Re: Progressive newspaper has math problems

On Sep 18, 7:54 am, "Dave L. Renfro" <renfr...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
achsofr...@xxxxxxxxx" <dkw12...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I saw something I have never seen before in anewspaper.
The San Antonio paper, on the page with the cross words,
Soduku, etc, had an algebra problem....multiplying
binomials using the FOIL rule and simplifying it.
I wonder what portion of the population could solve
this algebra problem? I'm guessing it would be
something under 3% of adults. I don't subscribe
to the paper so don't know if it has one every day
or one every week or if they are always algebra, but
I really like the idea and find it refreshing. dkw

I think 3% is rather low. This is high school algebra 1,
something everyone who goes to college would have had
(and almost always 2 further math courses, even before
getting to college), and it's the kind of thing I think
would not be as easily forgotten as is the case with
algebraic factoring methods, completing the square, etc.
Also, I'm sure there are many parents who have some vague
sense of what their children are doing in high school
math class, and those parents would occasionally have
their memories refreshed from time to time to where
I wouldn't consider it all that improbable that they
would remember how to multiply binomials. My guess is
that 15% to 20% of adults could solve the problem,
assuming it's how you seem to have described it
(multiply two binomials and combine like terms).

In the past, newspapers and popular magazines often
used to include math problems, and they tended to
be quite a bit more advanced than what you described.
Two that come to mind are "The Stand Magazine" and
London's "Educational Times".

http://www.google.com/search?q=The-Strand-Magazine+math

http://books.google.com/books?q=The-Strand-Magazine+math

http://books.google.com/books?q=Educational-Times+math

http://www.google.com/search?q=Educational-Times+math

Dave L. Renfro

You could be right. On the other hand, a few years ago one TV station
went around asking really easy math questions like "how do you divide
fractions?", and only about 10% of the people they interviewed could
tell them. dkw

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Progressive newspaper has math problems
    ... Soduku, etc, had an algebra problem....multiplying ... binomials using the FOIL rule and simplifying it. ... (and almost always 2 further math courses, ... but so-and-so said that N is infinite because it is unending. ...
    (sci.math)
  • Re: Progressive newspaper has math problems
    ... Soduku, etc, had an algebra problem....multiplying ... binomials using the FOIL rule and simplifying it. ... (and almost always 2 further math courses, ... but so-and-so said that N is infinite because it is unending. ...
    (sci.math)
  • Re: Progressive newspaper has math problems
    ... The San Antonio paper, on the page with the cross words, ... Soduku, etc, had an algebra problem....multiplying ... binomials using the FOIL rule and simplifying it. ... (and almost always 2 further math courses, ...
    (sci.math)
  • Re: Progressive newspaper has math problems
    ... The San Antonio paper, on the page with the cross words, ... Soduku, etc, had an algebra problem....multiplying ... binomials using the FOIL rule and simplifying it. ... (and almost always 2 further math courses, ...
    (sci.math)
  • Re: Progressive newspaper has math problems
    ... The San Antonio paper, on the page with the cross words, ... Soduku, etc, had an algebra problem....multiplying ... binomials using the FOIL rule and simplifying it. ... (and almost always 2 further math courses, ...
    (sci.math)