• 338 is a composite number.
• Prime factorization: 338 = 2 x 13 x 13, which can be written 338 = 2 x 13²
• The exponents in the prime factorization are 1 and 2. Adding one to each and multiplying we get (1 + 1)(2 + 1) = 2 x 3  = 6. Therefore 338 has exactly 6 factors.
• Factors of 338: 1, 2, 13, 26, 169, 338
• Factor pairs: 338 = 1 x 338, 2 x 169, or 13 x 26
• Taking the factor pair with the largest square number factor, we get √338 = (√2)(√169) = 13√2 ≈ 18.385

Starguy recently nominated me for this blue-green Liebster award. Many bloggers have a no award policy, and I can certainly understand why: receiving an award is a bit of work if you accept it. The Liebster award has been around for a long time, and it has been said that just about every blogger has received it at one time or another.

As these images demonstrate, some recipients have changed the way the award looks.
Since the logo has been changed multiple times by multiple people, I don’t feel bad having a somewhat rebellious attitude as I accept some of the qualifiers for the award while rejecting others. I’m not interested in sharing 11 random facts about myself, answering 11 questions, or coming up with 11 more to ask my nominees. I’m sure you will learn at least 11 things about me just reading this post anyway. (Random fact: I don’t like reading really long posts that go on forever, and this post will be long enough as it is.) If my nominees would like to write and answer questions, they can refer back to the questions asked in Starguy‘s post.

The idea of the Liebster award is to help bloggers get out of their comfort zones and discover new blogs, and I have done that. In fact several of the blogs I mention in this post I discovered within the last couple of weeks.

Rather than make a simple list of nominees, I’m going to do MORE than required and describe one of their noteworthy posts. Hopefully, the way that I do this will cause them to get a pingback notification because rebellious me is probably not going to inform them of their nominations any other way. Besides, if more people click on their links because I nominated them here, then the nomination will be meaningful. They will most likely notice when they view the referrers on their stat pages that Findthefactors is sending several people their way as well. Otherwise, this nomination won’t mean much. Nevertheless, please, click on their links. Here are my 11 nominees in no particular order:

1. Even though I am an English speaking grandma, I  listened only to Hungarian Christmas carols this year. Justkinga is a Hungarian teenage girl who listens to popular English music all year long. She takes TEN classes at a bilingual school, but somehow finds the time to write a delightful blog in ENGLISH regularly. I ADMIRE HER for writing in English even if there is an occasional grammar error or incorrect word choice. She also writes about Hungarian life and culture.
2. Established1962 wrote about an ingenious way to make Snakes and Ladders a game of decision making rather than mere chance. In the process, he made the game something even older players would enjoy playing while they observe some subtle mathematics.
3. Nebushumor wrote a very funny post about an extermination ad that featured an adorable Christmas mouse. Other times he’s written about Star Trek, funny family pet rabbit situations, classic cartoons, and comedy gags. Once a week he shares some kind of humorous statistics.
4. Solvemymaths shared a great link showing multiple ways to prove the Pythagorean theorem. The 3-4-5 triangle that accompanies his post is far more than a simple illustration. Solvemymaths routinely posts a variety of math problems, gifs, computer programs, and pictures that can help you think and learn to solve your own math problems.
5. Because I am a vegetarian, I was intrigued by notquitefrenchcuisine‘s old Hungarian family recipe for vegetarian burgers. I also love that she sprinkles a few Hungarian food words in her posts, too.
6. When I first read Puzzled Over’s Ages-of-three-daughters, I wasn’t sure how the last clue could possibly help me solve it. Maybe it will stump you at first, too, but it really can be solved without too much trouble.
7. One of the topics Classy Cheapskate blogs about is minimalism. She says a comfortable minimalist owns about 150 things. I can’t imagine that being possible for ANYONE right now, but I do want to head closer to that direction as does she.
8. I loved Paula Beardell Krieg’s instructions on how to fold paper to make an-equilateral-triangle and other basic shapes. Her method uses the straight edge of a piece of paper, but no compass is needed. Elementary school children can even make perfect squares or triangles using her methods.
9. Margarita Morris is a young adult author who has shared the complete writing process with her readers. Her books are well researched, written, and revised. She also shares her love of great classical music and can capture a scene in nature without writing a single word.
10. Resourceaholic scours the internet for resources that teach mathematics. Every one of her posts is loaded with as much information as this link. Your students will learn more if you read her blog, and chances are you will learn something, too!
11. Nerdinthebrain is a home-schooling parent who loves science and mathematics and sharing her lessons with us. Because of her, my grandson and I had a ton of fun testing the pH of different liquids using red cabbage water. She has MANY good ideas and products.
12. The Chaos Fairy was also nominated for the Liebster Award at the same time that I was so I’m not counting this as one of my 11. Nevertheless, I just had to recognize the DINOSAUR loving in this blog post.