When I am not running or race walking, I have a small interest in mathematics education.
My interest is focussed particularly on adult maths education - hence my other blog.
Of course a key word here is numeracy. These days one is likely to hear politicians like John Key and Anne Tolley wax eloquently about "literacy and numeracy".
What then is numeracy say compared to mathematics as we know it?
For me two key ideas stand out.
Firstly, it means to use maths confidently and appropriately in the rich and varied contexts of everyday life: home, shopping, the workplace, the sports field and dealing critically with the abundance of numerical and statistical information that bombards us via the mass media.
Secondly, it means to have deep understanding of basic mathematical concepts and how they relate to each other. This means much more than simply applying memorised rules.
Now I wonder if Key of Tolley could answer this following problem:
A woman has a small swimming pool. Three taps provide water for the pool.
The green tap can fill the pool in 2 hours. The red tap can fill the pool in four hours. The black tap can fill the pool in 8 hours.
How long does it take to fill the pool if all three taps are on at the same time?
Answers please.
Here is the full solution to the problem. Solution
2 comments:
Question if you had and endless number of taps each taking half as long again -- [2,4,8 16, 32, 64 .... hours and so on]
would the pool ever fill in under 1hour?
Come on you 7th formers!!
Up here, on a hill at Motorua in New Plymouth, if all three taps were on at the same time, the amount of water going through them would be proportionately less than if only one of the designated taps was on. This is because there is only one water source for all three taps. If all 3 taps were on the answer in that case may be the same as the fastest flowing tap. As you say, context is all important!
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