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Is zero even? |
2004-01-07 |
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From A secretary at an elementary school: Is zero an even number? Answered by Penny Nom. |
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The sides of a circle |
2004-01-07 |
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From Helena: My name is Helena and I am 10 years old. On a resent math exam I was asked
the question" How many sides does a circle have?" and I wrote down none. The
teacher said the answer was one side. Answered by Chris Fisher. |
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Laying decorative bricks |
2004-01-07 |
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From Duk: Loren is laying decorative brick along both edges of the 21-meter walkway up to his house. Each brick is 0.26 meters long. He is placing the bricks end to end. How many bricks does he need to do the job? Answered by Penny Nom. |
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Factoring expressions |
2004-01-03 |
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From A student:
I'm having trouble factoring expressions that aren't monic. I can do things like
x2-9x+8, but problems like 12x2+5x-3 have me stumped.
I also have a question about factoring out common factors. In a problem like
x2-18x+81, wouldn't you divide by 9? But what happens to the x2, is it x2/9? Answered by Penny Nom. |
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37 with four 4'2 |
2004-01-03 |
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From Myra: Using four fours and only four fours to get an answer of 37. Answered by Claude Tardif. |
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Solving an equation |
2004-01-03 |
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From A student: the question is to solve and check equations and the question is
2n + 3n + 7 = -41 Answered by Penny Nom. |
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Making a windmill |
2004-01-02 |
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From Matthew: I am a farmer in Ontario. It has been almost 20 years since high school. I am toying with making a windmill. The output chart for the the old generator I have is shown below. Before I tear it appart I would like to develop a formula from the chart that can predict the output at various speeds. Answered by Penny Nom. |
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Four digit combinations |
2003-12-31 |
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From A student: i need all 4 digit combinations using 0-9 please Answered by Penny Nom. |
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Fractions |
2003-12-31 |
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From Jae: Replace the question marks with numbers that will make the sentence true.
1.1/3=?/9=?/6
2.?/18=8/12=4/?
3. 3/?=12/?=9/?
4.?/3=?/21=?/7
5. Which problems have more than one possible answer? Why do you think this is so? Answered by Penny Nom. |
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A new way to measure randomness |
2003-12-31 |
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From Stephanie:
Last year, I did a science project in which I asked, "Which shuffles better, an automatic card shuffler or shuffling by hand?" To measure this I decided the "best" shuffler was the one to become random first. Last year, to measure randomness, I numbered cards 1-52 and had the subjects shuffle them until they broke up the rising sequences or reached 10 shuffles. (Usually 10 shuffles came first...) Anyway, I did the same thing with the automatic card shuffler, and, as hypothesized, the automatic card shuffler randomized the deck first.
This year, I have decided to continue the project. The problem is, I need a new way to measure randomness without the use of fancy computers or something. I have searched the Internet, I have posted my query on websites based on math, and I have searched the local library.
I have found many useful things on the Internet, but none of them can tell me a new way to measure randomness. I cannot do a perfect shuffle, and I am not terribly gifted in the art of using computers. If you have any information (anything will help) or advice, I would be greatly obliged. Answered by Andrei Volodin. |
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The trapezoidal rule |
2003-12-31 |
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From Prashanth: I have a set of XY co-ordinates(say 49 points),I want to find the area enclosed by the curve joining them and the axes.I do not have an equation for the curve and I am not able to fit a curve given the points.I use the trapezoidal rule
(Y1+Y2/2)*(X2-X1),
Is it right? can I do this with any other method? Answered by Penny Nom. |
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Ratios and proportions |
2003-12-31 |
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From Frank: I would like to know how you use 'ratios and proportions' in everyday life. Answered by Penny Nom. |
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Some number problems |
2003-12-24 |
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From Shruthi: 1. Write 31 using 3 five times
2. Write 100 using all the 10 digits just once
. . . Answered by Penny Nom. |
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Percent increase |
2003-12-24 |
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From Frank: How does one figure the percent of increase or decrease in the cost of an item? Answered by Penny Nom. |
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Making a cone |
2003-12-22 |
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From Tracie:
I am working on a craft project at home and I have been given the following information: 16" tall and 13" diameter at base, with 1 and 1/2 " opening at top.
Is there a basic formula for creating a cone with this info?
Answered by Claude Tardif and Penny Nom. |
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