How many solve this math problem correctly?

Homesteading & Country Living Forum

Help Support Homesteading & Country Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Haertig

Haertig

Awesome Friend
Neighbor
HCL Supporter
Joined
Dec 6, 2017
Messages
6,820
Location
Colorado


Yeah, I came up with the answer that everybody else did too. And I was heavy into amateur astronomy a few decades ago and I know about sidereal time. But I failed to recognize or apply that concept when solving this problem. I guess my brain is just too old and worn out these days. :(

Luckily this question didn't hit the SAT until years after I had taken it (I got 800 on the math part back in '75). I admit, I would have gotten it wrong (although they did eventually throw the question out of the SAT test score, since they didn't give you a choice for the correct answer, so a wrong answer didn't count).
 
Haertig said:


Yeah, I came up with the answer that everybody else did too. And I was heavy into amateur astronomy a few decades ago and I know about sidereal time. But I failed to recognize or apply that concept when solving this problem. I guess my brain is just too old and worn out these days. :(

Luckily this question didn't hit the SAT until years after I had taken it (I got 800 on the math part back in '75). I admit, I would have gotten it wrong (although they did eventually throw the question out of the SAT test score, since they didn't give you a choice for the correct answer, so a wrong answer didn't count).
Click to expand...

Thank goodness I only took the ACT :), I would have failed this question.
 
Last edited:
Haertig said:
I admit, I would have gotten it wrong (although they did eventually throw the question out of the SAT test score, since they didn't give you a choice for the correct answer, so a wrong answer didn't count).
Click to expand...
...It makes me wonder how many other questions did not have a 'correct-answer' :mad: :waiting:
 
Supervisor42 said:
...It makes me wonder how many other questions did not have a 'correct-answer' :mad: :waiting:
Click to expand...
I was shocked as a youngun when my Dad pulled out his fountain pen and crossed out stuff in a textbook because they were WRONG. Now I understand :)
 
Yup, I took the SAT in '82 and remember this question. I also remember the answer, 4, not being among the choices.
 
Haertig said:
That is not correct, and it is not a trick question. It is just a more difficult question than most of us - including myself, and to their chagrin, the SAT question writers - imagined.
Click to expand...
oh come on, I dont want to spend 18 minutes to look at math LOL, did enough of that in my life
It HAS to be 3, none of the other answers seem even remotely correct
 
My Mathematical ability stopped at fractions. I'm just a little bit better than Jethro Bodine. I hope you all had fun.
 
I would need a bunch of paper and box of new crayons to figure this out for sure...lol

my sister..phd in math and engineering gets all pissy at me when i do math in my head and do pie with only 3 instead of 3.14...lol..i tell her i cant do all the extra numbers and only need a rough idea to know i am in the ball park for my answers i need and what i am doing...roflmao...i call to ask a question she says are we doing real math or elkhound math...lol... funny thing is her daughter does math the way i do as well....lol...its what happens when a child spends time in garden with a grouchy old uncle...she has many of my traits it seems.
 
Many years ago we had a coed softball league at work. One of the teams from the R&D Department was Pi.

They all had numbers on their jerseys, and lined up for a funny picture:

3.1415926535​


True story.
 
Cabin Fever said:
think if there was a fan belt around A and B, 3 would have been the correct answer.
Click to expand...
I like the fact that if you look at it from the perspective of either circle A or circle B, 3 is correct. But not from the perspective of an outside observer, which we are. And the way they pulled this back into "real world" relevant stuff when they talked about sidereal time, that was a cool way to show it really is important.

I really liked the demonstration using the ribbon. Different observations if it's wrapped around a circle or straight. The same piece of ribbon. When you take the time to analyse and think about it, yeah, it makes sense (but even then, I think it's a pretty dramatic demonstration). When you see it for the first time ... it's more like magic though!

I am now thinking maybe I should go back and find a refresher book on math. Yeah, I had some high level stuff in my younger days, and was quite good at it. But to be brutally honest, never in a day of my life have I used calculus to solve a real world problem at home. Not even at work (although some engineering project use calculus daily, my area did not). So I learned calculus back in high school, but haven't used it for anything practical since. Thus I have forgotten it and need a refresher course. I am even getting deficient in basic low level Algebra. I looked at a problem the other day. Super simple. 2^x = 9 (I don't know how to create a superscript in this post - that's "2 to the x"). This is first year Algebra IIRC. My mind was saying, yeah, you gotta use logirithms. Somehow. How exactly do I do that again? That was embarrassing that I had to think about this for a while before remembering. But then, I've never had any practical need to solve an equation like that - as simple as it is - in real life. So it has been 50+ years since the last time I did it. I guess it's OK for the brain to have gotten a bit rusty. Still embarrassing though.
 
Haertig said:
If that's all you want to know, the post right above yours tells you the correct answer is 4 (even though that was not an available choice on the SAT).

The engaging part is watching the video and learning why, not knowing the answer.
Click to expand...
so it WAS a trick question after all since all the answers were wrong....lol ok
4? hmmmm , I guess the rotation must have something to do with it?

edit :thought about this some more, it's calculus, integral for calculating distance on a curve ( but LOL don't ask me how to calculate it, the last calc class I had was like 35 years ago or more)
 
Last edited:
Neb said:
Count yourself blessed!

I am scheduled to tutor the 2nd granddaughter in math starting Thursday. We will see were it goes.

Ben
Click to expand...
My Prayers are with you, I learned I am too ignorant, forgot too much and had too much homework to tutor in Algebra anymore :)
 
This is why I hate academia. Frankly, the question was supposed to have 3 as an answer to show the relationship between circumference and radius as it relates to the perimeter of a circle. This is a test of your intuitive ability to understand that relationship and answer quickly. That's the skill meant to be demonstrated by the test taker when answering the question.

There is a correct way to word the problem where 3 is the answer but the test makers failed to articulate this- this could be because they wanted to add a graphic to the question or because they wanted to make it look more complex than it really was to make it harder for the student- Because of that, the answer is incorrect. It's an oversight and the whole point of the question has absolutely been lost in translation. The vast majority of us are not mathematicians who's jobs depend on our ability to interpret complex mathematical formulas and axioms... however, the average person should be able to understand the very basic relationship between radius and circumfrence though- the test just did a poor job of engineering that answer.

had they worded it- "if you were to roll a smaller circle (A) around the perimeter of larger circle (B) and circle A's radius was 1/3 the length of circle B's radius- how many revolutions would circle A make before it reached its starting point."

No graphic needed... answer is 3. the whole point of the question being the relationship between the base is maintained and we can get the **** on with our lives.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top