Factors are numbers that divide evenly into a number. For instance for the number 8: 1, 2, and 4 will divide evenly into 8 and therefore are factors of 8, the largest factor of 8 is 8. Common factors can be very useful when trying to find common denominators for fractions. The greatest common factor of two or more numbers is the largest number that can divide evenly into each of the numbers.

Now, you can save yourself the computational work in finding the greatest common factors for any 2 numbers by using the common factor calculator.

When I was learning to do long multiplication, I learned the traditional method, or so I thought. The traditional method depends on who's doing the teaching and where you are doing the learning. There are a few ways of doing long multiplication and I only just discovered these methods in the last decade. So if you're struggling to teach a young one how to do long multiplication, it may be time to change up the method. There's Napier's Method, the Box Method and the Russian Method. After all, the only thing that is important is that the student understands the concept, so pick your method wisely.

And if summer is the time to help those young ones learn multiplication, check out the resource section.

In my work 7 or 8 years ago as a math consultant, one of the concerns to be addressed was the gender gap. A deep focus on teaching for understanding prevailed and ensuring that understanding was in place before moving on to algorithms or procedures. However, research now would suggest that it may not be much of a concern anymore. Women are now earning 48 percent of undergraduate college degrees in math. Having said this, they are still under represented in the fields of physics and engineering. Girls have also caught up with boys in math from the 2nd grade to through to the 11th. The news is encouraging! See the full story at AOL Life and Style.

Without a doubt, this headline had me raising my eyebrows! What's the link, DNA and Sudoku? Before clicking through, I had a few guesses but when the logical part of my brain clicked in, I had difficulty linking the two. So what's the link between DNA and Sudoku? Well, apparently it's a 2000 year old theorem, long before the days and knowledge of DNA. Be sure to read the full article.

However, if it's Sudoku you want, try the puzzles here or for a greater selection check out the puzzles from our guide at Puzzles.