Welcome to H3 Maths

Blog Support for Growing Mathematicians

Archive for February, 2012

The Freshman, Mathematician and Physicist

February29

A mathematician, a physicist and a freshman are applying for a place in a prestigious university. Undecided on which candidate is best, the university Dean says he will give the place to the first applicant who can tell him the height of the university clock tower. The mathematician buys a ruler and a protractor, and […]

by posted under Uncategorized | tagged under  |  Comments Off on The Freshman, Mathematician and Physicist

Arctic Ice Trends – Test Your Extrapolation Skills

February28

We often use data patterns in Mathematics to predict future data. This can be done in a variety of ways. One simple way is to take the known data, graph it, and then extrapolate the data – that is, extend it into the future and read off the likely values that might occur. For example, […]

by posted under Uncategorized | tagged under , , ,  |  Comments Off on Arctic Ice Trends – Test Your Extrapolation Skills

The Richter Scale … NOT!

February28

Time for some humour. Here is a different take on our earlier article about Logarithms and the Richter Scale. From the NZ Herald Sideswipe Column (click on image for link). Actually, being in an earthquake of any sort is very terrifying and nature has no way of letting you know when it’s all over! I […]

by posted under Uncategorized | tagged under , ,  |  Comments Off on The Richter Scale … NOT!

How Logs Work – the easy way!

February27

In Year 9 I had a maths teacher who was really good at music and OK at maths. Anyway, we had a visiting “inspector” type of man one day who had come from overseas and came to see our maths class. The topic we had been working on was Logarithms (Logs) and we had been […]

by posted under Uncategorized | tagged under , ,  |  Comments Off on How Logs Work – the easy way!

The Logarithmic Scale and Earthquakes

February25

The Richter scale is a standard scale used to compare earthquakes. It is a logarithmic scale, meaning that the numbers on the scale measure factors of 10. So, for example, an earthquake that measures 4.0 on the Richter scale is 10 times larger than one that measures 3.0. More info here. We often use logarithms in Mathematics as […]

by posted under Uncategorized | tagged under ,  |  Comments Off on The Logarithmic Scale and Earthquakes

Christchurch Earthquake Pies Again

February25

Here is another use of the pie graph – this time for assessment of the buildings that need to be demolished, etc. in the wake of the Christchurch earthquakes in New Zealand. New Zealand is prone to many earthquakes each day, as it lies on the boundary of two large tectonic plates. Click on the […]

by posted under Uncategorized | tagged under , ,  |  Comments Off on Christchurch Earthquake Pies Again

The New Textbooks

February24

While teaching in the USA I was dumbfounded by the size and weight of the average textbook – and the strain they out on the back of a high school student. There were regular talkback shows where doctors expressed their dismay at the number of teenagers who had back issues directly related to them carrying […]

by posted under Uncategorized | tagged under , , ,  |  Comments Off on The New Textbooks

Noticeboard Giveaway ;-)

February24

We have noticed that places who have long lines of customers often provide one of those little dispensing machines for you to “take a number”. When visiting one such place recently we noticed that the machine was out of order. When numbers run out there is always the following option, which was seen in a […]

by posted under Uncategorized | Comments Off on Noticeboard Giveaway ;-)

Loose wire may have caused speed wobbles!

February23

One of our earlier posts brought into question Einstein’s theories on the speed of light. Here is the latest update – apparently a loose fibre connection may have caused the hiccup! A full account can be found here.

by posted under Uncategorized | tagged under , ,  |  Comments Off on Loose wire may have caused speed wobbles!

Data Display – Migration after Christchurch Earthquakes

February23

The New Zealand Herald has surveyed the migration patterns following the severe earthquakes in Christchurch a year ago. The use of percentages, a pie graph and Migration Map with flow lines illustrates different data displays. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. Click on the map to read each migration story as this brings the data […]

by posted under Uncategorized | tagged under , , , , , , ,  |  Comments Off on Data Display – Migration after Christchurch Earthquakes
« Older Entries

Post Support

Largest number between o and 1 million which does not contain the ‘n’ is 88

 

Rotation SAT Problem: Answer: 4 (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUHkTs-Ipfg)

 

Which number has its letters in alphabetical order? Answer: F O R T Y

Hidden Rabbit? Clue: check the trees

How long for the stadium to fill? 45 minutes.

Where are you? the North Pole

Prize Object Puzzle: If Sue does not know where the prize is in the first question, it can’t be under the square. She must have been told it is under another shape. Apply this same logic to Colin. It is then obvious that the prize cannot be under a yellow object. That helps Sue eliminate her yellow shapes. Got the idea?

Algebra Puzzle: Answer = 1

Popular Math Problems Answers: 1, 1

Number of tabs? According to Lifehacker, the ideal number of tabs you should have open is nine. Yes, a single digit. To some, this is like playing a piano and only using a fraction of the notes!

Worst Graph? Where to start. What a visual mess and even some of the lines merge and are impossible to follow. A graph is a visual display of data, with the goal to identify trends or patterns. This is a spider’s web of information which fails to show a clear pattern at all. Solution? Well, different colors would help, or why not group in two or three graphs where trends are similar?

Number of different nets to make a cube is eleven – see this link

Homework Puzzle; The total value of the counters is 486, so halve this to get 243. Now, arrange the counters to equal this amount twice.

The graph on the left (Coronavirus) is for a time period of 30 days, while the one on the right (SARS) is for 8 months! Very poor graphical comparison and hardly relevant, unless it is attempting to downplay the seriousness of the coronavirus?

10 x 9 x 8 + (7 + 6) x 5 x 4 x (3 + 2) x 1 = 2020

NCEA Level 2 Algebra Problem. Using the information given, the shaded area = 9, that is:
y(y-8) = 9 –> y.y – 8y – 9 =0
–> (y-9)(y+1) = 0, therefore y = 9 (can’t have a distance of – 1 for the other solution for y)
Using the top and bottom of the rectangle,
x = (y-8)(y+2) = (9-8)(9+2) = 11
but, the left side = (x-4) = 11-4 = 7, but rhs = y+? = 9+?, which is greater than the value of the opp. side??
[I think that the left had side was a mistake and should have read (x+4)?]

Archives

H3 Viewers



Skip to toolbar