1978 School Magazine

rHH Tf] ilT}I S FilEH

Maths. Who'd have thought that there was ever su{fi- cient interest in the subject to warrant an assembly about it? Maths has always been considered one of the topics that came under the heading - "Everyone does it, but it's not a topic for polite conversation except bel ween consenting adults'-'. Yet here we are, being sub- jected to an outburst of trivia that would make the mind boggle and do Pythagorus proud; publicly flaunted from the stage. Mind you, we don't expect a feverish rash of enthusiasm about the subject to result from this assembly; melely blowing the dust from the cover of your text book will be appreclation enough for the work that's been put in' The tdichers in the audience carrying 'rbund the hats are either collecting names for next year's Senior maths course, or begging for donattons in anticipation of redun- dancy in the near future. However, I feel their income is assuied; calculus is essential for determining the actual volume of your ice-cream, probability for deciding whether to have 2 rattle tickets or three in the food hamper you don't want, and the differentiation of e" is ab- solutely useless for tax purposes. But don't despair; as 6th form maths ll is constantly reminded - even if you never use this maths again, the experience will have taught you to think analytically' So, ten years later, saddled with two kids, a dog, and a mor- tgage even your pocket calculator can't handle, there y"ou"ur". Steir by step you analyse the question, discard irrelevant ddta,- and carry out a complex computation, finally deciding to buy chicken soup instead of tomato' With'a glow oT pride,-you remember your training, and march dlfiantly out of the shop, secure in the knowledge that a rapier-sharp, carefully ordered mathematical mind has prevailed over impluse-buying. P.G.W.

" Relax,qirls, let ;l' all happen."

Yesterday . . .

Att my maths was onlY 1,2,3, All my homework done so easilY, Oh I believe in YesterdaY.

Suddenly . . .

We do vectors and geometrY, Com pl ex n u m be rs, trigonometrY' Or maths does nof come easilY' Why we have to slog for a log they will not say, Answers alwayi wrong how I long for yesterday Yesterday . . . Maths was such an easq game to PlaY, Now I need to Pass so I can saY, Oh "Learning maths will always pay". Apotogiesfrom... P.G.W. MATHS PROBLEMS How can 6 identical matchsticks be arranged to form 4 equilateral triangles? Among 12 similar coins there is one 'fake'which weighs less than the others. Explain how using only 3 weighings of a balance, you can find the fake coin..' How can you cut a 4cm. square into 3 pieces, one of which is a square so that they can be put together to form a rectangle with sides Bcm & 2cm? A showman was travelling with a wolf, a goat, and a basket of cabbages. He did not dare leave the goat with the wolf or the gbat with the cabbages. On coming to a river he was faced with a problem of ferrying them across using a boat which would only carry himself and one of the three at a time. How did he get them across?

Winners of distinctions in Australian Mathematics Com- petition, sponsored by Canberra College of Advanced Education and Bank oJ New South Wales. Years B - 12

ANSWERS: See Miss Collinson - not the Magazine Committee!

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