Cunning Conversion

Cunning. Simple, yet complex. Not difficult to do. Some of us can do it right on the spot. It's not a bird, not a plane, not a monster, not Superman. It's conversion. Conversion. Let us look at the technical definition first. According to dictionary.com, (of course we are not looking at the religious meaning, but the mathematical meaning), it is a change in the form or units of an expression. Basically, here is an example: 1km= 1ooom. Here is another: 1cm= 10mm. The key to doing quick, yet effective conversion questions is to remember what a particular type of unit is in another type of units, something like 1m is always equals equal to 100cm. In questions like: " Tom has a ribbon. Dick gives him another 100cm of ribbon, but Harry steals another 57cm from Tom. However, due to his remorse, he returned another 45cm of ribbon back to Tom. He now has 338cm of ribbon left. What is the length of ribbon Tom has at first? Give your answers in metres."

Well, some of us who are "well versed" in conversion will easily work out this problem. However, I shall work out this problem to show you all my mathematical prowess:

The trick to the main part of this question is to work backwards.
338cm - 45cm = 293cm
293cm + 57cm = 350cm
350cm - 100cm = 250cm
And 250 cm is the answer NOT. Remember to convert to metres.
1cm = 1/1oom
250cm divided by 100 = 2.5m
So the final answer is 2.5m.

The solution is explained this way: "338cm - 45cm = 293cm" - from Tom's final length of ribbon, work backwards, and take away the ribbon Harry returns to him.

"293cm + 57cm = 350cm" - add back the amount of ribbon Harry stole from Tom.

"350cm - 100cm = 250cm" - subtract the amount of ribbon Dick gives Tom, and with this step, you will get the original length of ribbon Tom has, before Dick gave Tom anything.

And of course, you convert to the unit of measurement to the one required. However, another way is to convert the units right from the start, and work accordingly, for example:

338cm = 3.38m, 45cm = 0.45m. 3.38m - 0.45m = 2.93m.

And continue accordingly.

And so, that is about the more simple conversion for units of measurement.

Bye!

National Education in math... yes it is possible

Ha ha. National education. Something that all teachers and parents want children to learn. In hope that they will be become ministers in the future? Probably. Anyway, let me move on to my main points, and some general coverings.

How is math relevant in today's society? We see that math is the base of virtually everything. Important ministries such as the ministry of finance will need math to calculate certain figures, and some of them will be slightly more complex than the regular math problems, these formulas or solutions we have provided will then come into place. Imagine if math is non existent in the world of today. Even if we were in a economic crisis, we would have assumed that we were not, if math were not existent. And, there wo9uld be no statistics for leaders to study, and improve the country, and Singapore would not be the prospering country it is now. Simply because there many good mathematicians in Singapore, our economy is stable, our country keeps improving, and, in a school like ours, which aims to nurture future leaders, this is especially important to us. Without math, we would see that we would not even know what NE is, because we cannot think at all! Of course, I may be incorrect to say that all the problems we have raised here will be used directly in parliament, but then, in one way or another, they will be used indirectly, especially in the finance components, to see what economic status we are in now, and to improve our lives.

Thank you. I hope we have just delivered a teacher's dream.