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Old 09-26-2011, 10:50 PM
 
Location: Ohio
3,437 posts, read 6,062,373 times
Reputation: 2700

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You do understand most of these problems that "young children from other countries or from the US 100 years could do easily but modern people in the US can't" are FAKE.
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Old 09-26-2011, 10:50 PM
 
Location: un peu près de Chicago
773 posts, read 2,623,154 times
Reputation: 523
Quote:
Originally Posted by prettyvacant View Post
The problem is pretty straightforward, actually:

x--------------------------------x-------------------x
A S1 mtg at 12 pm S2 B


Let's take:
T - time to travel before meeting point at 12 PM
V1, V2 - velocities

A traveled S1 distance for T hours: S1 = V1*T
B traveled S1 distance after the meeting, since 12 PM till 9 PM: S1 = V2*9

So, V1*T = V2*9; T = V2*9 / V1

Similarly, S2 = V1*4 = V2*T => V2 = V1*4 / T

So, T = V2*9 / V1 = (V1*4 / T) * 9 / V1; T = 36 / T ; T**2 = 36; T = 6

So, they started at 12 - 6 = 6 am

Nothing magical. It definitely looks like a real example from the Russian school, proper for 12 y.o. guys.
I'm the original poster; I don't remember the answers, but 6am seems about right. I forgot to mention студенты (с=s, y=oo, д=d, н=n; see, Russian is translatable and Slavs don't use articles) are given only one page of clean paper for about 20 similar problems.

Another problem:

"Farmhands need to hoe up weeds in two fields. The larger field is twice the size of the smaller one. All of the farmhands work in the larger field until noon, when they are divided up into two groups. Half the hands remain in the larger field and just have sufficient time to finish it, while the other half move to the smaller field and leave a small area unfinished at the end of the day. One farmhand returns to the field the next day and just finishes it in the day. How many farmhands are there on the farm?"

Don't take this post too seriously. I recall making the original post after an inordinate amount of Belvedere vodka (Polish vodka, of course) after celebrating a birthday. I was not making a statement about the native intelligence of American students versus central & eastern European students.

But central & eastern European students are better taught. Their teachers are better paid and are shown more respect. The U.S., I'm afraid, is on a downward spiral.
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Old 09-27-2011, 06:23 AM
 
Location: Texas
44,256 posts, read 64,187,789 times
Reputation: 73922
Quote:
Originally Posted by NJGOAT View Post
I actually thought it was a rather witty comment, very American. .


And yet the first five grades of my education were at a private international school set up by the U.N.

But 'murrrka for the rest of it!!!!!
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Old 09-29-2011, 02:34 PM
 
Location: Russia / Far East
4 posts, read 3,569 times
Reputation: 10
I posted the mathematical problem in my blog and saw 2 correct answers next day. In this topic I do not see correct answer 3 weeks yet. It is really bad.
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Old 10-01-2011, 04:10 PM
 
Location: New Jersey
2,715 posts, read 11,871,103 times
Reputation: 1434
The Answer:

The Russian Elementary Math Problem. - MacRumors Forums
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Old 10-01-2011, 04:46 PM
 
Location: Ohio
3,437 posts, read 6,062,373 times
Reputation: 2700
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zea mays View Post

"Farmhands need to hoe up weeds in two fields. The larger field is twice the size of the smaller one. All of the farmhands work in the larger field until noon, when they are divided up into two groups. Half the hands remain in the larger field and just have sufficient time to finish it, while the other half move to the smaller field and leave a small area unfinished at the end of the day. One farmhand returns to the field the next day and just finishes it in the day. How many farmhands are there on the farm?"

Now you are just making shyte up ... The answer could be two or 2 million.
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