Thursday, March 3, 2011

Rocket Math

imageRocket Math App

By Dan Russell-Pinson

About the app

In Rocket Math, you build your own rockets from the ground up. As you build your rocket, you have to earn money for parts by doing math problems. Once your rocket is complete, you can put it on the launch pad and blast off into space. Tilt the device to steer your rocket and move a slider to control the thrust.
Once you're in space, the real fun begins! While your rocket is floating weightlessly, play one of the 56 different math missions. Each mission has touchable objects floating in space, including stars, coins, clocks, 3D shapes and even pizzas! Earn a bronze, silver or gold medal and also try to beat your high score. Missions range in difficulty from even/odd numbers all the way to square roots, so kids and their parents will enjoy hours of fun while learning math.
56 DIFFERENT MATH MISSIONS: Numbers, Fractions, Decimals, Counting, Telling Time, U.S. Money, Shapes (2D and 3D), Patterns, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Square Roots and many more!

FEATURES:
- 56 fun math missions that are different every time
- Over 90 colorful rocket parts
- Lively sound effects and music
- Fun arithmetic game with 3 difficulty levels
- Works on both iPhone and iPad - a universal app
- Choose from over 15 space-themed avatars
- Create up to five player profiles
- Rocket simulator is powered by a realistic physics engine
- Adjust music and sound settings
- Provides hours and hours of learning fun!

Our Thoughts

This app is out of the ordinary since it is combining speed with the mathematical aptitudes of the person playing.   The missions can be visualized by categories (Numbers, counting, time,US money, shapes/patterns, add/subtract, multiply/divide, challenge) or by difficulty (beginner, novice, intermediate, advanced, expert, genius).image

My son, Dominic, was the guinea pig for this review.    He is 7 years old and is currently doing grade 1 work in maths.   He is not as rapid as me to select his numbers and I sat next to him to explain some of the requests made.    However, I think he did well for his level of learning.   He loved the fact that he could pick his own avatar and make his own rocket.   You also have the possibility of earning more money by answering mathematical questions so that you can improve your rocket or built another one.    The animation provided for this app is very creative, colourful and fun.   Music is even added in the background as well as cheering when the rocket comes back down.  

The kids are not the only ones who can participate to the missions included in this app – adults can too.   And to make it more competitive, how about putting a competition between you and your child?   If he or she beats you in the score, then you can be sure that you will hear from it for a long time.

The only thing that disappoints me is the fact that the section on money is not universal or at least that I cold choose my country from a selection.    I have nothing against US money but in Canada our paper and coin money is quite different.    It would be nice to have the choice to pick something.   Mind you, we travel to the US quite regularly so in a way it is good that my kids learn more about the US money as well as our own Canadian money.

This app is reasonably priced and honestly I wouldn’t hesitate one second to purchase it just to have the kids practice their speed in answering mathematical questions.    An app like this will help them put their lessons in practice and help them to answer rapidly the mission specifications.  Rocket Math is an universal app which means you can use it for the iPhone or the iPad.   

Price: 99 cents at the App Store.

Disclaimer: I received the app for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way.  All opinions expressed here are only my own.

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