain on the first square of a chessboard, 2 on the next, then 4. 2: the eighth square needs 128. 3: the tenth needs 512, the sack is empty, and 54 squares are still bare. Shows: doubling grows very fast.
Pancakes for four, then pancakes for twelve3 panels. 1: the recipe for four needs 2 cups of flour and 1 of milk. 2: for twelve, the cook triples the flour to 6 and forgets the milk. 3: a pancake like a brick, and a note: 3 cups of milk. Shows: to keep a ratio, multiply every part by the same number.
Two kids, one sum and two different answers4 panels. 1: the board says 2 + 3 × 4. 2: one kid adds first and gets 20. 3: the other multiplies first and gets 14. 4: the teacher circles 14. Shows: multiplication is done before addition.
How it works
These math comic strip ideas give their panels in order, and each ends on a Shows line that states the rule behind the joke.
Read the full guide
Four kinds of strip
Numbers as characters gives a number a personality that comes from a rule: Zero wipes out any product, One changes nothing. Shapes does the same for geometry. Fractions and sharing happens over pizza, cake and cookies. Word problems acted out puts the people of a word problem inside it.
For a project
Copy the Shows line into a caption under the last panel. Put the working where a reader can see it: on a scoreboard, a sign or a chalkboard inside the strip.
Work every sum in the strip yourself before you ink it.
Swap in numbers from your own unit, then work the answer again.
Questions and answers
What are good math comic strip project ideas?
Take one idea from your unit and let it cause the trouble: Zero joins the multiplication team and ruins every score, a square is told it is also a rectangle, or thirteen cookies are shared by four friends and one happy dog.
How do you make a comic strip about math?
Choose one rule. Draw a first panel where things are normal, a middle where the rule causes a surprise, and a last panel that shows the answer. Write the rule once, as a caption.
What is a funny math comic idea?
One is turned away from the primes' club for having a single divisor. Two parallel lines wave across a gap they can never close. A coin that landed heads five times explains that it remembers nothing.