mm-38 === Subject:I have a safe thats like a piggy bank. You put the money in the topthen you can open it with the combo. I have been putting all my moneyin it and i haven't open it for years now. I went today to open and Itotally forgot that I needed the combination. I tryed a lot of combo'sbut none worked. I know from math that there are 99,000 or about thatmany different 5 digit combo's. Could anyone please list all thepossible 5 digit combinations??-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:> I have a safe thats like a piggy bank. You put the money in the top> then you can open it with the combo. I have been putting all my money> in it and i haven't open it for years now. I went today to open and I> totally forgot that I needed the combination. I tryed a lot of combo's> but none worked. I know from math that there are 99,000 or about that> many different 5 digit combo's. Could anyone please list all the> possible 5 digit combinations??Well, if you're right about there are about 99,000 of them, then I doubtthat anyone will.The combinations are all the whole numbers from 00000 to 99999 of whichthere are clearly 100,000.-- G.C.-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:> I have a safe thats like a piggy bank. You put the money in the top> then you can open it with the combo. I have been putting all my money> in it and i haven't open it for years now. I went today to open and I> totally forgot that I needed the combination. I tryed a lot of combo's> but none worked. I know from math that there are 99,000 or about that> many different 5 digit combo's. Could anyone please list all the> possible 5 digit combinations??If there are 99k combos, you aren't going to have time to input them all. Either contact the manufacturer for help (if you never changed the default combo) or contact your local locksmith.And yes, if it's a numeric keypad (0-9) and the combination is 5 digits, obviously the possible combinations are the numbers 00000-99999, 100,000 possibilities exactly.-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:I hesitate to drop into this thread at this late date, but perhaps youall might consider a dissenting opinion....> **If you look at the data, there is definitely problem with math education in> the US.**Yes, there is a major problem, there's way too much emphasis placed onit! 90 percent of the math taught in our high schools will beforgotten as soon as the student leaves high school. Try this.Randomly ask 20 strangers on the street to define Y intercept, or askthem to graph a quadratic equation. Bet you get 20 wrong answers. Now,ask these adults if they earn enough to support their families andbelieve themselves to be aware and concerned members of theircommunity. Bet they would say absolutely!.> Perhaps I haven't been clear enough. I was responding to a comment by Kevin> that there must be something seriously wrong with either the testing program or> with mathematics education in California. I think the latter is true, but that> the problem isn't merely math education, it's all public education. The public> schools in California ARE having serious trouble, especially for certain> subgroups. Some schools do well, but too large a number are struggling.> **However, it does not make sense to cancel a test for all students, or dumb> down the general test because some speical ed students are not passing the> general test.**dumb it down????. The whole damn test is a dumb idea!First, it's multiple choice. REAL LIFE IS NOT MULTIPLE CHOICE!! Reallife is a series of word problems, many without one single correctanswer. Exit exam tests are multiple choice because that's the easiesttype of test to score, especially with automated scoring equipment.Second, the tests DO NOT measure the skills we expect an adult to havein order to be successfully integrated into the working world, and toassume family and community responsibiliites.Thirdly, the material covered by these tests is of minimal relevance,even to the students who are going to be attending a 4 year college (asmall minority of the students graduating from our high schools}. Fewhigh school graduates major in mathematics when they go to college.Algebra is a complete waste of time and effort for any child who isnot going to major in mathematics.Fourth, if truth is to be told, the primary motivation behind thesetests is to raise the status (read compensation} of teachers. This isin line with the perpetually evolving jargon used by the educationalestablishment, the endless agonizing about highly qualifiedcredentialed educators (what a cruel joke}, and the holding of ourchildren as hostages to endless demands for more money for thechildren (BS! 85% of school non-capital expenses goes to salaries andbenefits)> Yes, I agree. Moreover I've been puzzled by the comments made by some of the> parents of special ed students that I meet in parent support groups. (My> daughter's in special ed.) They seem more concerned that their children won't> get a diploma if they can't pass the tests than they are about whether their> child has mastered the tested material -- as if the diploma alone were all that> mattered, not subject mastery. Bless these parents!!! Saints deliver us!! I hope they storm theclassrooms and take over your school! They know these tests are crap,and the only thing that really matters is that damn diploma! This suggests to me the rather interesting> notion that parents may not believe the content of high school really matters> much, but the stigma of not having a diploma does, as if the knowledge in> question isn't something that's necessary for anything other than establishing> one's status after graduation.CORRECT!BTW, I've been teaching in inner city high schools for almost 3 years,and it never ceases to amaze me that more parents don't pull theirkids out of the government schools. Most of them would be better offbeing educated by almost any adult with life experience and a basicknowledge of arithmatic and reading.-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:**I hesitate to drop into this thread at this late date, but perhaps you allmight consider a dissenting opinion....**You quoted me at length, but the truth is, I agree with you. I think publicschools either ought to teach what they say they will or they ought to stop thepretense. And I believe that most of what is taught in k-12 schools iscompletely unnecessary for most people.**BTW, I've been teaching in inner city high schools for almost 3 years, and itnever ceases to amaze me that more parents don't pull theirkids out of the government schools.**I did. We homeschooled for several years. My daughter has only recentlyreturned to school part-time. :)Cindy Cotter-----------------------------------------------http:// groups.yahoo.com/group/CalEdu/Discussion about Education in Californiahttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/WildGrape/Discussion about Los Angeles-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:> I hesitate to drop into this thread at this late date, but perhaps you> all might consider a dissenting opinion....Well I certainly will at least, since I share many of the same opinions.How d'ya like that. Support right off the bat. Betcha wasn't expectingthat. > **If you look at the data, there is definitely problem with matheducation in>the US.** Yes, there is a major problem, there's way too much emphasis placed on> it! 90 percent of the math taught in our high schools will be> forgotten as soon as the student leaves high school.More than 90%, if you consider all the algebra and geometry (and maybe eventrig and calculus, statistics, etc.)> Try this.> Randomly ask 20 strangers on the street to define Y intercept, or ask> them to graph a quadratic equation. Bet you get 20 wrong answers.Yeah, or something very close to 20 at least. Of course, one should makesure the location in question is not the street corner directly adjacent tothe mathematics department at some university or something.> Now,> ask these adults if they earn enough to support their families and> believe themselves to be aware and concerned members of their> community. Bet they would say absolutely!.Of course. Most would. Most *do*.<...> Thirdly, the material covered by these tests is of minimal relevance,> even to the students who are going to be attending a 4 year college (a> small minority of the students graduating from our high schools}. Few> high school graduates major in mathematics when they go to college.> Algebra is a complete waste of time and effort for any child who is> not going to major in mathematics.I don't agree literally with what you're saying, but I do agree in spirit.Algebra does instill logic, critical thinking, analytical, and other vitalskills, so it's not a *complete* waste of time. But many of these sameskills can be instilled by way of, say, a logic course, or critical thinkingcourse, or even a philosophy course, or some such, that covers theseconcepts more generally that they may be applied by a larger group asopposed to, say, the group that ends up actually using algebra in the realworld. Algebra (mathematics in general) is just a particular application ofthese concepts.Truth be told, many of the math teachers that firmly believe all thisstuff actually has application in most people's lives (a common reply whenasked why do I need this stuff?) create that opinion with a very strongbias. They're math teachers. The cold hard fact of the matter is, mostpeople never go on to actualy apply most of this stuff. If they did, thenumber of people who could correctly answer those questions would be -->20,not -->0. That's the cold hard fact of the matter.Then, when they can't escape from that logic, they often times say that it'sall the collateral benefits that make it necessary to learn al this stuff.Logical/critical thinking, etc. etc. Fact of the matter is, mathematics ismust one (relatively specific) application of these necessary traits. Theactual application on most's lives of thes traits, is not in appication ofmathematics. Yet we seem to fool ourselves into believing we can onlyacquire these traits through a solid mathematics education. BS. We canacquire these traits through other means. Not only acquire them, butthrough means which are much more directly applicable to most's lives thanmathematics. Especially with the advances in technlology. Truth is, youraverage Joe has less and less of a need to know anything other than basicarithmetic. For most anything involving higher mathematics than that, thereality is Joe usually resorts to some device to tell him the answer. Weshould focus more not on pure mathematics, but on prevailiang application ofmathematics (such as, say, spreadsheet usage or really computer usage ingeneral!) that will be much more probable to actually be needed by Joe inreal life.Most people simply don't go around solving quadratic equations, takinglogarithms, finding derivatives and integrals, and what not. What mostpeople do (wrt mathematics needs) is add, subtract, multiply, and divide.That's the cold hard fact. All most people need is a four functioncalculator or adding machine. Come to think about it, that's all mostpeople *have.* Why is that? Because that's all most people *need.*I like mathematics. I like tutoring people in mathematics. I don't knowwhy, really. I suppose I always had a knack for it and I get personalsatisfaction from helping others. But I never fool myself into believingthat I actually *need* the vast majority of the mathematics I was taught.<... > Yes, I agree. Moreover I've been puzzled by the comments made by someof the>parents of special ed students that I meet in parent support groups.(My>daughter's in special ed.) They seem more concerned that their childrenwon't>get a diploma if they can't pass the tests than they are about whethertheir>child has mastered the tested material -- as if the diploma alone wereall that>mattered, not subject mastery. Bless these parents!!! Saints deliver us!! I hope they storm the> classrooms and take over your school! They know these tests are crap,> and the only thing that really matters is that damn diploma!Of course. Why do they need to master the material? Because they actuallyneed to use the material, or because someone, somewhere, said they neededthis to get a diploma? It's the latter.> This suggests to me the rather interesting>notion that parents may not believe the content of high school reallymatters>much, but the stigma of not having a diploma does, as if the knowledgein>question isn't something that's necessary for anything other thanestablishing>one's status after graduation.Now you're getting it.-- Darrell-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:> Thirdly, the material covered by these tests is of minimal relevance,> even to the students who are going to be attending a 4 year college (a> small minority of the students graduating from our high schools}. Few> high school graduates major in mathematics when they go to college.> Algebra is a complete waste of time and effort for any child who is> not going to major in mathematics.While it may be true that much of what is taught in algebra classes isforgotten and of minimal relevance to many of the students, and whileit is certainly true that multiple-choice tests are a poor way to testmathematical competence, I think you are underestimating the fractionthat do need algebra.It is not just the math majors, but also the science majors, theengineering majors, the economic majors, ... If you look at how many students are in the majors that requirealgebra at a 4-year school, it usually exceeds a third of the student body.According to http://www.doe.mass.edu/infoservices/reports/hsg/96/ hsg96ltr.htmlover 50% of high school graduates (in Massachusetts in 1996) plannedto go to 4-year colleges, and over 70% planned to go to either 2-yearor 4-year college. (They don't have figures on that site for whatfraction actually do eventually attend college.)By these crude estimates about a fifth of the students in high schoolreally need algebra, and we don't know at the time they are beingtaught which fifth they are.I think that there is room for improvement in the secondary-schoolmath curriculum. I, for one, would like to see a lot more probabilitystatistics, and logic, and would be willing to give up trigonometry tomake room. I don't think that giving up on teaching math to kids isgood for them or for society.-- Kevin Karplus karplus@soe.ucsc.edu http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~karpluslife member (LAB, Adventure Cycling, American Youth Hostels)Effective Cycling Instructor #218-ck (lapsed)Professor of Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa CruzUndergraduate and Graduate Director, BioinformaticsAffiliations for identification only.-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:Someone made a comment disapproving the highly qualified teacher designationsuggesting that it is a plan that teachers are trying to use in order to makemore money:Not reasonable; most teachers do NOT like that applied highly qualifiedteacher designation. It makes teaching something in which you're qualified,much more difficult to be allowed to do, simply because you have a bachelorsdegree in something else.G C-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:> Someone made a comment disapproving the highly qualified teacher designation> suggesting that it is a plan that teachers are trying to use in order to make> more money:> Not reasonable; most teachers do NOT like that applied highly qualified> teacher designation. It makes teaching something in which you're qualified,> much more difficult to be allowed to do, simply because you have a bachelors> degree in something else.> G Cn my district (Oakland), this is the most common excuse for thefailure of our students to learn (math or anything else). The refraingoes: We need to give more money to schools, so we can pay theteachers more, so we can attract highly qualified credentialedteachers. The teachers union (OEA) would never tolerate performanceor site-related pay incentives. They claim that ALL teachers should bepaid more. The reasoning that they pitch is, our district has manyemergency credentialed teachers in the classroom, and these are bydefinition inferior to any other fully credentialed teacher. IMHO,any deficiencies in the teaching staff has more to do with how wellthese people performed in their BA classes (and in their currentattitudes), not in the phoney credentialling classes they took atevening school. In Oakland, we now have teachers pulling down upwardsof $90K, and the poor kids are still screwed up! The establishmentsolution is to throw more standardized tests at the kids.Remember, You don't need a weather man to know which way the wind isblowing? Well, you sure don't need a bunch of expensive, timeconsuming, spirit killing JO tests to tell these kids are not gettingmuch value out of school! And giving more money to this failed systemis throwing good money after bad! God help these poor children.John-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:>Now,>ask these adults if they earn enough to support their families and>believe themselves to be aware and concerned members of their>community. Bet they would say absolutely!.> Of course. Most would. Most *do*.> Thinking along these lines, there is really nothing needed to betaught in school at all. Maybe we can eliminate education completely.Think of the money that can be saved!-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:I am a second year high school teacher and will be teaching Geometryfor the first time. Can any experinced teacher give me someinformation of cooperative learning acitivities for high schoolgeometry? Any help will be greatly appreciated.Jaffer Syed-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:My favorate part is the introduction to trig...when you get that far alongeducation classes...> I am a second year high school teacher and will be teaching Geometry> for the first time. Can any experinced teacher give me some> information of cooperative learning acitivities for high school> geometry? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Jaffer Syed>-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:Dear All,I am working at present on a math program to increase math understnading inMiddle school students. I was surprised to learn that students are expectedto use calculators to do minor (as small as 2+2) calculations. If any peoplein here have studied math they will recognise mathematics is aboutunderstanding concepts and knowing concepts. It involves a lot of hard work,conceptual understanding which is totally missing in today's reform orhand-onor for that matter inquiry based mathematics curiculum.We forget that Mathematics and Sciences are conceptual subjects and needrepeated practice. They are not liberal arts or philosophy which are inquirybased. No pun intended on liberal arts supporters but mathematics andsciences cannot be taught the same way other subjects might be. They arejust different and need to be tackled accordingly.National science foundation has spent billions on trying to come out withone size-fits all curriculum but have repeatedly failed. The math programswhich are successful have been employed in sub-urban schools and do not meetthe needs of urban schools.I think it is time for us to learn from Japan and India which have excellentmathematics curriculum. It involves concepts, inquiry and most important ofall practise and testing of mathmatical concepts.And these are the reasonsthey have superior technical man power.> mathematics increased by almost half between 1995 and 2001, university> officials said. If this is accurate, it would provide more evidence> that the promotion of reform math, in which Connecticut has been in> forefront since 1989, has been another massive failure. It is> unfortunate that Robert Frahm did not expose the staggering amounts of> money, time and effort that have been wasted on this latest educational> scam. Dom Rosa> ------------------ http://www.ctnow.com/news/local/hc-remedial0717jul17.story CSU Tightens Remedial Rules By ROBERT A. FRAHM> Courant Staff Writer> Connecticut State University students who cannot do college-level math> or English no longer will be given unlimited time to make up the> deficiencies, university officials decided Wednesday. CSU trustees voted to set a time limit for completing remedial classes> starting in 2004, saying students must finish the classes within their> first 24 credits - in effect, by the end of their freshman year. At least one-fourth, and possibly as many as one-third, of those taking> remedial courses are sophomores, juniors or seniors, according to a CSU> report. We are convinced the sooner a student takes and completes his remedial> courses, the better he will do, said John A. Doyle, chairman of the> academic affairs committee of the board of trustees. The committee recommended the policy change after a lengthy study of a> problem that vexes colleges and universities across the nation: a> substantial number of students unprepared for college-level work. A report last year by the Association of American Colleges and> Universities said that 40 percent of students in four-year colleges, and> 53 percent overall, take remedial courses. Less than one-half of high school graduates complete even a minimally> defined college preparatory curriculum in high school, the report said. At CSU, officials last fall recommended that 40 percent of new freshmen> take remedial math and 15 percent take remedial English, but the actual> remedial enrollments were lower: 27 percent in math and 7 percent in> English. The number of students in remedial mathematics increased by> almost half between 1995 and 2001, university officials said. The trustees Wednesday asked for continued review of the university's> policy, including a study of the standards by which students are> recommended for remedial work. Some trustees, however, raised doubts about the approach. One said it> fails to address fundamental questions about the degree to which the> university should be responsible for providing remedial help. Why aren't [students] taking it before they come in the door? Why> aren't they doing it in the summer? asked Joseph A. Mengacci, who voted> against the new policy. In many states, remedial education is the> responsibility of two-year community colleges instead of four-year> colleges, he said. Lawrence D. McHugh, the board chairman, said he agrees with the new time> limit for completing remedial work, but added that CSU should continue> to offer the classes. Some of the reason we've had success with a lot of students ... is> because of these courses, he said. I want to give these students every> opportunity to succeed.>-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:Well, there are several things wrong with your point of view. First, haveyou ever actually read the NSF documents regarding science and matheducation? If anything, they take the OPPOSITE approach toone-size-fits-all.Yes, students should still learn multiplication tables, how to divide,handle fractions, etc. But graphing calculators also allow complex conceptsto be learned much more quickly. How much time would it take, for example,to do what-if discovery of polynomials using pencil and graph paper? Inthe Workshop Physics approach, an extremely strong conceptual approach tophysics, is heavily dependent on technology. You can't think about and playwith concepts if most of your time is used with rote data collection andmanual calculation.Doing things the hard way is not a virtue. The scam of reform is nonsensein most cases. Yeah, there is some garbage out there, the culturaldiversity of arithmetic answers comes to mind. But if anyone reallybelieves that the old lecture to an auditorium is the best way to teachscience and math, that person is uninformed and/or just too lazy to be ateacher.The same weeping and wailing occurred when I was young. There, however, theproblem was the use of slide rules in the classroom. Nothing really changes.John> Dear All,> I am working at present on a math program to increase math understnadingin> Middle school students. I was surprised to learn that students areexpected> to use calculators to do minor (as small as 2+2) calculations. If anypeople> in here have studied math they will recognise mathematics is about> understanding concepts and knowing concepts. It involves a lot of hardwork,> conceptual understanding which is totally missing in today's reform or> hand-onor for that matter inquiry based mathematics curiculum.> We forget that Mathematics and Sciences are conceptual subjects and need> repeated practice. They are not liberal arts or philosophy which areinquiry> based. No pun intended on liberal arts supporters but mathematics and> sciences cannot be taught the same way other subjects might be. They are> just different and need to be tackled accordingly. National science foundation has spent billions on trying to come out with> one size-fits all curriculum but have repeatedly failed. The mathprograms> which are successful have been employed in sub-urban schools and do notmeet> the needs of urban schools. I think it is time for us to learn from Japan and India which haveexcellent> mathematics curriculum. It involves concepts, inquiry and most importantof> all practise and testing of mathmatical concepts.And these are the reasons> they have superior technical man power.>mathematics increased by almost half between 1995 and 2001, university>officials said. If this is accurate, it would provide more evidence>that the promotion of reform math, in which Connecticut has been in>forefront since 1989, has been another massive failure. It is>unfortunate that Robert Frahm did not expose the staggering amounts of>money, time and effort that have been wasted on this latest educational>scam.> Dom Rosa>------------------> http://www.ctnow.com/news/local/hc-remedial0717jul17.story> CSU Tightens Remedial Rules> By ROBERT A. FRAHM>Courant Staff Writer> Connecticut State University students who cannot do college-level math>or English no longer will be given unlimited time to make up the>deficiencies, university officials decided Wednesday.> CSU trustees voted to set a time limit for completing remedial classes>starting in 2004, saying students must finish the classes within their>first 24 credits - in effect, by the end of their freshman year.> At least one-fourth, and possibly as many as one-third, of those taking>remedial courses are sophomores, juniors or seniors, according to a CSU>report.> We are convinced the sooner a student takes and completes his remedial>courses, the better he will do, said John A. Doyle, chairman of the>academic affairs committee of the board of trustees.> The committee recommended the policy change after a lengthy study of a>problem that vexes colleges and universities across the nation: a>substantial number of students unprepared for college-level work.> A report last year by the Association of American Colleges and>Universities said that 40 percent of students in four-year colleges, and>53 percent overall, take remedial courses.> Less than one-half of high school graduates complete even a minimally>defined college preparatory curriculum in high school, the report said.> At CSU, officials last fall recommended that 40 percent of new freshmen>take remedial math and 15 percent take remedial English, but the actual>remedial enrollments were lower: 27 percent in math and 7 percent in>English. The number of students in remedial mathematics increased by>almost half between 1995 and 2001, university officials said.> The trustees Wednesday asked for continued review of the university's>policy, including a study of the standards by which students are>recommended for remedial work.> Some trustees, however, raised doubts about the approach. One said it>fails to address fundamental questions about the degree to which the>university should be responsible for providing remedial help.> Why aren't [students] taking it before they come in the door? Why>aren't they doing it in the summer? asked Joseph A. Mengacci, who voted>against the new policy. In many states, remedial education is the>responsibility of two-year community colleges instead of four-year>colleges, he said.> Lawrence D. McHugh, the board chairman, said he agrees with the new time>limit for completing remedial work, but added that CSU should continue>to offer the classes.> Some of the reason we've had success with a lot of students ... is>because of these courses, he said. I want to give these students every>opportunity to succeed.> -- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:> You can't think about and play>with concepts if most of your time is used with rote data collection and>manual calculation.That, data collection and calculation, is fundamental to the study of any hardscience. It should never be abbreviated in the initial learning process. G C-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:>The same weeping and wailing occurred when I was young. There, however, the>problem was the use of slide rules in the classroom. Nothing really changes.JohnWe had to learn our arithmetic in Pennsylvania before we could bepromoted to the next grade.We did use slide rules, but very rarely.-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:No.The training for most students should be concepts, not busy work. There isNO value for students to sit there for an hour plotting 100 points on apiece of graph paper. These rote activities reinforces the notion thatscience is a dull and mindless exercise in drudgery. I'd rather have themspend the time actually learning concepts.For science and engineering students should learn concepts as well as how todo the work the way it is done in the real world. Have you worked inresearch labs? Do you spend days chunking away with pencil and paper? Ofcourse not. You are using computers, sensors, probes, LabPro, MatLab,Mathematica, calculators, etc.J>You can't think about and play>with concepts if most of your time is used with rote data collection and>manual calculation. That, data collection and calculation, is fundamental to the study of anyhard> science. It should never be abbreviated in the initial learning process. G C>-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:>NO value for students to sit there for an hour plotting 100 points on a>piece of graph paper. These rote activities reinforces the notion that>science is a dull and mindless exercise in drudgery.That drudgery work is part of the value of math and science. It is part of theskills. I'd rather have them>spend the time actually learning conceptsThe skills and the concepts are both important. G C-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:Now this part is written, too:>For science and engineering students should learn concepts as well as how to>do the work the way it is done in the real world. Have you worked in>research labs?Yes. Absolutely yes. Do you spend days chunking away with pencil and paper? Of>course not.That part of the work did not require days. It was still very important. You are using computers, sensors, probes, LabPro, MatLab,>Mathematica, calculators, etc.You MUST be kidding! About the only practical convenience available was ascientific calculator. I bought my own. Computers and software...? Hey,sometimes the real world can disappoint you. G -- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:> The training for most students should be concepts, not busy work. There is> NO value for students to sit there for an hour plotting 100 points on a> piece of graph paper. These rote activities reinforces the notion that> science is a dull and mindless exercise in drudgery. I'd rather have them> spend the time actually learning concepts.Plotting 100 points certainly busy work, but having young studentsplot 5 or 6 points certainly helps them undertand the notion of a agraph and a coordinate system. It does them no good to have graphsproduced for them magically, if they have no idea what the graphsmean. Creating small graphs manually helps increase their chances ofunderstanding them.> For science and engineering students should learn concepts as well as how to> do the work the way it is done in the real world. Have you worked in> research labs? Do you spend days chunking away with pencil and paper? Of> course not. You are using computers, sensors, probes, LabPro, MatLab,> Mathematica, calculators, etc.I work in a research lab. Although I do most of my data plotting on acomputer (it's much too hard to plot a scatter diagram of half a million pointsby hand, just to see if there is some obvious relationship between twovalues), I still see value in being able to sketch out a relationshipor a probability distribution on the whiteboard and talking about itwithout needing to pin down all the parameters and run a computerprogram. Although CAD tools have replaced most hand drafting of mechanicaldrawings, they certainly haven't replaced sketching, which still takesa lot of practice to do well. Students need to be able to sketch mathematical functions, not just use CAD tools to crank out alreadywell-understood functions.Kevin Karplus karplus@soe.ucsc.edu http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~karplusProfessor of Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa CruzUndergraduate and Graduate Director, BioinformaticsAffiliations for identification only.-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:>>NO value for students to sit there for an hour plotting 100 points on>>a piece of graph paper. These rote activities reinforces the notion>>that science is a dull and mindless exercise in drudgery.> That drudgery work is part of the value of math and science. It is> part of the skills.> This is a joke, right? Practice may reinforce skills, but does it have to be drudgery? Are we suggesting that school mathematics should be a survival game -- only those who can survive the drudgery should be able to enter the field. It is exactly this attitude that promulgates the utter hatred of mathematics as a discipline that seems to exist. > I'd rather have them>>spend the time actually learning concepts> The skills and the concepts are both important. Absolutely. But why then do too many teachers stress skills through drikk and kill drusgery rather than embedding skills in activities that reinforce concepts?Aeron -- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:I agree that busy work of the sort that requires plotting 100 points on apiece of graph paper is unproductive, and that use of technology in thissituation may be preferred. However, it is important to separate thepurpose of schooling (process oriented, learning) from research (product,results of learning). It is ok to do something by hand in order to learnand/or practice something that might be done by a computer in a researchthe students understand the process that is being eased by use oftechnology is not always helpful. Science students need to first learnfundamentals, initially with manual tools on problems that show mastery ofconcepts. This need not involved excessive busy work. For example,graphing of 15 data points by hand should not involve excessive drudgery,and allows the instructor to verify that the students can (1) choose anappropriate type of graph for the question asked and the data available,(2) choose an appropriate scale for the axes, and (3) label the graphappropriately.My own research involves heavy use of computers. However, I never allowmy students to use a computer until they have first shown that theyunderstand the concepts, as demonstrated in part through manualcomputations. Of course, to do this I have had to develop and findteaching examples for which manual steps are not too hard. One rule ofthumb that I try to follow is to avoid teaching too many concepts with oneactivity. However, it can still be extremely difficult to strike theright balance between use of spiffy technology and boring manual drudgery.***************************************************** *******************Ellen M. Wijsman COURIER DELIVERY ADDRESS ONLY:Research Professor Ellen M. WijsmanDiv. of Medical Genetics and 1914 N 34th St., suite 209Dept. Biostatistics Seattle, WA 98103BOX 357720, University of Washington (Note: Use this addressSeattle, WA 98195-7720 EXACTLY as given above, andphone: (206) 543-8987 use ONLY for courier delivery!!!)web page: http://faculty.washington.edu/wijsman************************* ************************************************> No. The training for most students should be concepts, not busy work. There is> NO value for students to sit there for an hour plotting 100 points on a> piece of graph paper. These rote activities reinforces the notion that> science is a dull and mindless exercise in drudgery. I'd rather have them> spend the time actually learning concepts. For science and engineering students should learn concepts as well as how to> do the work the way it is done in the real world. Have you worked in> research labs? Do you spend days chunking away with pencil and paper? Of> course not. You are using computers, sensors, probes, LabPro, MatLab,> Mathematica, calculators, etc.> J >You can't think about and play>>with concepts if most of your time is used with rote data collection and>>manual calculation.> That, data collection and calculation, is fundamental to the study of any> hard>science. It should never be abbreviated in the initial learning process.> G C-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:It depends upon what is meant by young students. The Colorado CSAP examsfor 8th grade science assumes a very good knowledge of topics includinggraphing, estimation, calculation, even the basics of experimental design.Some have complained that the test is too hard for 8th graders yet moststudents do well. They have the basics when they enter 9th grade.I haven't looked at the CSAP for mathematics at this level but I'd bet theycover many of the other concerns some people have about learning the basics.As for those people in industry who are still doing their work with penciland paper, I feel sorry for you. It is the same waste of productivity you'dget if expected to go back to an O26 keypunch. The guy (gal?) who even hadto buy their own personal calculator, well, time to move on as soon as (if)the economy ever recovers.Once again, you do not have to revert to the manual techniques of 30-40years ago to teach students the basic concepts of science and math. If yourstudents are not learning the basics, it is most likely YOUR fault, not thelack of manual labor.J.-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:I'd suggest you take a really good look at approaches such as WorkshopPhysics (mostly college) and Studio Physics (high school and college). Thesemethods make very heavy use of technology and do a better job of teachingconcepts than other teaching methods. There is a huge amount of data to backthis up, easy to find if you are interested. Manual labor does not translateto learning the basics.I have used Workshop Physics in a college environment and was amazed at theresults. Yes, it is costly for the initial setup. Yes, it takes a hugeamount of teacher preparation. But pre/post assessment testing showsfantastic results. The difference here is using technology to achieve a goalrather than making technology itself the goal.As I mentioned before, the argument that raged when I was in high school wasthe use of slide rules. Almost identical arguments were presented to supportthe banning of their use, especially while learning basic concepts. It wassilly then, it is silly now.J.> I agree that busy work of the sort that requires plotting 100 points on a> piece of graph paper is unproductive, and that use of technology in this> situation may be preferred. However, it is important to separate the> purpose of schooling (process oriented, learning) from research (product,> results of learning). It is ok to do something by hand in order to learn> and/or practice something that might be done by a computer in a research> the students understand the process that is being eased by use of> technology is not always helpful. Science students need to first learn> fundamentals, initially with manual tools on problems that show mastery of> concepts. This need not involved excessive busy work. For example,> graphing of 15 data points by hand should not involve excessive drudgery,> and allows the instructor to verify that the students can (1) choose an> appropriate type of graph for the question asked and the data available,> (2) choose an appropriate scale for the axes, and (3) label the graph> appropriately. My own research involves heavy use of computers. However, I never allow> my students to use a computer until they have first shown that they> understand the concepts, as demonstrated in part through manual> computations. Of course, to do this I have had to develop and find> teaching examples for which manual steps are not too hard. One rule of> thumb that I try to follow is to avoid teaching too many concepts with one> activity. However, it can still be extremely difficult to strike the> right balance between use of spiffy technology and boring manual drudgery. ************************************************************** **********> Ellen M. Wijsman COURIER DELIVERY ADDRESS ONLY:> Research Professor Ellen M. Wijsman> Div. of Medical Genetics and 1914 N 34th St., suite 209> Dept. Biostatistics Seattle, WA 98103> BOX 357720, University of Washington (Note: Use this address> Seattle, WA 98195-7720 EXACTLY as given above, and> phone: (206) 543-8987 use ONLY for courier delivery!!!)> web page: http://faculty.washington.edu/wijsman> ************************************************************** ***********>No.> The training for most students should be concepts, not busy work. Thereis>NO value for students to sit there for an hour plotting 100 points on a>piece of graph paper. These rote activities reinforces the notion that>science is a dull and mindless exercise in drudgery. I'd rather havethem>spend the time actually learning concepts.> For science and engineering students should learn concepts as well ashow to>do the work the way it is done in the real world. Have you worked in>research labs? Do you spend days chunking away with pencil and paper? Of>course not. You are using computers, sensors, probes, LabPro, MatLab,>Mathematica, calculators, etc.> J>> You can't think about and play>with concepts if most of your time is used with rote data collectionand>>manual calculation.>That, data collection and calculation, is fundamental to the study ofany>hard>> science. It should never be abbreviated in the initial learningprocess.>G C>>-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:JhonI might be wasting my time replying to this but as I understand there is aslight misunderstanding that needs to be cleared and certain points thatneed to be clarified.> Well, there are several things wrong with your point of view. First, have> you ever actually read the NSF documents regarding science and math> education? If anything, they take the OPPOSITE approach to> one-size-fits-all.Yes I have read the documents. What you say is almost correct. However mypoint is have you seen the number of curriculum developed by variousagencies based on funds from NSF? I would really suggest that you look atthose if you haven't. If you are a teacher and that to in an urban innercity school then I would love to talk to you on how you teach math to kids.If you are a sub-urban teacher all I can say is that you are in a goodposition.> Yes, students should still learn multiplication tables, how to divide,> handle fractions, etc. But graphing calculators also allow complexconcepts> to be learned much more quickly. How much time would it take, for example,> to do what-if discovery of polynomials using pencil and graph paper? In> the Workshop Physics approach, an extremely strong conceptual approach to> physics, is heavily dependent on technology. You can't think about andplay> with concepts if most of your time is used with rote data collection and> manual calculation. But how about handling a calculator to a 6th grader to do 2+2? as forworking with polynomials I have seen fourth year engineering students unableto solve a 3x3 matrix with pencil and paper when the computers dont work.How do you propose to teach them the process without paper and pencilpractice? Basics are not learnt through computers in math and my dear friendI have seen students struggling even to solve a simple mixed fractionproblem in college.Technology is good to assist when u know the concepts but is a bane when udont even know what the things are all about. As far as Physics is concernedit can be learnt using technology ...cause if you have any knowledge ofsciences and mathematics you will realise that they are interdependent yetquite different.> Doing things the hard way is not a virtue. The scam of reform isnonsense> in most cases. Yeah, there is some garbage out there, the cultural> diversity of arithmetic answers comes to mind. But if anyone really> believes that the old lecture to an auditorium is the best way to teach> science and math, that person is uninformed and/or just too lazy to be a> teacher.I agree doing things the hard way is not a virtue. How about not knowingthat 2+2= 4 (just an example) and not 2+2=3? How about a 14 year old usingfingers to count because they are lost without calculators. Lectures dontwork , I agree with that. However that doesnt mean that technology doesme who's lazy a person who can do simple mathmetics in his/her head orsomeone who cant add without a calculator.Technology is to assist us, notfor us to be dependent on it.-- Girish Behal-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:I am writing a program for land surveyors and in it I need to find theazimuth of a line. I have the northings and eastings of two points onthe line and now need to convert that to an azimuth.I am trying to convert a formula someone was nice enough to give mewhich finds an angle given the northing and easting.Here is the formulaangle = tan^-1 ((delta northing) / (delta easting))I'm embarresed to say I don't remember what delta means, if I everknew.Can someone demonstrate to me what delta means? Can I use this formula to find the azimuth of a line?Any help would be great!-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:Delta means the change in, the difference between two readings. I am writing a program for land surveyors and in it I need to find the> azimuth of a line. I have the northings and eastings of two points on> the line and now need to convert that to an azimuth. I am trying to convert a formula someone was nice enough to give me> which finds an angle given the northing and easting. Here is the formula angle = tan^-1 ((delta northing) / (delta easting)) I'm embarresed to say I don't remember what delta means, if I ever> knew. Can someone demonstrate to me what delta means? Can I use this formula to find the azimuth of a line? Any help would be great!-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:> Can someone demonstrate to me what delta means? A capital Greek Delta (which looks like a triangle) is often used toindicate a difference, so that Delta x would mean the differencebetween two x values.-- Kevin Karplus karplus@soe.ucsc.edu http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~karpluslife member (LAB, Adventure Cycling, American Youth Hostels)Effective Cycling Instructor #218-ck (lapsed)Professor of Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa CruzUndergraduate and Graduate Director, BioinformaticsAffiliations for identification only.-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:>Can someone demonstrate to me what delta means? > A capital Greek Delta (which looks like a triangle) is often used to> indicate a difference, so that Delta x would mean the difference> between two x values.> -- > Kevin Karplus karplus@soe.ucsc.edu http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~karplus> life member (LAB, Adventure Cycling, American Youth Hostels)> Effective Cycling Instructor #218-ck (lapsed)> Professor of Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz> Undergraduate and Graduate Director, Bioinformatics> Affiliations for identification only.(slap the forhead!) ;-)-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:Can the distance formula be applied to determine equational forms for anythingin ADDITION TO conic sections, or is it only possible to create the conicsection type equations and nothing more? Any other possibilities?G C-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:If x is divided by a, the remainder is b. y is divided by a, and theremainder is 4b. how can i use Euclid's algorithm to find this? a andb's HCF is 1. i don't want to know the answer, but can anyone directme to some sites or give me some hints?-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:>If x is divided by a, the remainder is b. y is divided by a, and the>remainder is 4b. how can i use Euclid's algorithm to find this? a and>b's HCF is 1. i don't want to know the answer, but can anyone direct>me to some sites or give me some hints?Not sure what it is you're trying to find. x and y? To say a divides x with a remainder of b is to say: x = n*a + b To say y divided by a leaves a remainder of 4b is to say: y = m*a + 4*bwhere m,n are any two positive integers (or 0).To say HCF of a,b is 1 is to assert they have no common factorsi.e. they're coprime.So if you have: x = n*a + b y = m*a + 4*bit's easy enough to just pick a,b,m,n out of thin air, where b Can anyone help me to solve this problem:> I have the unknown variables H and F and I dont'd know wich way to go. 12.100 + 27.000F = 200H> 22.960 + 40H = 90.000F The solution should be F=0,3 and H=101! But why??? please help!!!>And my response is:Two ways to solve this are by substitution or elimination. Let's do both:SUBSTITUTIONWe want to substitute one variable for another. Let's say we want tosubstitute H into F.So we need to change one of the equations so that H is by itself.REMEMBER: Whatever you do to one side of the equation you MUST do to theother!If we use the first equation:12.100 + 27.000F = 200HSo to isolate H, we need to divide both sides of the equation by 200 (thecoefficient of H):(12.100 / 200) + (27.000F / 200) = (200H / 200)0.0605 + 0.135F = H ----> since 200 / 200 = 1 and 1*H = HNow we can plug this equation into the opposite equation that we first used.We used the first equation the first time, so now we'll use the secondequation. If we plug it into equation 2, we get:22.960 + 40H = 90.000F22.960 + 40 ( 0.0605 + 0.135F ) = 90.000F22.960 + 2.42 + 5.4F = 90.000FNow we need to get F on one side of the equation. So we'll subtract 5.4Ffrom BOTH sides:22.960 + 2.42 + 5.4F - 5.4F = 90.000F - 5.4FNow simplify:25.38 = 84.6FDivide both sides by 84.6 to isolate F:25.38 / 84.6 = 84.6F / 84.60.3 = FSo far we have solved for F. Now we need to solve for H. We can plug oursolution of F = 0.3 into EITHER of our first 2 equations to solve for H.Let's plug F=0.3 into equation 1:12.100 + 27.000F = 200H12.100 + 27.000 ( 0.3) = 200H12.100 + 8.1 = 200HSimplify:20.200 = 200HDivide both sides by 200 to isolate H:20.200 / 200 = 200H / 2000.101 = HSo our solution is H = 0.101 and F = 0.3. To check we plug both values intoboth equations. If the left side = right side, then we know we have theright answer:Equation 1:12.100 + 27.000F = 200H12.100 + 27.000 ( 0.3) = 200 ( 0.101 )12.100 + 8.1 = 20.220.200 = 20.2 the left equals the right ... so far so goodEquation 2:22.960 + 40H = 90.000F22.960 + 40 ( 0.101 ) = 90.000 (0.3)22.960 + 4.04 = 2727.000 = 27 the left equals the right in BOTH equations therefore weknow our solution is correct!!ELIMINATIONWe want to eliminate one variable by making the coefficients for thatvariable equal to each other. Let's say we want to eliminate H. So we needto make both coefficients equal. Let's make them both 200.12.100 + 27.000F = 200H22.960 + 40H = 90.000FWe can turn 40H into 200H by multiplying by 5, but in order to do that wemust remember that whatever we do to one side of the equation we MUST do tothe other. So,5 ( 22.960 + 40H ) = 5 ( 90.000F )5 ( 22.960 ) + 5 ( 40H ) = 450.000F114.8 + 200H = 450.000FSo now our 2 equations are:12.100 + 27.000F = 200H114.8 + 200H = 450.000FLet's get 200H on the right side of both equations. So for equation 2 we'llsubtract 200H from both sides:114.8 + 200H - 200H = 450.000F - 200H114.8 = 450.000F - 200HNow we'll subtract 450.000F from both sides:114.8 - 450.000F = 450.000F - 450.000F - 200H114.8 - 450.000F = ( - 200H )So now our 2 equations are:12.100 + 27.000F = 200H114.8 - 450.000F = ( - 200H )So to eliminate H, we can add the 2 equations together: 12.100 + 27.000F = 200H+ 114.8 - 450.000F = ( - 200H )___________________________126.900 - 423F = 0We want to isolate F, so we subtract 126.900 from both sides:126.900 - 126.900 - 423F = 0 - 126.900( - 423F ) = ( - 126.900 )Now we can multiply both sides by ( - 1 ):( - 1 )( - 423F ) = ( - 1 )( - 126.900 )423F = 126.900And divide both sides by 423:423F / 423 = 126.900 / 423F = 0.3So far we have solved for F. Now we need to solve for H. We can plug oursolution of F = 0.3 into EITHER of our first 2 equations to solve for H.Let's plug F= 0.3 into equation 2:22.960 + 40H = 90.000F22.960 + 40H = 90.000 ( 0.3 )22.960 + 40H = 27Since we want to isolate H, we need to get it on either side of the equationby itself. So we can subtract 22.960 from both sides:22.960 - 22.960 + 40H = 27 - 22.960Simplify:40H = 4.04Divide both sides by 40 to isolate H:40H / 40 = 4.04 / 40H = 0.101So our solution is H = 0.101 and F = 0.3. To check we plug both values intoboth equations. If the left side = right side, then we know we have theright answer:Equation 1:12.100 + 27.000F = 200H12.100 + 27.000 ( 0.3) = 200 ( 0.101 )12.100 + 8.1 = 20.220.200 = 20.2 the left equals the right ... so far so goodEquation 2:22.960 + 40H = 90.000F22.960 + 40 ( 0.101 ) = 90.000 (0.3)22.960 + 4.04 = 2727.000 = 27 the left equals the right in BOTH equations therefore weknow our solution is correct!!-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:geomitry ???plz.......thanks-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:> geomitry ???plz.......> thanksTry this: http://www.bymath.com/studyguide/geo/geo14.htm For me itworked in Internet Explorer but not Netscape. Or this:http://mathworld.wolfram.com/DihedralAngle.html And others... Googlinghelps.-- G.C.-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:I assume you mean dihedral angle -- angels might be a bit off-topic.Multiple sites on google search, some below (might want to skip referencesto chemistry) :http://mathworld.wolfram.com/DihedralAngle.htmlhttp:// www.cem.msu.edu/~cem251/F96/alkane_conformations/ANGLE1. htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/61/imagepages/A4dihedr.htmlhttp:// sinai.mech.fukui-u.ac.jp/gcj/software/Dihed/http:// www.olympus.net/personal/mortenson/preview/definitionsd/ dihedralangle..htmlhttp://josephfusco.org/Articles/Dihedral/ Dihedral.htmlhttp://www.homoexcelsior.com/omega.db/datum/ aerospace_engineering/dihedral_angle/5728http://www.it-c.dk/ bibliotek/encyclopedia/math/d/d207.htmhttp://www.ics.uci.edu/~ eppstein/junkyard/tetraqual.html> geomitry ???plz.......> thanks>-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:> geomitry ???plz.......Someone suggested skipping all the chemsitry papers. Actually, thatmay be a bad idea. I had absolutely no use for dihedral angles untilI started doing protein-structure prediction in my 40s---the dihedralangles of protein backbones give a very concrete visualization of theangles, and are absolutely critical to understanding protein shapes.-- Kevin Karplus karplus@soe.ucsc.edu http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~karpluslife member (LAB, Adventure Cycling, American Youth Hostels)Effective Cycling Instructor #218-ck (lapsed)Professor of Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa CruzUndergraduate and Graduate Director, BioinformaticsAffiliations for identification only.-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:By definition, a linear transformation T from vector space V to W isone that satisfies1. T (x+y) = T(x) + T(y), and2. T (kx) = kT(x)for any x, y in V, and scalar k.Can anybody give a simple example of a non-linear transformation Fwhich satisfies condition 2 but not 1?-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:> By definition, a linear transformation T from vector space V to W is> one that satisfies> 1. T (x+y) = T(x) + T(y), and> 2. T (kx) = kT(x)> for any x, y in V, and scalar k.> Can anybody give a simple example of a non-linear transformation F> which satisfies condition 2 but not 1?consider T: RxR -> RT((x,y)) = { x if y=0 { 0 otherwiseT((kx,ky)) = { kx if ky=0 { 0 otherwise = { kx if y=0 { 0 if k=0 { 0 otherwise = k T((x,y))T((1,-1)) =0T((1,1)) = 0T( (1,1) + (1,-1) ) = T((2,0)) = 2-- Kevin Karplus karplus@soe.ucsc.edu http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~karpluslife member (LAB, Adventure Cycling, American Youth Hostels)Effective Cycling Instructor #218-ck (lapsed)Professor of Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa CruzUndergraduate and Graduate Director, BioinformaticsAffiliations for identification only.-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:Math is not politically connected. Please do not math to teach aboutcultural diversity.Math does not belong to any culture or a single community and everybodylearns same mathematical concepts.If you think that math is sensitive subject to people from some communities... i would like to know how.. cause being not math is a sensitive subjectand not math itself.Please dont teach math subjectively because it cannot be taughtsubjectively.It is cold hearted and strsight subject. Teaching itsubjectively will only confuse a lot of students.Carol what you are trying to do is appreciable but imagine for examplesaying that community X adds 2+2=3....I think you have more sense than that..Instead you would do much better trying to use geometrical figures ratherthan algebra to get across your point about difference in thinking. I am looking for ideas as to how I might teach the subject of> mathematics in my classroom, while at the same time recognizing and> showing appreciation to the many diverse cultures that are present. In> general, I try to avoid the subject of mathematics, since it is a very> sensitive topic for many students of other cultures. However, it is> also required by the school board that at least an hour of mathematics> be taught each day. In general, to avoid hurt feelings or notions of> cultural intolerance, I try to teach math in a very subjective manner.> For example, rather than teaching that 2+2=4, and there is no other> correct answer, I try to prepare my students to tolerate other ways of> thinking by asking them ''how do you feel about the equation 2+2?'' If> a student were to answer that 2+2=3, I would not reprimand him or her.> Rather, I would introduce his/her answer as a different point of view,> and try to show the rest of the class how different people and> different cultures think in diverse ways. At any rate, I was wondering if anyone else has had similar> experiences balancing math with cultural diversity. I would be> interested to know how others have dealt with the issue. Respectfully,> Carol Andrews-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:>> Please do not math to teach about cultural diversity.Exactly! This type of nonsense introduce [2+2=3] his/her answer as adifferent point of view, and try to show the rest of the class how differentpeople and different cultures think in diverse ways is insulting andcondescending. It does more to set people apart than it does to bring themtogether.Too bad this particular math teacher chooses talk down to the studentsinstead of teaching them that 2+2=4 regardless of culture.John> Math is not politically connected. Please do not math to teach about> cultural diversity.> Math does not belong to any culture or a single community and everybody> learns same mathematical concepts.> If you think that math is sensitive subject to people from somecommunities> ... i would like to know how.. cause being not math is a sensitive subject> and not math itself.> Please dont teach math subjectively because it cannot be taught> subjectively.It is cold hearted and strsight subject. Teaching it> subjectively will only confuse a lot of students. Carol what you are trying to do is appreciable but imagine for example> saying that community X adds 2+2=3....> I think you have more sense than that.. Instead you would do much better trying to use geometrical figures rather> than algebra to get across your point about difference in thinking.> I am looking for ideas as to how I might teach the subject of>mathematics in my classroom, while at the same time recognizing and>showing appreciation to the many diverse cultures that are present. In>general, I try to avoid the subject of mathematics, since it is a very>sensitive topic for many students of other cultures. However, it is>also required by the school board that at least an hour of mathematics>be taught each day. In general, to avoid hurt feelings or notions of>cultural intolerance, I try to teach math in a very subjective manner.>For example, rather than teaching that 2+2=4, and there is no other>correct answer, I try to prepare my students to tolerate other ways of>thinking by asking them ''how do you feel about the equation 2+2?'' If>a student were to answer that 2+2=3, I would not reprimand him or her.>Rather, I would introduce his/her answer as a different point of view,>and try to show the rest of the class how different people and>different cultures think in diverse ways.> At any rate, I was wondering if anyone else has had similar>experiences balancing math with cultural diversity. I would be>interested to know how others have dealt with the issue.> Respectfully,>Carol Andrews>-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:Greetings, years old son, to help him with math. Seeing noticeable improvement of his math skills within few days after playing with this game I started thinking to give it a spin as a commercial product. I am seeking a second opinion. I would appreciate comments from both teachersand parents. If you would like to give it a tryit is available for download from the link below:http://pjwalczak.com/mninja/mnsetup.exeThe intended platform is MS Windows, preferableconfiguration is sound, and color display.Piotr J. Walczak-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:I am wondering if anyone knows of a program I can download to give meall possible 5 number combinations from the numbers 0 through to 9???thanks -- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:> I am wondering if anyone knows of a program I can download to give me> all possible 5 number combinations from the numbers 0 through to 9???> thanks Do you mean 5 digit combinations, ie, all numbers of the form XXXXX? If so, just count from 0 (or 1000 if you want to be picky) to 9999.If you don't want to duplicate numbers (ie each digit only used once) then something like the following: (C++; code snippet is sloppy and inefficient but easy to type and understand)for (int i=0; i<10) for (int j=0; j<10) for (int k=0; j<10) for (int l=0; j<10) { if ((i !=j) && (i!=k) && (i!=l) && (j!=k) && (j!=l) && (k!=l)) { cout << i << j << k << l << endl; } }That will output all of the combinations. Stick it into a program with the appropriate header files and pipe the output to a file for use.If you have no idea what that last paragraph said, post again and I'll simplify :-)-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:What is the angle of each side of a perfect octagon?-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:Use this formula:[180(n-2)]/nn = sidesGood LuckJohn> What is the angle of each side of a perfect octagon?>-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:>What is the angle of each side of a perfect octagon?Interior or exterior angle?Either way, you can work it out yourself. Imagine going all round the octagon; you will have to turn a total of 360 degrees. Since there are 8 angles, 360/8 will be important in your answer.-- Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Cortland County, New York, USA http://OakRoadSystems.comFortunately, I live in the United States of America, where we aregradually coming to understand that nothing we do is ever ourfault, especially if it is really stupid. --Dave Barry-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:> What is the angle of each side of a perfect octagon?I assume that by perfect you mean regular -- i.e., that all angles are equal and all side lengths are equal.A regular triangle has 60 degrees in each angle.Starting with that, mathematical induction will prove a nice formula for any regular polygon.Good luck and enjoy.Michael HammBA scl Math, PBK, NYUmsh210@math.wustl.eduNote new URL: http://www.math.wustl.edu/~msh210/-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:> What is the angle of each side of a perfect octagon?Do you know the formula for the sum of the measures of the interior anglesof an n-gon? That would be a good first step.Also, when you say perfect octagon I assume that you actually mean aregular octagon? A regular n-gon is a polygon where all n sides have equallengths and all n angles have the same measures.Rich-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:> What is the angle of each side of a perfect octagon?To solve this problem, think about a turtle moving along the edges ofthe polygon. The turtle turns a bit at each corner (the amount itturns is sometimes called the exterior angle of the polygon).When it has gone all the way around the polygon, it is facing the sameway as it started. How much as it turned in total? How many timesvery easy to get the interior angles you are looking for.-- Kevin Karplus karplus@soe.ucsc.edu http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~karpluslife member (LAB, Adventure Cycling, American Youth Hostels)Effective Cycling Instructor #218-ck (lapsed)Professor of Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa CruzUndergraduate and Graduate Director, BioinformaticsAffiliations for identification only.-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:> What is the angle of each side of a perfect octagon?>Sides don't have angles. Adjacent sides have angles between them. Imagine yourself walking along the sides of a _regular_ octagon. Ateach vertex you must turn through 45 degrees because 8*45 degrees =360 and you must have turned through a total of 360 degrees when youget back to where you started since you will then facing in the samedirection as when you set out. Had you not turned at a vertex you wouldhave made an angle of 180 degrees at that vertex, so the interiorangle at each vertex is (180 - 45) degrees = 135 degrees. Draw apicture.-- G.C.-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:>>I am stuck on the following three problems. Any help would be greatly>>appreciated.>>I started writing a list of hints and questions for each one. But it >all boils down to:>>What _specifically_ did you try? Students tend to give up over any >problem that is not entirely straightforward. Yet the first and >third at least are pretty standard problems, and you should expect >similar problems on your exam -- where you will have to solve them >without assistance. It's okay to ask for help, but you need to build >up your own mental muscles by getting as far as you can on your own. >very often a student will find that simply looking at the problem a >second time is all it takes.>>I'll be happy to help you over a particular rough spot, but simply >doing the problems for you to look at the solutions is really no >service to you.>>-- >Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Cortland County, New York, USA> http://OakRoadSystems.com>Fortunately, I live in the United States of America, where we are>gradually coming to understand that nothing we do is ever our>fault, especially if it is really stupid. --Dave Barry> I'll try each some more and if I still don't get them I'll post backYa, i was making stupid mistakes on them, and was able to get 1+3, andgot 2 after realizing cos(105) wasn't a variable(duh!).> Scott Eliason-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html === Subject:MathLove in S Korea has a broad range of materials, including GrafEqand Poly in Korean language interfaces.http://www.mathlove.or.kr/Gary TupperPedagoguery Software Inc.-- newsgroup website: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/newsgroup charter: http://www.thinkspot.net/k12math/charter.html