What math level is required?
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From: Peter Webb on 15 Jan 2010 05:09 You solve trivial geometry problems in your head by "restating the problem in the language of cartesian co-ordinates and vectors, and solve it algebraically rather than geometrically?" What for? Wouldn't straightforward geometry be much easier on your head than this weird algebraic approach? OK, you got me intrigued. So, describe to me in detail how to solve this problem algebraically please. ________________________________ Well, I never really learned geometry until I did co-ordinate geometry, and I suck at plane geometry, so I use the tools I know. I was also drawn to this because the problem is built around a square prism, which imposes a natural set of co-ordinates. An algebraic proof using vectors could exactly follow a purely geometric proof, just using a different notation. And no, I couldn't be bothered doing it for you.
From: Ostap S. B. M. Bender Jr. on 15 Jan 2010 05:17 On Jan 15, 2:09 am, "Peter Webb" <webbfam...(a)DIESPAMDIEoptusnet.com.au> wrote: > You solve trivial geometry problems in your head by "restating the > problem in the language of cartesian co-ordinates and vectors, and > solve it algebraically rather than geometrically?" > > What for? Wouldn't straightforward geometry be much easier on your > head than this weird algebraic approach? > > OK, you got me intrigued. So, describe to me in detail how to solve > this problem algebraically please. > > ________________________________ > Well, I never really learned geometry until I did co-ordinate geometry, > To me - it is the other way. We were taught Euclid geometry in 6th grade as a separate subject, and that was the first time I was introduced to the idea of axioms and rigorous proofs. I was very impressed. Analytic geometry is something that I did very little of, except for the usual ellipse, hyperbola and parabola. > > and > I suck at plane geometry, so I use the tools I know. I was also drawn to > this because the problem is built around a square prism, which imposes a > natural set of co-ordinates. An algebraic proof using vectors could exactly > follow a purely geometric proof, just using a different notation. And no, I > couldn't be bothered doing it for you. > Let's see if "Ask me about System Design" can do it.
From: Henry on 15 Jan 2010 07:04 On 15 Jan, 09:53, "Ostap S. B. M. Bender Jr." <ostap_bender_1...(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > > Well, it says: "a sample question from Chinese university entrance > tests". My own knowledge of American and Russian college entrance > tests tell me that the average time allocated to one individual > problem cannot be more than, say, 5 or 10 minutes. If you look at http://www.admissionstests.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/adt/step http://www.admissionstests.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/adt/digitalAssets/116040_2009.zip <link may break> there is a UK test (used by Cambridge Unversity and sometimes Warwick, Bristol, Oxford and Imperial College London) with 13 questions in 3 hours, but candidates are instructed to answer 6 or fewer [only the best 6 replies to questions are counted]. It says "Usually a candidate who answers 4 questions well (not perfectly) will be awarded a grade 1 for that paper" This is for a mathematics course rather than chemistry.
From: Robert on 15 Jan 2010 08:54 On 15 Jan, 12:04, Henry <s...(a)btinternet.com> wrote: > On 15 Jan, 09:53, "Ostap S. B. M. Bender Jr." > > <ostap_bender_1...(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > > > Well, it says: "a sample question from Chinese university entrance > > tests". My own knowledge of American and Russian college entrance > > tests tell me that the average time allocated to one individual > > problem cannot be more than, say, 5 or 10 minutes. > > If you look athttp://www.admissionstests.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/adt/stephttp://www.admissionstests.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/adt/digitalAsse... > <link may break> > there is a UK test (used by Cambridge Unversity and sometimes Warwick, > Bristol, Oxford and Imperial College London) with 13 questions in 3 > hours, but candidates are instructed to answer 6 or fewer [only the > best 6 replies to questions are counted]. It says "Usually a > candidate who answers 4 questions well (not perfectly) will be awarded > a grade 1 for that paper" > > This is for a mathematics course rather than chemistry. The STEP test is pretty tough. As you say, the BBC article is about science (and that probably doesn't include physics) requirements for university entrance, and probably not at the better universities which will want A level maths. That universities have to check that a chemistry undergraduate can do pythagoras' theorem and trigonometry is pretty alarming though.
From: A N Niel on 15 Jan 2010 09:58
In article <0276117d-5597-41a5-b138-0f58a375a5f3(a)p24g2000yqm.googlegroups.com>, Ostap S. B. M. Bender Jr. <ostap_bender_1900(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > On Jan 14, 10:23�pm, mike3 <mike4...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > Hi. > > > > I saw this: > > > > http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/6589301.stm > > > > What sort of math level would that require (to be able to do problems > > like the one on that Chinese test)? > > > > That would require a much better translation level, because the phrase > "the foot of perpendicular is E" is highly ambiguous. Not to mention the term "square prism" ... but ABCD is not square, so what is? Maybe it should be translated "right prism" or something. |