(Music plays)

An animated clip shows a big orange X on a blue background. It explodes and letters and numbers come out of it in all directions and float around.

Mathemagician Eric appears on screen. He’s in his mid-twenties. He has short dark brown hair and a beard. He wears a red T-shirt with the show’s logo, blue jeans and red Tennis shoes.

The screen turns red and the logo of the show appears next. It reads "MathXplosion." Meanwhile, cones, cubes and dices float around it.

Kids voices sing a song with lyrics that go
WHAT A HIT
IT'S NOT A TRICK
IT'S MATHXPLOSION
JUST FOR YOU
COOL AND NEW
MATHXPLOSION!

The episode starts with Eric standing in a workroom, next to an antique clock with Roman numerals. He uses a magnifying glass to take a closer look.

Eric says HEY, DID YOU GUYS KNOW
THAT SOME CLOCK FACES USE
ROMAN NUMERALS?
IT'S TRUE.
THE ANCIENT ROMANS USED
ROMAN NUMERALS TO REPRESENT
NUMBERS MORE
THAN 2,000 YEARS AGO,
AND YOU STILL SEE THEM
SOMETIMES TODAY, LIKE ON
CLOCKS AND OFFICIAL SIGNS.
(Clock dinging plays)

Eric listens carefully and then continues
WELL, IT'S 9:00 NOW, TIME
TO GO FIND SOME MORE
ROMAN NUMERALS.

Next, he takes a balloon, inflates it and puts his cell phone next to it. Then, magically, the balloon deflates and his phone ends up trapped inside.

He says WEIRD.
LET'S GO.

(music plays)

Next, Eric stands in front of an old and tall building. He looks up and sees the clock in the top.

He says OH, FOUND SOME.
THEY LOOK LIKE OUR LETTERS,
BUT THEY'RE BASED ON LATIN
CHARACTERS AND WORDS.
THE ROMANS HAD FEWER
NUMBER SYMBOLS THAN WE DO.
ONLY SEVEN SYMBOLS TOTAL,
AND THEY WOULD COMBINE THEM
IN DIFFERENT WAYS.

An aerial view on screen shows a big circle in a park with flowers inside that looks like a clock from the top. The caption below has the letters "I, V, X, L, C, D, M."

Eric says CAN YOU READ ROMAN NUMERALS?

He flips a board with the correspondent letters and numbers.

Next, he says LET ME HELP YOU.

The writing on the board get animated and move as he mentions them. The chart reads "I equals 1, V equals 5, X equals 10, L equals 50, C equals 100, D equals 500, M equals 1000."

Eric says COUNTING TO 10 IS ALSO
DIFFERENT FROM HOW WE DO IT.
FOR INSTANCE, 4 DOESN'T HAVE
ITS OWN SYMBOL SO YOU PICK
THE CLOSEST SYMBOL, IN THIS
CASE, 5, AND SUBTRACT 1.
SO 4 WOULD BE 5, 5 MINUS 1.

The caption changes to "IV equals 5 minus 1 equals 4." and then it changes to "VI equals 5 plus 1 equals 6."

Next, he says FOR 6 YOU WOULD WRITE
5, 5 PLUS 1, AND SO ON.
LET'S SEE WHAT
TIME IT IS.

A new dynamic clock appears on screen. This one has Roman numerals.

He says YOU CAN THINK OF A CLOCK TO
HELP YOU REMEMBER WHAT THE
ROMAN NUMERALS MEAN.
WHEN THE BIG HAND IS AT XII,
OR 12, AND THE LITTLE HAND
IS AT 2, IT'S 2, OR 2:00.
MUST BE TIME TO GO.
CHECK THIS OUT.

(music plays)

As he mentions the time, the numbers blink.

Eric draws a circle and colours it inside. He taps on it and a new clip plays. The screen zooms in on a book page that reads "CHAPTER 12" in roman numerals. Following, a series of examples note the use of these numbers included in the credits of the show.

He says TODAY, WE USE ROMAN NUMERALS
TO MAKE NUMBERS LOOK
OFFICIAL, LIKE IN FORMAL
TITLES AND BOOK CHAPTERS.
QUEEN ELIZABETH II HAS
ROMAN NUMERALS IN HER NAME.
AND YOU KNOW WHERE ELSE?
THE COPYRIGHT DATE
AT THE END OF MOVIES.

Next, Eric is back in the workroom.

He says SO THERE YOU HAVE IT.
SEE HOW MANY ROMAN NUMERALS
YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS CAN
FIND INDOORS AND OUTDOORS.
ONCE YOU START LOOKING, YOU
JUST MIGHT SEE THEM EVERYWHERE.
ROMAN NUMERALS, REMEMBER,
IT'S NOT MAGIC, IT'S MATH.

A big explosion brings the show’s logo back on the screen.

(music plays)

The end credits roll.

Produced by GAPC Entertainment in association with TVOKids.

Copyright GAPC Entertainment (MathPlosion) Incorporated, 2016.