Blimey! Maths homework!

[Sara_H]

Standard form in Year 7???

(OK, I went to a grammar school back in the mists of time, and may have done standard form in what was then called 'the first year' - but I thought they had made life easier these days and didn't introduce that kind of thing until later!)

I was a bit surprised myself. When I looked it up ont' tinterweb they all had catergorized as GCSE maths. He has been put in the top set for maths, as I understand it some are doing GCSE maths in Y8 now, so maybe this is where they're trying to aim with him.

I have to confess, I only got a D in GCSE maths myself. I was very, very luck to get a place on a nursing course, wouldn't get a place now with that result!

 

[Spinney]

I was a bit surprised myself. When I looked it up ont' tinterweb they all had catergorized as GCSE maths. He has been put in the top set for maths, as I understand it some are doing GCSE maths in Y8 now, so maybe this is where they're trying to aim with him.

I have to confess, I only got a D in GCSE maths myself. I was very, very luck to get a place on a nursing course, wouldn't get a place now with that result!

Must be a bright lad!

 

[Archie_tect]

I've still got my SMP book of elementary tables, wonder if it'll come in handy for homework?

Weren't we supposed to hand those in....

 

[Sara_H]

Must be a bright lad!

He doesn't get his maths genius from me. Ho Hum!

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Weren't we supposed to hand those in....

Dunno I wasn't listening, anyway it helped me with designing structural timber roofs for years, I found it much better than using a scientific calculator because doing the maths yourself meant you had a greater understanding of how you got to the answer.

 

[briantrumpet]

Twenty years on students are still are not too hot with calculators and have not acquired the skill of estimating the answer to check the likelihood of their answers spewed out from a calculator being correct.

I still remember an A-level maths lesson when we were taught how to use those machines with the handle you turned to do multiplication, like this:

Before we were allowed to use them, we had to do a session of rough estimation, as it was all too easy to move the drum into the wrong position and get a stupidly wrong result.

 

[jefmcg]

I still remember an A-level maths lesson when we were taught how to use those machines with the handle you turned to do multiplication, like this:

Before we were allowed to use them, we had to do a session of rough estimation, as it was all too easy to move the drum into the wrong position and get a stupidly wrong result.

or "You are Alan Turing and ICMFP"

 

[nickyboy]

Standard form in Year 7???

(OK, I went to a grammar school back in the mists of time, and may have done standard form in what was then called 'the first year' - but I thought they had made life easier these days and didn't introduce that kind of thing until later!)

Son #2 is at grammar school and is in set 2 of 5. So no genius but doing OK. He didn't touch standard form until either end of second year or start of third year, I can't remember. He's now relearning it for physics in fourth year where it has a lot of practical applications
Doing it in first year sounds challenging

 

[Spinney]

If taught properly, it builds on ideas of powers of ten. You can teach it mechanically (move the decimal place until it is one away from the beginning of the number, and write the number of places you moved it as a little number next to this 10) - but that doesn't help them to understand why it works...

 

[ColinJ]

Did you do a 24 hour shift mining razor blades and have to get up before you went to bed?

I was too busy doing my homework to have time for sleep!

PS Actually, I suspect that years of doing my homework after 23:00 probably got me into the habit of going to bed late. From early teens onwards, I have rarely gone to bed before midnight, and these days it is often 02:00 - 03:30.

 

[nickyboy]

If taught properly, it builds on ideas of powers of ten. You can teach it mechanically (move the decimal place until it is one away from the beginning of the number, and write the number of places you moved it as a little number next to this 10) - but that doesn't help them to understand why it works...

It is particularly useful in Physics where things are usually very small (diameter of an atom) or very big (mass of the earth). The maths becomes a bit laborious and error prone without standard form

 

[swansonj]

Dunno I wasn't listening, anyway it helped me with designing structural timber roofs for years, I found it much better than using a scientific calculator because doing the maths yourself meant you had a greater understanding of how you got to the answer.

In the same way, drawing out circuit diagrams longhand and taking pride in laying it out with the minimum of crossing lines gave you a much better understanding of how your circuit worked.

 

[screenman]

I was too busy doing my homework to have time for sleep!

PS Actually, I suspect that years of doing my homework after 23:00 probably got me into the habit of going to bed late. From early teens onwards, I have rarely gone to bed before midnight, and these days it is often 02:00 - 03:30.

That is late, I take it you may not be an early riser, non good being a postie I suppose.

 

[ColinJ]

That is late, I take it you may not be an early riser, non good being a postie I suppose.

I can do it if I have to, but my body clock tends to naturally slip later and later into the day if it gets the chance.

My first job was a 06:00-14:00 shift so I was getting up at 05:00 for that. Mind you, I still went to bed at about midnight. I was young and could cope with it.

Funnily enough, I was talking just the other day about being a postie. If I were 15 years younger I would probably give it a go but I think it would be a bit much for me now as I approach 60.

If I have a long bike ride planned, I get up early so I can eat a good breakfast and start digesting it before the ride starts.