Date: Fri Nov 1 20:34:39 PST 2002
Student's Name: Christian
Answer(or question to Mentor): Porblem of the week answers:
a) 15 divided by 4= 3 3/15 which can be simplified to 3 1/5.
b) 3/4-1/4=2/4 which can be simplified to 1/2.
Challenge problem answer:
No, because if 40% was covered into the ground, the only way for the house to get washed away is for the water to flood all the way up, unless the water was making the stilts swell up and fall, then the house would have fallen and been washed away.
(please explain if I get any questions wrong).
Christian
Date: Sat Nov 2 20:56:51 PST 2002
Student's Name: Christian
Instructor Comments: Kevin,
Please respond to this student as soon as possible.
Dr. Bowers
Date: Sat Nov 2 21:01:49 PST 2002
Student's Name: Christian
Instructor Comments: PS: Also, when you respond, can you please write "DR. BOWERS--- PLEASE CHECK-- FIRST RESPONSE" This will ensure that I read it as soon as possible so that you can get it out to the student as soon as possible. The system does not distinguish between first and second responses when it emails me, so this is the only "fix" that I can use to get around the bug. Thank you,
Dr. Bowers
Date: Mon Nov 4 11:41:14 PST 2002
Student's Name: Christian
Mentor Reply: DR. BOWERS---PLEASE CHECK---FIRST RESPONSE
Christian,
Thank you for your response. For part "a", I am curious as to why you divided 4 into 15. What do each of these numbers represent? Try finding the length of the whole stilt to help you solve this part of the problem. Then, this answer will lead to the answer for part "b".
Once you find the answers to the first problem, then you should be able to better explain the concepts behind your answer to the challenge problem.
I will look forward to your revisions.
Kevin
Date: Mon Nov 4 14:38:49 PST 2002
Student's Name: Christian
Instructor Comments: Kevin,
This is a good beginning, but I think you need to be a bit more explicit and more specific. So, first of all, state that his answer is incorrect. If you simply ask why he divided, he may think it is correct. Then maybe explain that the reason you are asking for a specific description of his thinking is that you want to see where you can help him.
Small notes:
1. I have just learned that the system can't use double quotes. SO, please change these to single quotes (you can even use two single quotes if you want) in all occurrences.
2. You may need to elaborate on your hint about finding the length of the whole stilt. For example, focus him on just the part that sticks out of the water, or ask how he can use the 5 feet as a clue.
Dr. Bowers
Date: Tue Nov 5 08:43:22 PST 2002
Student's Name: Christian
Mentor Reply: Christian,
Thank you for your response. For part 'a', I am curious as to why you divided 4 into 15. What do each of these numbers represent? Try finding the length of the whole stilt to help you find the correct answer to this part of the problem (HINT: Think about what the '5 feet' that you are given in the problem represents). Then, this answer will lead to the answer for part 'b'.
Once you find the answers to the first problem, then you should be able to better explain the concepts behind your answer to the challenge problem. I will look forward to your revisions.
Kevin
Date: Tue Nov 5 15:10:33 PST 2002
Student's Name: Christian
Answer(or question to Mentor): Kevin,
Sorry, I must have typed in one when I was typing the problem and solved it. It was also a mistake that I thought that 1/4 is just 4 just like 4/1. Sorry.
I don't understand what the 5 feet part is in the question. Please explain what I need to do in this certain part of the problem.
Christian
Date: Sat Nov 9 10:10:17 PST 2002
Student's Name: Christian
Mentor Reply: Christian,
Thanks again for responding. For the first part of the problem, you need to figure out how long the entire stilt is. 1/4 of the stilt is buried in the ground. The next piece of the stilt was drenched with water during the storm, and that piece accounts for 1/3 of the part of the stilt that is sticking out of the ground. So, that piece is 1/3 of 3/4 of the entire stilt, or (1/3 * 3/4 = 1/4 of the stilt). So, 1/4 of the stilt is in the ground and another 1/4 was drenched in the storm, which leaves 2/4, or 1/2, of the stilt that is dry. The problem tells you that this 1/2 of the stilt is 5 feet long. When you know this, you can figure out that the whole stilt is 10 feet long. 1/4 of it is sticking in the ground, so 3/4 of 10 feet is 7.5 feet (which is the length of the stilt that is sticking out of the ground). Finally, you can use this information to solve the rest of the problem. Hopefully I have explained this solution clearly. If you have any final questions, please let me know. Have a great weekend!
Kevin
Date: Thu Nov 14 16:04:56 PST 2002
Student's Name: Christian
Answer(or question to Mentor): Kevin,
For "the problem of the week" my answer is 6 20/33.
I answered it by mustiplying 14x9=126, 36x4=144, 15x4=60, and 300x6=1800. Then I added 126+144+60=330. Then I divided 2000 into 330 which gave me 6 200/330 which can be simplified to 6 40/66 and that too can also be simplified to the final answer which is 6 20/33.
For the challenge problem I didn't quite understand what to do with the problem. I tried to add the fractions that were eaten but it didn't come out evenly. I just need to know what to do to figure out what sequence to use to figure out the problem.
Christian
Date: Wed Nov 20 20:50:28 PST 2002
Student's Name: Christian
Instructor Comments: Kevin,
Please respond as soon as possible. The deadline is Thursday so that they will stay on schedule. Please see my comments for Chandler re: this answer. The two children did the same exact thing.--Dr. Bowers
Date: Thu Nov 21 10:49:39 PST 2002
Student's Name: Christian
Mentor Reply: Christian,
Thanks for your response. Your methods for finding the amount of calories in the cheeseburger are correct. However, why did you do 2,000/330? When you get an answer of 6, that means that she ate about 600% of what is allowed by the RDA! (HINT: In order to find the fraction of what she ate for the day, you need to put the amount of calories from the cheeseburger over the whole amount of calories suggested by the RDA)
Once you revise your first answer, try answering number 2 and the challenge. Try working backwards to figure out the challenge problem and you are on your way! I am looking forward to reading your next response.
Kevin
