Condoleezza and the Watermelon (College math exam uses Rice with racial stereotype)

Email from Dr. Wayne Perryman ^ | 4/11/06 | Dr. Wayne Perryman

[JulieRNR21]

From: Rev. Wayne Perryman DoubleBro@aol.com

Dear Friends

The following sample math problem was given to students as part of their final exam at Bellevue Community College in Washington State. I was asked by black students to represent them in this matter. Some of these students attend my church.

I am asking all of you and your friends to e-mail the school at the following e-mail addresses and express your outrage:

Advising@bcc.ctc.edu, tpritcha@bcc.ctc.edu, and amatsumo@bcc.ctc.edu.

The following is the math problem given to the students.

The Problem: Condoleezza holds a watermelon just over the edge of the roof of the 300 -foot Federal Building, and tosses it up with a velocity of 20 feet per second. The height of the watermelon above the ground t seconds later is given by formula h= -16t2 + 20t + 300

a. How many seconds will it pass her (she's standing at a height of 300 feet) on the way down?

b. When will the watermelon hit ground?

If they used this same problems and substituted Condoleezza's name with Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton, there would be mass protest and they would shut the college down. Because it was Condoleezza Rice, they wanted to ignore it until I showed up today.

Please e-mail the college and express your outrage and your support of having me at the table to resolve this issue. I am demanding that the college to do several things to correct the problem.

This is serious. Please do not let me down, I want thousands of e-mails to come from all across the country. A CBS affiliate, KIRO TV did cover this story.

Rev. Wayne Perryman P.O. Box 256 Mercer Island, WA 98040

[Theo]

[TBP]

So the left did something blatantly racist. So tell me what else is neew. I thought everybody knew that liberalism and racism go hand in hand, that racism is endemic to the mental illness known as liberalism.

[sit-rep]

(sigh)...

And people call me a questionable racist...

[Jaysun]

LOL! Have the moderator destroy these instructions at once, lest the watermelon infidels learn the handshake too.

[Cinnamon Girl]

What year is this again?

[BooksForTheRight.com]

"how many seconds will it pass her"
This sentence shows that the author has no idea of how to express itself in English.
However, given the likelyhood that the author is also a member of ....
oh never mind.

[BooksForTheRight.com]

government funded, union controlled pit of liberal brainwashing

Well said!

[Larry Lucido]

And people call me a questionable racist...

And that's when you're on your best behavior! LOL!

Sometime in 1977 or so, a poly sci teacher drafted an essay question using Governor Linda Rhonstadt and her boyfriend Jerry as the subjects. I guess someone could have been offended by that, too.

[Larry Lucido]

Governor Linda Rhonstadt and her boyfriend Jerry

Of course, that was when Linda was still sizzling hot.

[sit-rep]

It will be interesting to see where this one goes, and the folks it drags through the mud on it's way down....

[sit-rep]

have mercy...

She looked good in that pic... Daaayum!!

[sit-rep]

lol...

bttt!!

[kenavi]

a. 1.25 seconds
b. 5.00 seconds

Could you explain your answer?

I believe the formula for the force of gravity is 32 feet per second squared.

If that is correct, then the time to drop 300 feet is:
32t(squared)=300. t equals 4 and 11/16 seconds (4.6875 sec.)

I cannot figure out (a). The object goes up at 20 ft./sec, with gravity pushing it down at 32 feet per second square. It seems like at 5/8 seconds, the force of gravity exceeds the force of the toss, and the object starts to descend. If I am correct in that, then your answer of "1.25 seconds" presumes that the object descends at the same speed with which it ascended, but that can't be right.

Also, if you calculate that it takes 1.25 seconds for object to ascend and then return to its starting point (300 ft. up), then that would leave only 3.75 seconds for it to go from 300 feet to hit the ground, since your answer (b) is "5 seconds" for it to hit the ground after initial release (thus, 5 seconds minus 1.25 seconds equals 3.75 seconds).

[Horatio Gates]

Can't really add anything to this that hasn't already been said other than why would anybody want to waste a perfectly good watermelon by tossing it off the Federal Building?

The left truly is the face of racism

[Alexander Rubin]

I don't think there are too many others, given that the name comes from an Italian classical music term.

;)

[rmlew]

1. Why are college students taking a math or physics class where the calculation is given? This is algebra II material! 2. This is a calculus related question in the real world.
I took calculus before college. Why aren't the students taking Algebra I, II, and Precalc in high school?
3. The equation should be in meters. 9 meters is not 20 feet.

[Larry Lucido]

It wasn't organic?

[Horatio Gates]

No it was one of those steroid grown Halliburton watermelons.

I hate watermelon math. I can never figure out how many fluid ounces of Smirnoffs to inject into those darn things. No two watermelons are the same

[kylaka]

Fuzzy got tarred and feathered. Lost a few million in endorsements too, but K-Mart got their due.

[Mycroft Holmes]

At t=0 the watermellon is going up at 20ft/sec and being accellerated downward at 32ft/sec/sec. At t=1 the mellon will have risen 20 ft from the toss and fell 16 feet from the force of gravity (average downward velocity of the mellon being 0 + 32/2 or 16 feet). This leaves the mellon at +4 feet relative to the tosser, and moving downward at 12ft/sec (-32ft/sec + 20ft/sec). The remaining four feet are traversed in .25 seconds as at t=1 the mellon is moving -12ft/sec and at t=1.25 it is moving at -20ft/sec for an average velocity during that interval of -16ft/sec. Multiply that velocity by .25 sec and you have the remaining four feet.

The mellon is now at an altitude of 300ft amd moving downward at 20ft/sec at our new t=0 and 52ft/sec at t=1 and 84ft/sec at t=2 and 106ft/sec at t=3 and 138ft/sec at t=4. At t=4 the average velocity over the interval t=0-4 is 78ft/sec times 4 seconds is 312ft, a little more than we desire. Since the mellon is moving at 138 ft/second at the last instant it took about .086 seconds to travel that 12 feet. Subtracting the acceleration during that last little bit we come up with a velocity at splat of 135.2ft/sec yielding an average velocity over the interval t=0-3.914 of 77.6ft/sec for 3.914sec = 303.7ft which is close enough for government work. I would give answer 1 as 1.25 seconds and answer 2 as 5.16 sec.

regards,