[math-fun] looking for reference to a problem
Nick Baxter sent this a week ago, and I failed to notice he sent it to the old address, math-fun@cs.arizona.edu. I switched the list to math-fun@mailman.xmission.com last year because of excessive spam (and one virus). I disconnected automatic forwarding months ago, but I try to notice real messages and forward them manually. This one got by me. Sorry, Nick. I think the problem below was on the Math SAT, about a decade ago, but I'm sure someone remembers more specific information. It was written up in newspapers, and maybe Science News. Rich rcs@cs.arizona.edu ------------------- Date: Thu, 09 Oct 2003 11:05:00 -0700 From: Nick Baxter <nickb@baxterweb.com> To: math-fun <math-fun@CS.Arizona.EDU> Subject: looking for reference to a problem Can someone please fill in the details of a story I heard about a high school student who correctly protested the solution to the following problem that appear on a standardized test some years ago. Problem: Given an equilateral pyramid (square base), glue two regular tetrahedrons (same edge length) to two non-adjacent triangular faces. How many faces does the resulting polyhedron have? I'm looking for the name (and any other information) of the student, the year, the test, the given (incorrect) answer, and the original wording of the problem, if possible. Any references to published accounts of the incident are also appreciated. Thanks, Nick
Nick Baxter wrote: Can someone please fill in the details of a story I heard about a high school student who correctly protested the solution to the following problem that appear on a standardized test some years ago. Problem: Given an equilateral pyramid (square base), glue two regular tetrahedrons (same edge length) to two non-adjacent triangular faces. How many faces does the resulting polyhedron have? I'm looking for the name (and any other information) of the student, the year, the test, the given (incorrect) answer, and the original wording of the problem, if possible. Any references to published accounts of the incident are also appreciated. The two web pages I've found both have it as an equilateral square pyramid and just one regular tetrahedron, making the intended answer 5 + 4 - 2 = 7 instead of the correct 5. http://www.mathematik.uni-bielefeld.de/~sillke/PUZZLES/tetrahedron-octahedro... gives three references: Mathematics Magazine, 54:3 (May 1981), p.152, Time, 31 March 1981, p.51, and Newsweek, 6 April 1981, p.84. http://www.cs.ucla.edu/~klinger/query1.html says the problem appeared in the 1980 PSAT and refers to the book _Learning Mathematics_ (1984) by Robert B. Davis. If I were checking these references at the library, I'd also try looking up PSAT and ETS in the 1980 and 1981 New York Times Indexes. -- Fred W. Helenius <fredh@ix.netcom.com>
Thanks for the references; I hadn't heard about the Time and Newsweek coverage. Regards, Nick Fred W. Helenius wrote:
Nick Baxter wrote:
Can someone please fill in the details of a story I heard about a high school student who correctly protested the solution to the following problem that appear on a standardized test some years ago.
Problem: Given an equilateral pyramid (square base), glue two regular tetrahedrons (same edge length) to two non-adjacent triangular faces. How many faces does the resulting polyhedron have?
I'm looking for the name (and any other information) of the student, the year, the test, the given (incorrect) answer, and the original wording of the problem, if possible. Any references to published accounts of the incident are also appreciated.
The two web pages I've found both have it as an equilateral square pyramid and just one regular tetrahedron, making the intended answer 5 + 4 - 2 = 7 instead of the correct 5.
http://www.mathematik.uni-bielefeld.de/~sillke/PUZZLES/tetrahedron-octahedro... gives three references:
Mathematics Magazine, 54:3 (May 1981), p.152, Time, 31 March 1981, p.51, and Newsweek, 6 April 1981, p.84.
http://www.cs.ucla.edu/~klinger/query1.html says the problem appeared in the 1980 PSAT and refers to the book _Learning Mathematics_ (1984) by Robert B. Davis.
If I were checking these references at the library, I'd also try looking up PSAT and ETS in the 1980 and 1981 New York Times Indexes.
participants (3)
-
Fred W. Helenius -
Nick Baxter -
Richard Schroeppel