Are You Smarter than a 3rd Grader?

Post by **thibodeaux** » Sat May 04, 2013 6:39 pm

http://math.stackexchange.com/questio....r-is-it

I'm pretty sure I'd make the teacher cry.

Edited By thibodeaux on 1367707223

Malcolm · Post by **Malcolm** » Sat May 04, 2013 7:26 pm

I don't understand what's wrong with this question. I think the student answered the question wrong, yet my friend insists the student got the question right.

I feel like I'm missing something critical here. What am I thinking wrong?

Sarcasm overload. Must get a beer.

Post by **TheCatt** » Sat May 04, 2013 9:08 pm

Oh man... when I was in high school physics the teacher asked a question like:

A car linearlly accelerates from 10m/s to 20m/s over 10s. How far did it go? (Or a rocket, or whatever).
Her answer: 50m
My answer: 150m

I "got it wrong"

Malcolm · Post by **Malcolm** » Sat May 04, 2013 10:40 pm

How did you get it wrong? There are formula that are literally single equations for that sort of shit. Multiple choice?

Post by **TheCatt** » Sun May 05, 2013 6:51 am

No, free form test. She somehow thought that the base 10 m/s could be discarded. And treated the problem as accelerating me 0m/s to 10m/s.

Me: Well, a vehicle going 10m/s over 10s would go 100m. Yet this one was going faster, but didnt go as far?
Her: That's an entirely different problem.

Post by **thibodeaux** » Sun May 05, 2013 9:44 am

.5 * a * t^2 + v0 * t

Edited By thibodeaux on 1367761498

Malcolm · Post by **Malcolm** » Sun May 05, 2013 12:06 pm

TheCatt wrote:Her: That's an entirely different problem.

I would have responded with, "Ok, let's test this theory of yours." Then I would have found the nearest calculus textbook and thrown it directly at her.

Post by **TheCatt** » Sun May 05, 2013 3:50 pm

Well, I was in 10th grade, I didn't know calculus yet... but, like Thib's formula, it's a square plus a triangle.