entertaining way to make your math teacher look stupid

[Omegaham]

This was something I suggested to my little brother, as he was just learning his Euclidian solids.

 

 

 

:!: This method works best in middle/early high school, on a teacher that does NOT teach calculus.

 

 

 

Remember those formulas for solids?

 

:arrow: A cone

 

:arrow: A pyramid

 

:arrow: The surface area of a sphere

 

:arrow: volume of a sphere

 

 

 

All you have to do is raise your hand and ask them how to prove it.

 

 

 

It sounds easy, as all the formulas are relatively simple. The hardest one is 4/3pi*r^3, right? So the class will think that the teacher should know the answer, as he walks you through every other proof you come across, giving inspiration to those who don't get it.

 

 

 

Watch him suffer, sweat, and mutter something about getting back to you some other time. Basically, he just told the class that he doesn't know what he's talking about.

 

 

 

In reality, these solids all are difficult to prove. They all take some knowledge of calculus, something a geometry teacher probably isn't very well-versed in, as he doesn't use it every day. In addition, even if he DOES know calculus, he probably won't be able to answer it on the fly.

 

 

 

:!: Do your research before you ask the question.

 

Does the teacher teach any other classes more advanced than your geometry class or algebra 1 or 2?

 

Ask your friends. Ask around. Look at the teacher when he lectures. Is he an eloquent speaker, someone who is probably more brilliant than the material he's teaching? Or does he teach from the book, lecturing badly? (if at all) The latter is a sign that he doesn't know his OWN material, let alone calculus.

 

Does he frequently go into much more advanced subjects and suddenly realize no one understands?

 

Does he have a masters or a doctorate?

 

If the answer to these questions is "yes," avoid asking. You will either be rebuked without the fun of embarassing your teacher, or he'll just draw up the integral on the board. Boredom for all, but a great time-waster. You'll probably garner the hate of your classmates, though. Be careful.

 

 

 

Cheers. 8-)

 

Pm me (on runescape, I have no idea how pms work on tip.it) if you have any math puzzles to share. I certainly have plenty.

[darkmage099]

That's cruel and I doubt it'd work. Im taking Euclidian Geometry right now though. Most math teachers wuold know.

[wakka102]

nice idea, dont think I'd have the balls to try it though :lol:

[xvillexvalox]

I rather work out every single problem they do on the board and correct the teacher as often as possible.

[gonpost]

I can prove the forumula for the area of a circle. :)

 

 

 

That's about it though.

[Omegaham]

It works when the teacher hasn't done calculus in a while, which usually happens when the teacher doesn't teach calc.

 

 

 

Also... Have you ever tried to prove these formulas? The cone is easy, (just draw the integral with infinitely small horizontal cross-sections with r going to zero as h goes to 1) but the surface area of a sphere is pretty darn hard.

 

 

 

The hardest problem i've seen is finding the surface area of an ellipsoid....

 

Messy, messy math.

[Greatsilverwyrm]

You should have them prove it anyway. It's really very fascinating how some of the things we take as basic are really rooted in some very high-level mathematics.

 

 

 

Math is fun!

[Omegaham]

The point is seeing if they don't know, as it's embarassing when the teacher can't answer a "simple" question asked by a student.

 

 

 

:D

[weezcake]

The thing is.. what if they CAN prove it and then give you something just as hard to do for homework? :wink:

[pianofrieak2]

The thing is.. what if they CAN prove it and then give you something just as hard to do for homework? :wink:

 

 

 

Lol either ask vmser or accept a 0 on that assignment.

[SanFranciscoGiants]

nice idea, dont think I'd have the balls to try it though :lol:

 

 

 

Me neither lol :D

[woopidoo2]

The maths teachers at our school are very clever,

 

when you ask them to prove anything they just say:

 

 

 

''Well *name*, if you are so into maths, ill be happy to give you an extra hour so I can explain it to you widely''

 

 

 

#-o

[stan18]

i'd never do that, its the best way to make yourself look like a smart-[wagon] and possibly a fool.

 

 

 

i'm not sure about you guys, but no one has ever liked a smart-alec, and people hate it when kids ask stupid irrelavent questions that waste time >_>

[Bubsa]

i'd never do that, its the best way to make yourself look like a smart-wagon and possibly a fool.

 

 

 

i'm not sure about you guys, but no one has ever liked a smart-alec, and people hate it when kids ask stupid irrelavent questions that waste time >_>

 

 

 

You got that right. All a teacher is do is just add on minutes into your lunchour because of you wasting time.

 

 

 

And then you'd get pummelled for being a smeghead anyway.

[Omegaham]

Okay, I'm editing my original post, as you guys have several damn good points.

 

 

 

And then you'd get pummeled for being a smeghead anyway.

 

 

 

Assuming that you meant being a smart-alec and smug, (smeg?) you have a point. I am going to scratch the part where the asker says "you mean you don't know?" This makes the asker look a lot more modest.

 

 

 

The thing is.. what if they CAN prove it and then give you something just as hard to do for homework? :wink:

 

 

 

The teacher won't do that, because you're just asking an "innocent" question. He wouldn't think that you knew how to do integral calculus, would he? He'd only do that if you acted like a smart-alec about it (i.e. acting smug and high and mighty and like you know how to prove it.)

 

 

 

i'm not sure about you guys, but no one has ever liked a smart-alec, and people hate it when kids ask stupid irrelavent questions that waste time >_>

 

 

 

Correction. People enjoy seeing teachers suffer. They endure disapproval about how slow they're going, how bad their test scores are, etc. It's a "score one for the good guys" thing. People don't like smart-alecs who make fun of THEM.

 

As for your second point, ask it when the teacher is going over the formulas. Then, it's relevant.

 

 

 

The maths teachers at our school are very clever,

 

when you ask them to prove anything they just say:

 

 

 

''Well *name*, if you are so into maths, ill be happy to give you an extra hour so I can explain it to you widely''

 

 

 

First of all, "widely" means that he doesn't know how the hell to prove it.

 

Second, you can "widely" explain a proof in a minute, which any teacher will take to show that he's competent.

 

Taking an hour to explain even these proofs is a sign that the guy doesn't know what he's talking about. He is one of the following:

 

1: Someone who is dedicated to his job, i.e. knows what he's doing. You should have done your research beforehand and found him out, thereby avoiding him.

 

2: A bluffer. Decline his invitation in class, and then call him out on it after class. You get some time off your next class, and get to tell your friends about the math teacher who couldn't answer an "easy" question.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making corrections to my original post in the "aftermath" section and the "research" section now. Thanks for your help!

[Sp4de]

I got detention for asking her to proove a pyramid.

 

 

 

Stupid woman who cries when she doesn't get her way. She's like a lil baby.

[Omegaham]

So now the class knows she's an idiot, and you walked away with half an hour of cleaning boards (like it's a punishment, right?)

 

 

 

Class: 1. Idiot teacher: 0.

 

 

 

Beautiful.

[xvillexvalox]

This reminded me of my old topic,

 

 

 

Does .9 repeating equal 1?

 

 

 

Ask your teachers that but research it beforehand and back yourself up with enough information, it'll lead to some pretty interesting conversation, some teachers might even give extra credit. \

[Sp4de]

So now the class knows she's an idiot, and you walked away with half an hour of cleaning boards (like it's a punishment, right?)

 

 

 

Class: 1. Idiot teacher: 0.

 

 

 

Beautiful.

 

 

 

Actually, she's threatening to drop my test grade by 15 points if I don't complete 8 pages of basic, Time consuming geometric worksheets in 45 minutes.

[ForsakenMage]

We were talking about theorems to prove two triangles are congruent a few years ago in my geometry class.

 

 

 

Now if you know them, you would know that there is no such thing as the theorem Side-Side-Angle, or for short SSA.

 

 

 

Let's just say the teacher wrote the abbreviation the other way, starting with A. :-# :lol:

[fshiu]

...or get your teacher to prove addition.

[Death_By_Pod]

Are teachers expected to remember mathematical methods that they will never have to teach in high school? I remember proving a few of these things in a second year university course (Vector Calculus); if you never have to use certain methods of integration, you will eventually forget how to use the methods. Some maths teachers might not have degrees in math; they might have taken a first year course which covers everything to teach maths at a proficient level. You should cut teachers some slack; at least they are trying to help you.

[Oy_the_Great]

i'd never do that, its the best way to make yourself look like a smart-wagon and possibly a fool.

 

 

 

i'm not sure about you guys, but no one has ever liked a smart-alec, and people hate it when kids ask stupid irrelavent questions that waste time >_>

 

 

 

You got that right. All a teacher is do is just add on minutes into your lunchour because of you wasting time.

 

 

 

And then you'd get pummelled for being a smeghead anyway.

 

 

 

Plus the fact that it isn't really that hard. I don't wanna sound like a prodigy, but proving those formulas isn't hard. I'm sure every math teacher with a bit of a decent diploma will have no problems doing so. Even I don't seem to see why it's hard.

 

Try asking him to prove why intergrals measure surface (whenever you see that in high school). That one's hard.

[Omegaham]

Editing original post in the "aftermath" part.

 

This reminded me of my old topic,

 

 

 

Does .9 repeating equal 1?

 

 

 

Ask your teachers that but research it beforehand and back yourself up with enough information, it'll lead to some pretty interesting conversation, some teachers might even give extra credit. \

 

 

 

I'd have to say that no, it doesn't equal one. It comes infinitely close to one, but it never reaches it.

 

My dad disagreed, saying that 1 was its limit, and it would reach it, as it goes on infinitely, since the sum of (9/10)+9/10^2+9/10^3.... 9/10^n)=1 as n goes to infinity.

 

It's a debatable topic, and it can go either way, depending on what you're using it for.

 

 

 

It's like the old Xeno's paradox. 1/2 +1/4 +1/8 and so on.. If that goes on forever, does that equal 1? The choice is up to you, depending on what you want to use it for.

 

 

 

We were talking about theorems to prove two triangles are congruent a few years ago in my geometry class.

 

 

 

Now if you know them, you would know that there is no such thing as the theorem Side-Side-Angle, or for short SSA.

 

 

 

Let's just say the teacher wrote the abbreviation the other way, starting with A. :-# :lol:

 

 

 

Fun. I'm guessing the class got a few chuckles out of that. :)

 

 

 

Are teachers expected to remember mathematical methods that they will never have to teach in high school? I remember proving a few of these things in a second year university course (Vector Calculus); if you never have to use certain methods of integration, you will eventually forget how to use the methods. Some maths teachers might not have degrees in math; they might have taken a first year course which covers everything to teach maths at a proficient level. You should cut teachers some slack; at least they are trying to help you.

 

 

 

The teachers who I advocate using this on are more of the teachers who don't care about helping you. I enjoyed a couple of math teachers, and felt like stabbing some other ones. The ones that were decent math teachers wouldn't get slammed by the question. They'd know that the question was hard, and go into a 2 minute lecture on how some of the simplest formulas are intertwined with some of the highest lvls of mathematics. That way, no one is the worse off. Right?

 

 

 

Actually, she's threatening to drop my test grade by 15 points if I don't complete 8 pages of basic, Time consuming geometric worksheets in 45 minutes.

 

 

 

Ick. Not good. Reminds me of an old lawyer's proverb.

 

"If you have to law on your side, pound the law. If you have the facts, but not the law on your side, pound the facts. If you have neither the law nor the facts on your side, pound the table."

 

What's she going to justify the 15 points with? I didn't think that conduct in class could make the teacher do that. Oh well, maybe your teachers are given that kind of power. :(

 

 

 

Plus the fact that it isn't really that hard. I don't wanna sound like a prodigy, but proving those formulas isn't hard. I'm sure every math teacher with a bit of a decent diploma will have no problems doing so. Even I don't seem to see why it's hard.

 

Try asking him to prove why intergrals measure surface (whenever you see that in high school). That one's hard.

 

A teacher that is teaching only Algebra 1/2 or geo isn't using calculus very often (unless he picks up an actuarial magazine and tries the math puzzles)

 

 

 

Also, I got a contradiction here, one in which I think you're wrong. Death By Pod said that you need vector calculus to prove it, (so that's what it's called?) which is far more than having a decent diploma. The amount of teachers that have a masters or greater in schools has greatly dropped, making the percentage of teacehrs who are going to get slammed by this question far greater. Even my geometry teacher (who had a masters) couldn't prove the cone's volume. Either the question is hard, or there are a LOT of teachers who don't know calculus.

 

Plus, it takes a certain level of proficiency to say "that's a calc-level question, and I should classify it as such" right off the bat. A "lesser-grade" teacher wouldn't know that necessarily, embarassing himself in the process.

 

And if he was able to do it, what of it? He will just say that it's a calc level question and move on. Nothing wrong with that, right?

 

 

 

Can you direct me to that proof? I'm intrigued.

[Oy_the_Great]

The amount of teachers that have a masters or greater in schools has greatly dropped, making the percentage of teacehrs who are going to get slammed by this question far greater. Even my geometry teacher (who had a masters) couldn't prove the cone's volume. Either the question is hard, or there are a LOT of teachers who don't know calculus.

 

 

 

Wow, in Belgium all math teachers that teach in ASO (the most theoretically fixed study in high school) with 6-8h of math, all require a university grade. They will have no problem proving it.

 

 

 

Here's my go for the volume of a cone with a circle-based shape:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the givens of a height h and base radius a, consider the line y = (a/h)x.

 

By rotating y about the x-axis you will generate the cone.

 

Now, the volume of a disk of thickness dx and radius y is pi.y^2.dx = pi.(a^2/h^2)x^2.dx. If you integrate between 0 and h and you'll get:

 

 

 

Volume = pi.INT[(a^2/h^2)x^3/3] between 0 and h

 

= pi.(a^2/h^2)(h^3/3)

 

= (1/3).pi.a^2.h

 

 

 

Eh voila, easy as that. Just imagine what a cone actually is (nothing more than a line rotated around the x-axis) and solving the problem is left to pretty basic maths.

 

 

 

EDIT: the black 'y' in the second pic should have been 'a'