Re: People are too dependent on pencil and paper :-)}
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Re: People are too dependent on pencil and paper :-)}
RWW Taylor (RWTNTS@RITVAX.ISC.RIT.EDU) wrote:
: How many people on this list have run into (or collect, like I do) problems
: that are _harder_ to carry out with a calculator than without?
I was doing a problem for my Discrete Mathematics class which asked for
the following:
Prove that there exists a unique prime number of the form n^2 + 2n
- 3, where n is a positive integer.
My initial reaction, was "Great, more searching through primes for days
looking for a damn compliant prime...". To do the work for me, I wrote a
20 lines program in C which would search for primes and check them against
the formula. After comiling and executing it I expected the program to
crank for 10-15 minutes before finding the answer. As fast as I hit
enter, the program executed, printed out the prime number '2' and bailed.
The answer was the first prime number! If I had actually tried the
problem before resorting to the "easy" method, I wouldv'e been done in a
minute.
A friend of mine is attending RIT as a ME major and they permit the use of
calculators on all Calculus exams....here at UCD none are allowed
regardless of what Calculus course your'e in. You can use them all you
like for homework, but they are of no use to you on exams. After all,
what is the instructor trying to test, your ability to do calculus or your
ability to know which program to run on your calc to present the answer...
--
*****************************************************************************
Scott Kidder | E-mail: kidder@cs.ucdavis.edu
Computer Science & Engineering | Web: http://wwwcsif.cs.ucdavis.edu/~kidder/
University of California, Davis | Linux for life
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