Blimey! Maths homework!

[Sara_H]

Blummin heck! My son started secondary school this September. Tonight he needed help with his maths homework.

I had no idea how to do t - it was 'standard form'. Not sure where I was when my year did it at school, I have no recollection of ever learning such a thing! Had to look it up on the interwebs!

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Tis why t'internet is there, so that us parents can relax

 

[swee'pea99]

Get used to it. My kids started doing maths I didn't even recognise when they were about 9. By the time they were in big school they'd left me far far behind....

 

[jefmcg]

Just googled it. We called it "scientific notation" FWIW

 

[slowmotion]

I had completely forgotten about Standard Form. This thread has just given me a blast of nostalgia even though I did get a D grade at A level maths.

Anybody care for a spot of Reverse Polish notation? Splendid!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_Polish_notation

 

[jefmcg]

I had completely forgotten about Standard Form. This thread has just given me a blast of nostalgia even though I did get an E grade at A level maths.

Anybody care for a spot of Reverse Polish notation? Splendid!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_Polish_notation

I only needed that because my father lent me his very expensive, HP calculator. Thank good a the school recommended a Texas Instruments one that used standard notation.

 

[slowmotion]

I only needed that because my father lent me his very expensive, HP calculator. Thank good a the school recommended a Texas Instruments one that used standard notation.

Yeah but RPN had class!

 

[threebikesmcginty]

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

 

[Speicher]

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

Have you still got your Log Orithm Book?

 

[slowmotion]

Have you still got your Log Orithm Book?

I still have mine but I have completely forgotten how to use them. I still regret chucking away my Faber Castell slide-rule when calculators started to appear. Does anybody still have that utter sh1te kit calculator from Sinclair?

 

[TVC]

/<old fogey mode on >
When I was at school you did your homework on your own, parents were not expected to join in.
Also, a work mate reports that his 7 year old nephew has been given an iPad by his school (yes a proper iPad) and has his homework e-mailed to him. I had to make do with 20 year old text books that you had to cover in wall paper to protect them.
/<old fogey mode off >

 

[TVC]

I still have mine but I have completely forgotten how to use them. I still regret chucking away my Faber Castell slide-rule when calculators started to appear. Does anybody still have that utter sh1te kit calculator from Sinclair?

I still use my Casio fx-80 circa 1981 from a time before built in obselescense.

 

[slowmotion]

Check how much old Sinclair calculators go for on eBay.

Yeah but some nutters pay a fortune for early phone cards too. Seriously.

 

[Retribution03]

I'm 42 and I'm just grasping the Janet and John books maths will kill me :0

 

[ColinJ]

Ha - I had forgotten all about log tables and slide rules!

I do remember not being allowed to use a calculator when they first came in.

I still use my Casio fx-80 circa 1981 from a time before built in obselescense.

I thought my TI-36x Solar was about that old, but I just checked and it was a 1993 model. I don't know what happened to the calculator I used at university in the 1980s.