Science Friction

Students can be such smart allecks sometimes.

Yes sir... that is indeed the quick response. Question is, why is that not the correct response. If there were no prior "knowledge" about the sex of the children, the answer is 1/8. But, given the condition that at least one of the children will be a boy(that is, at least one boy is guaranteed), what's the likelihood of all three being boys? So, three girls is not an option.

I've taught long enough to know that kids sometimes do the funniest things on tests. And sometimes us teachers respond in kind .

One of my favorite original puzzles that I created several years ago. CHAD = 3 EGYPT = 4 SPAIN = 6 FRANCE = 8 KYRGYZSTAN = 9 ??? = 5

I have had people tell me I am dead wrong when I presented this problem to them. Even after I explained the solution and told them that I teach probability & statistics, many still say that I am wrong. You might think I'm wrong , too. But I'm not. My Three Sons Mrs. Robinson goes to a psychic, hoping to gain some insight about whether she will have kids and, if so, how many and what will be their gender. After a few minutes, the psychic begins to tell Mrs. R. what she came to hear. The psychic said, "Koo-koo-ka-choo , Mrs. Robinson. Jesus loves you more than you will know. You will have three children and at least one of them will be a boy." Assuming that the psychic is not off her rocker and is correct, what is the probability that Mrs. Robinson will have three sons? (Assume three independent births and that boys and girls are equally likely outcomes).

We'll try this idea. I'm a mathematician and a number enthusiast. I have been fascinated with numbers as long as I remember. I love, not only math problems, but brain teasers, word puzzles, lateral thinking or logic puzzles, & mathematical recreations of all sorts. In this thread, feel free to talk about or present any kind of math problem , brain teaser, word puzzle, etc... It can be something interesting that you come across or maybe even an original problem that you want to share. Got a HW problem that troubling you? Post it here. Don't restrict your posting to just problems. Anything math-related--- jokes, cartoons, your stories about your triumphs & struggles w/ math are all welcomed. Talk about anything you want relevant to the subject. You are liable to read anything on here from a calculus problem to a math cartoon. And, I think you folks know me well enough by now to know I will toss in a little of my own brand of humor along the way. I want this to be a fun thread . To hell with innumeracy!!! It's all in the 14 21 13 2 5 18 19 , baby!!! Thanks in advance for participating !!!!

delete

Would like to see the Jumpers pull the upset. It will be very tough, though.

I have a young man in my calculus class right now, a really nice dude, but I can tell he feels precisely like this with just a few weeks left in the semester:

Really looking forward to it. Wooooooh !!!!

Was awesome, wasn't it? Hunter's Moon/ Beaver Moon/ Frost Moon/ Snow Moon... take your pick. It was nice!!!

Definitely not much excitement the first couple of weeks.

HS B-Ball... Nothing better than a packed gym and a high intensity game. Can't wait!!!

I gather you don't care much for the format.

I'm interested, but have to get off here shortly and get some sustenance. Strowman was a beast Monday night, don't you think?

TONIGHT : Full Moon( Beaver/Frost/Snow/Hunter's) The Moon is full tonight, lining up opposite the Sun in our sky. The full Moon of November is known as the Frost Moon or Snow Moon. This year it also comes a month after the Harvest Moon, so it’s the Hunter’s Moon. November 4: Bright Sky The Moon will be just past full , so it'll a big spotlight that in the sky all night. Even from locations far from city lights, the brilliant Moon will still overpower much of the view of the Milky Way, meteors, and other subtle lights. November 5: Moon and Aldebaran As seen from parts of the U.S., the Moon will pass in front of Aldebaran, the eye of Taurus, hiding the star from view. Aldebaran will stand close to the Moon as night falls. The Moon then will close in on the star and pass in front of it. November 6: Andromeda A faint but famous princess crowns the sky on November evenings. Andromeda will be high in the east as night falls, and directly overhead by about 10 p.m. A slightly curved line of three equally bright stars marks the constellation. Note that I am talking here about the constellation Andromeda, whose most obvious deep-sky object is M31, the Andromeda Galaxy.

Early risers this morning looking towards the eastern sky about an hour before sunrise could have caught sight of two very bright white "stars" huddled together close to the horizon. The brightest point of light, of course, was Venus, sitting just 13 light-minutes from Earth, while its stellar companion, was the 250-light-year-away star Spica. Was anyone lucky enough to catch the shining planet-star duo this morning?

Tomorrow night will see a dramatic full moon illuminate the sky( if we are lucky enough to have clear skies). This full moon is called Hunter's Moon, or Blood Moon. It's the first full moon since the Harvest Moon on October 5th and gets its name from the fact it would illuminate prey for hunters out stalking food during the cold winter. It will provide a stunning sight for nighttime skygazers like you and I - although there is some debate surrounding whether or not this Hunter's Moon can also be classed as a supermoon. Supermoon debate aside, it should offer an impressive sight in tomorrow evening's sky, provided the clouds stay away. A so-called supermoon appears when the moon is closer to Earth during the course of its orbit. The moon appears ever-so-slightly larger and brighter during this time. The point at which the moon comes closest to the Earth is called its perigee - and this month that will occur on November 6th. Some say that's close enough to the Hunter's Moon to class it as a supermoon whilst others say it isn't so. Actually, December 2017 has a better claim to a supermoon as the full moon and the perigee will only be a day apart. The reason for the name, you ask ??? Before tractors had headlights and with summer drawing to a close, farmers would use the light of the Harvest Moon to help them collect their crops after sunset. But beyond the Harvest Moon, when all the crops were collected in, those same families would need to hunt for prey to sustain them through the winter. The next full moon after the Harvest Moon was termed the Hunter's Moon as they would use the moonlight to illuminate the prey. It's also sometimes called the Beaver Moon, because hunters used to set traps at this time of year, before waters froze over, to ensure a supply of warm furs for winter. I've also heard it called Frost Moon. Hopefully, the clouds will part tomorrow evening and we will be able to view a nice big Hunter's Moon. That's what I call a perfect Friday Night Lights!!! "For most people, we often marvel at the beauty of a sunrise or the magnificence of a full moon, but it is impossible to fathom the magnitude of the universe that surrounds us." Richard H. Bake

CORBIN: Jerry Bird( UK under Adolph Rupp) Frank Selvy (Furman) Cory Sears (UK) Rick Jones ( Vanderbilt) Andrew Taylor ( Furman 2018-19)

In addition to Corbin, I root for: Lynn Camp Williamsburg Somerset Also, would like to see M'Boro get back to where they once were.

Phantom Streak Nebula: Sh2-68:

Just in case you couldn't see those nebulae, here are some of them again. Ghost of the Moon Nebula : Witch Head Nebula: Skull Nebula:

Happy Halloween everyone!!! Keep reading the astronomy thread. We have an astronomical amount of fun in here. Sometimes, even a little "Spooky" fun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6QrAreY40c

Arachnophobes beware!!! Here is a Hubble-captured image of the stunning, yet spooky , Red Spider Nebula. Located some 3,000 LY away in the constellation Sagittarius, the RSN is a planetary nebula that has one of the hottest stars known to exist within it and contains winds that can generate waves 100 billion kilometers high.

NGC 1999 is a most unusual nebula. Astronomers used to think that the dark region in its center was a dark nebula, but according to a 2010 study, it appears to be a hole instead — an actual empty space! Call it the Spector of Death Nebula or the Grim Reaper Nebula , if you wish. Cowbell or not... I fear the Reaper!!!