This Is Eighth Grade ??

IXL ^ | June 12, 2011 | knarf

[knarf]

I'm a failure

[ETL]

From the Honeymooners TV show:

Promotional exam question: “If you were heating your own home, and oil was 12 cents a gallon and it went up seven percent, and coal, at the same time, was $14 a ton, and that went up nine percent, well, what would you do?”

Norton: Pack up and move to Florida.

http://www.hark.com/clips/qtfdqbpmmz-pack-up-and-move-to-florida#more

[Daffynition]

Actually, this is eighth grade...

[FreedomPoster]

Was there supposed to be some sort of problem with that?

;-P

You should have asked her how many pairs of shoes were in her closet. I expect that would have ended that!

[johngalt42]

I agree that they were not specific enough on the question. I was suggesting that they were looking for the prime factors of 20. The only prime numbers that are factors of 20 are 5, 2, and 1. They must be playing that fun game in school that I always hated: While your answer is correct, the answer on my test is more correct.

[MHGinTN]

The pencil will not fit if you try to use one that is the square root of (9² + 12²) in length ... the volume of the pencil will draw up the surfaces of the envelope, reducing the lengths of the two legs of that right triangle just enough that you will not have the pencil of that length entirely "in" the envelope.

[ETL]

The pencil will not fit if you try to use one that is the square root of (92 + 122) in length ... the volume of the pencil will draw up the surfaces of the envelope

You're assuming it's a traditional envelope. Perhaps it is an expandable packing envelope.

[Erasmus]

About the only tool making I got into was making some tool into a hammer when one wasn't at hand. {;^)

What's that old saying? Oh yeah--

"When the problem is a nail, every tool looks like a hammer."

[newzjunkey]

Centimeters!? What is this, France?

/s, sorta.

[ETL]

I pulled that question from the posted website at the top. Seems the questions change with a refresh. Anyway, the metric system (fractions of ten) is a much more logical system. Unfortunately, it would be way too much hassle trying to implement it regularly here.

[bigheadfred]

You hang out at the Jr. High? Muggawugga.

[MHGinTN]

You are also assuming actions/things not in evidence. The problem does not specify what type of envelope fits the measurements. The problem is typical Euclidean fantasy math, which works well in the real world so long as ideal circumstances are occurring. Have you ever tried to put a 3D pencil in a 'virtually 2D' envelope?

Imagine ordering 100,000 'typically flat' 9x12 envelopes based upon having a 15 inch in length pencil. All the materials are brought to a packing location, but then the pencils do not fit in the envelopes yet close the envelopes in such a way that they can mail out and pass properly through USPS equipment.

How do you fix the problem in the least expensive/least work way? ... Reduce the length of the pencils enough to fit into the envelopes so they may be closed in such a way that they will run unobstructing through the automated U.S.P.S. machinery without pencils 'leaking out in transit and handling.

BTW, Democrat controlled government solution would be to appoint a committee to investigate the problem, the cost over-runs in shortening the pencils by 1 or two centimeters, the weakness in the planning stage of the decision process, the failure to consult with USPS regs in order to comply before beginning the operation ... and finally, to determine if the project was a viable approach to some goal and if there are any--and I mean any government regs which would restrict the planned activity due to environmental impacts.

[BwanaNdege]

Never beat on a battery terminal with anything more serious than a screwdriver handle!

Tap it gently!

[bigheadfred]

You should have asked her how many pairs of shoes were in her closet.

You can see that. I can see that. Try TELLING her that. (Remember, she has access to all those hammers.)

[bigheadfred]

If I gotta go to the shed I might as well get get a hammer.

[libertarian27]

LOL - that was great!

[Georgia Girl 2]

Don’t feel too bad. I got down to word problems and I curled up in the fetal position. Everybody is not great at math. There are many other subjects in school. In college my roomate took trigonometry for a quick A. She barely passed Government 105 with my tutoring.

[knarf]

Yeah ... I’ve used 3,4,5 when laying out batter boards and foundations

[knarf]

I should'a clarified ... I STARTED with the word problems, thinking they couldn't be TOO awful bad ....

Yeah .... right.

[Daffynition]

I've seen too much moral decay with these sad, old eyes.

[philman_36]

She notices and says "you have ELEVEN hammers????...."
Considering differing weights and different purposed hammers she's lucky that's all you have.