kenneth c. tyburski

another trimester has commenced. the winter trimester, with its cold weather, gray skies, and darker days, seems to be the longest of all. although i don’t mind cold weather, i love snow, and i am a night owl, i really don’t enjoy the fact that it is already dark when i go to dinner.

however, cold and dreary as the winter trimester may be, teaching math and science gives me warm fuzzies. i know everything will be just fine, and spring isn’t far away. students can get a fresh start after a rocky trimester. i know that it is not yet christmas, but i know we are already looking forward to spring break.

the cold winter night skies are the most crisp and clear for stargazing, one of my favorite pastimes. in fact, three solid meteor showers occur within three weeks of each other during the depths of winter: the geminids (13 december, in excellent dark conditions), the ursids (22 december, in fair conditions), and the quadrantids (3 january, with a bright moon invading). enjoy them!

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this is a great piece supporting the need for creative problem solvers to re-energize the national and global economy. take heed, ladies!

the new untouchables

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i am posting the extra credit problem to the blog so that everyone might have a chance to play with it.

Free Fall

Gravity on a falling object causes the object to descend a distance of d = 4.9t^2 , where d is the distance in meters and t is the time in seconds. If you neglect any type of air resistance and a bowling ball is dropped from the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, what is the sum of the distance the ball falls during the ninth and tenth second intervals?

feel free to e-mail with responses! nobody has submitted a correct answer as yet…

i am not going to post it until i can answer it, but i encountered the most challenging logic puzzle i have seen in a long time. it is similar to the cherry soda problem, but much more difficult, if you can imagine that.

in the mean time, if you like, try this self-referencing survey. the questions on the survey are… about… questions… on the survey. you’ll see what i mean. i can’t take credit for this myself, but i enjoyed working it out a few years back. i actually have a logical process document typed out for how to solve it, if you want to e-mail me your guesses and then find out how wrong you are. :)

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my geometry students pointed out this morning that today is 09.09.09. i was teaching at 9 09 this morning, but i am planning to celebrate at 9 09 and 9 seconds this evening with an extraordinarily loud “woot” and perhaps a short happy dance. if you are a military family, you may have missed it, i guess, since 9 09 for me is probably 21 09 to you. however, feel free to jubilate in your own way. and then pack away your mathematical patterned day outfit for 11.10.09 at 8 07 06. or actually, we could celebrate tomorrow at 10 09 and 10 seconds…