What math level is required?
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From: victor_meldrew_666 on 18 Jan 2010 10:15 On 17 Jan, 21:07, Ask me about System Design <grpad...(a)gmail.com> wrote: > In an earlier post, it was brought up that analytic > geometry was not taught much in high schools in USA and > Russia. I cannot speak from experience of schools in > Russia, but my high school experience involved not only > classes but also competitions that tested my knowledge > of analytic geometry. My experience disagrees with the > earlier stated perception regarding the lack of analytic > geometry in American high schools. > > I do not remember now when I learned about cross product > or dot product; I still maintain that the problem yields > swiftly to such means, as I demonstrated. Others have > demonstrated how parts of the problem yield to geometric > as opposed to algebraic methods; thus I also maintain > that the symmetries of the problem allow for solving it > in under ten minutes (with a trig table for computing > inverse cosine) by a student with aptitude in science > and in mathematics. Again, is that not why the problem > was set, to help find such students? In the UK, vector algebra to the level useful in solving this problem is in the core A-level mathematics syllabus (taken by 16-18 year olds). See for instance http://www.ocr.org.uk/download/kd/ocr_10096_kd_l_gce_spec.pdf . As stated the problem has an extra layer of difficulty, due to its abysmal wording. As other correspondents have pointed out, the figure is not a square prism (a prism whose cross-section is square surely) and E is the foot of the perpendicular from what to what? I suspect this is due to over-literal translation. As it stands, working out what the problem states is as hard as doing the mathematics. If the problem were rephrased in a clear fashion, it should be a routine exercise for any student who has mastered A-level mathematics. But the cynic in me says that passing (or even obtaining an A grade in) A-level maths does not necessarily indicate mastery :-( So what of other countries, e.g. the US. Are there syllabi online that prescribe the mathematical content of secondary school maths education? Would they include vectors?
From: Ostap S. B. M. Bender Jr. on 19 Jan 2010 03:23 On Jan 18, 7:14 am, "victor_meldrew_...(a)yahoo.co.uk" <victor_meldrew_...(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote: > On 17 Jan, 12:09, "Ostap S. B. M. Bender Jr." > > <ostap_bender_1...(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > > > > > What is "high school"? >>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_school#United_States_of_America >>>> In the United States a high school is an upper secondary school >>>> which educates children from grade nine through grade twelve[4], >>>> in other words, from the age of 14 or 15 to 17 or 18. > >>>> Our discussion is about secondary >>>> education, You know, grades 1 through 12 here in USA. > >>> I don't. What are "grades 1 through 12"? > > > I will let you take more time to figure out what "grades 1 through 12" > > here in USA are, given the above information about the US high > > schools and in particular that you already know that "grades 9 > > through 12" are "upper secondary school" and correspond to > > "ages of 14 or 15 to 17 or 18". > > I'm afraid I cannot see the utility of cluttering my mind with > the minutiae of the educational system of a far-away country > of which we know little. > You really didn't have to store this information in permanent memory. Even if your deductive prowess wasn't good enough to figure out what the term "grades 1 through 12" can mean, the above information about what "grades 9 through 12" are, would have sufficed to anybody who can count backwards from 9 to 1. All this takes much less effort than the lengths that you had gone to in order to belittle me. BTW, I really like the creative way in which you cut quotations in order to hide the context. > > > When and if you ever manage to figure out this challenging for you > > puzzle, we can continue discussing your intellectual prowess and > > superiority over me. > > I have no interest in doing that. What has been baffling me is > your obsession with discussing your moral and intellectual > inferiority to me. > I was being sarcastic.
From: victor_meldrew_666 on 20 Jan 2010 03:21 On 19 Jan, 08:23, "Ostap S. B. M. Bender Jr." <ostap_bender_1...(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > > I was being sarcastic. Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.
From: Ostap S. B. M. Bender Jr. on 20 Jan 2010 20:43 On Jan 20, 12:21 am, "victor_meldrew_...(a)yahoo.co.uk" <victor_meldrew_...(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote: > On 19 Jan, 08:23, "Ostap S. B. M. Bender Jr." > > <ostap_bender_1...(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > > > I was being sarcastic. > > Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. > Not really. Sarcasm and irony can be quite noble. However, they don't work when the recipient lacks the ability to recognise and understand it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasm Sarcasm is the rhetorical device of using a characterization of something or someone in order to express contempt. The use of irony introduces an element of humour which may make the criticism seem more polite and less aggressive, but understanding the subtlety of this usage requires second-order interpretation of the speaker's intentions. This sophisticated understanding is lacking in some people with brain damage, dementia and autism.
From: victor_meldrew_666 on 21 Jan 2010 14:21
On 21 Jan, 01:43, Sober Pedant wrote: > Not really. Sarcasm and irony can be quite noble. However, they don't > work when the recipient lacks the ability to recognise and understand > it: So the ability to do elementary geometry is not the only ability you lack. :-( |