(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. He holds a blue bucket and puts stuff inside as he speaks.

Eric says DID YOU KNOW THAT PAYING
ATTENTION TO DETAILS IS
A VERY IMPORTANT PART
OF PROBLEM SOLVING?

He takes a string out of around his neck and magically fishes a shell from inside the bucket.

He says HA!
I GOT SOMETHING.
COOL.
I KNOW IT SOUNDS OBVIOUS,
BUT IT'S EASY TO MISS
OBVIOUS THINGS RIGHT
IN FRONT OF YOU.
WITH WORD PROBLEMS UNDERSTANDING
THE PROBLEM CAN BE TRICKIER
THAN YOU THINK.
POEMS AND EVEN NURSERY RHYMES
CAN ALSO BE WORD PROBLEMS.
I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT I MEAN
WITH A RHYME I MADE UP.
SEE IF YOU CAN
FIGURE IT OUT.
OH, AND DON'T
FORGET THE DETAILS.

(music plays)

Eric takes a sit on a couch.

He unfolds an old paper sheet and says AH, SO HERE'S MY
WORD PROBLEM.
AHEM.
WHEN I WAS GOING TO
THE PARK IN MY HOOD
AROUND THE BEND.
I MET A GUY WITH
SEVEN FRIENDS.

An animated clip plays on screen as Eric tells the story. In the cip, him and his friends meet in the park.

Eric says EVERY FRIEND HAD
SEVEN KNAPSACKS.
EVERY KNAPSACK
HAD SEVEN ZAS.
THAT'S PIZ-ZAS, YEAH.
EVERY PIZZA HAD
SEVEN TOPPINGS.
SEVEN FRIENDS, KNAPSACKS,
PIZZAS, TOPPINGS.
HOW MANY WERE GOING
AROUND THE BEND?

The screen zooms out and reveals a large line next to Eric. All of them boy and girls hold a pizza.

Eric continues
HMM, THAT'S A
LOT OF NUMBERS.
SEVEN FRIENDS TIMES
SEVEN KNAPSACKS TIMES
SEVEN PIZZAS, EACH
WITH SEVEN TOPPINGS?
SO THE QUESTION IS
HOW MANY WERE GOING
AROUND THE BEND.
OR IS THAT THE QUESTION?
OR IS THIS A TRICK QUESTION?
HMM, IS THE ANSWER 7?
49? HOW ABOUT 2,401?
WOULD YOU BELIEVE THE BEST
ANSWER IS ACTUALLY 1?
IN THE VERY FIRST LINE
I SAID I WAS GOING
ROUND THE BEND.
BUT I DIDN'T SAY THE GUY
I MET WITH HIS FRIENDS
OR THEIR PIZZAS WERE
GOING AROUND THE BEND.
THEY MIGHT BE, BUT
WE DON'T KNOW FOR SURE.
IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU
HAVE TO DO A LOT OF
ADDING AND MULTIPLYING,
BUT ALL THOSE NUMBERS ARE
JUST A DISTRACTION.
WITH WORD PROBLEMS,
LITTLE DETAILS MATTER.
THEY HELP YOU FIGURE OUT
WHAT THE PROBLEM IS
REALLY ASKING.

(music plays)

Eric draws a circle and colours it inside. He taps on it and a new clip plays. An animated clip shows a series of huts. Next, numerous cats stand next to them and above them. Next the caption on screen shows 7 houses, 49 cats, 343 mice, 2,301 grains of barley and 16, 807 hekats. The result is 19, 607.

Eric says CHECK THIS OUT.
WORD PROBLEMS HAVE
BEEN AROUND FOR AGES.
HERE'S ONE FROM
4,000 YEARS AGO.
THERE ARE 7 HOUSES.
IN EACH HOUSE
THERE ARE 7 CATS.
EACH CAT KILLS 7 MICE.
EACH MOUSE HAS EATEN
7 GRAINS OF BARLEY.
AND EACH GRAIN WOULD
HAVE PRODUCED 7 HEKATS.
WHAT IS THE SUM
OF ALL THESE THINGS?
IN THIS PROBLEM YOU DO
HAVE TO ADD EVERY ITEM
IN THE LIST.
MULTIPLY THE NUMBER
OF CATS AND HOUSES,
THEN MICE AND CATS, THEN MICE
AND THE BARLEY THEY ATE,
THEN THE HEKATS OF BARLEY
GRAINS, AND THEN ADD THEM
ALL TOGETHER.
AND THE ANSWER IS...
19,607 OF COURSE.
YOU CAN MAKE UP
YOUR OWN WORD PROBLEMS
AND PUZZLES AND SEE IF
YOUR FRIENDS PAY ATTENTION
TO THE DETAILS.

Eric’s phone rings.

He says PROBLEM SOLVING, IT'S
NOT MAGIC... IT'S MATH.

He picks up the phone and says NO, NO, IT'S OKAY.

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.