Monday, March 20, 2006
With all this talk of the 'good old days' perhaps it's appropriate to mention a maths problem discussed in a newsletter I received recently. You probably need to be over 40 and educated in UK or its former colonies in order to even understand the question but do have a go. I'm sure I could have solved this without difficulty at the age of eight as my maths books were full of similar problems.
Typical problem:
"The coalman delivered seven sacks of coal at thirteen shillings and tenpence ha'penny a hundredweight. Your Mum gave him a five-pound note, then bought a pair of shoes for one guinea and gave you half a crown pocket money with the change. How much did she have left?"
Hint: coal sacks weighed 56 lbs (Avoirdupois--another non-decimal system)
Send me your answers and I'll post them next week.
Current weight:12 stone 2lb (Blimey, that's a worry. Last time I weighed myself in stones and pounds I was 8 stone 9 lb!)
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Typical problem:
"The coalman delivered seven sacks of coal at thirteen shillings and tenpence ha'penny a hundredweight. Your Mum gave him a five-pound note, then bought a pair of shoes for one guinea and gave you half a crown pocket money with the change. How much did she have left?"
Hint: coal sacks weighed 56 lbs (Avoirdupois--another non-decimal system)
Send me your answers and I'll post them next week.
Current weight:12 stone 2lb (Blimey, that's a worry. Last time I weighed myself in stones and pounds I was 8 stone 9 lb!)
