(A new question of the week) Some questions we get, while small, raise interesting issues. In a question we got last month, there are several little issues pertaining to how the final answer should be chosen; as is too often the case, it seems that a diligent student who cares about accuracy might be penalized. …
A Test Dilemma: Do As You’re Told, or Do What’s Right? Read More »
Last week we looked at counting the maximum number of pieces into which a circle can be cut by n chords (straight lines). Here we will look at a similar-sounding problem where we use all the chords formed by n points on the circle. We’ll also see an important example of why we shouldn’t jump …
(A new question of the week) Often the hardest part of solving a problem is interpreting what it means. Math is precise; human language can be ambiguous, and assumptions can be hidden. Today, we look at a multi-variable calculus problem that looked enough like a classic single-variable maximization problem to fool the reader into not …
We’ve looked at how to count diagonals in a polygon; this week and next, I want to consider two different problems (though they look similar at first) dealing with chords of a circle (which are practically the same thing as diagonals of a polygon). In each, what we count will be the regions into which …
(An archive question of the week) In gathering information on how to count the diagonals of a polygon, I found this long discussion about a similar-sounding issue, which is hardly more difficult, yet far more complex. It was interesting to explore what the question means, and take it in different directions, on the way to …
Last week we looked at problems about counting diagonals in a polygon, and the very similar problem of counting handshakes when everyone in a group shakes with everyone else. In the course of searching for those problems, I also found some very different problems that are also about handshakes. We’ll look at those here, just …
(A new question of the week) An interesting geometry question came to us in July, about the area of overlap between two squares. The discussion was not long, but leads to some interesting ideas.
We’ll spend the next couple weeks looking at various counting problems. This topic, called combinatorics, is often studied along with probability, but many of the topics we’ll see here feel more like geometry problems! Here, we’ll be counting the diagonals of a polygon, and handshakes between people at a party.
As many schools get into a new semester, this may be a good time to take a look at ways to use our service as effectively as possible.
To close out this series on the definition of the derivative, I want to look at a few questions about alternative versions of the definition, primarily the “symmetric difference quotient”. We’ll see that this leads to a slightly different result, not always equivalent to the original, and we’ll observe some associated ways that calculators can …