Okay, so I have to take this test tommorrow as a pre-qualification for a job I'm after. It's called the TABE test (don't ask me what the acronym means.) Doesn't matter if you're a college grad/everyone has to take this damn test before they'll even let you apply for the damn job (working as a 911 dispatcher). So I've spent the last 2 evenings going over the Academic Refesher review they made me pay $10 for when I registered to take the fucking test. And fully HALF of it is math! Which I have ALWAYS sucked at! If I'd had to meet a math requirement back in college/I'd STILL be there/taking my umpteenth summer course /trying to pass that bitch. I am okay w/decimals & most of the straight fractions/& the mixed numbers stuff. But the algebraic formulas for computing volumes & circumfernces, etc. are beyond me. With squares & rectanges & triangles & rhomboids & dodecahedrons/I'm fine. Anything that's just LxWxH. But anything round/the curvy geomteric shapes/screw me up. I canNOT find the circumference of a circle/or the volume of a cylinder. Which will have absofuckinglutely NOTHING to do w/my ability to answer a 911 call/assess the situation/keep the caller calm/& dispatch the police &/or the EMT's. But I have to get at least most of these fucking math problems right tomorrow! (I aced every single English question in the Review booklet. But that's the story of my life. I still remember getting a 750 on the English on my SAT's/& scoring 100 pts. lower on the Math.) HELLLLP! If anyone can explain to me/step by step/how to slove these fucking problems by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow/I'll be yr best friend. Okay/here's the 1st one that made me cry: 1. Description: Circumference of a circle (Which is the distance around. I get that.) Formula: C = 2xr, x = 22/7 (that's 22 over 7) Variables: r = radius Find C when r = 7 in. So, C = 2(22/7)(7) (all multiplied, yes?) I know 22/7 = Pi (3.1428yaddayadda). But what is the rule for multiplying a whole # by a fraction? Don't you convert the whole # into a fraction w/the same denominator/then add the numerators across/or some shit like that? So... 2 = 14/7 14/7 x 22/7= 36/7 That looks wrong so far -- but I cdn't think of any other means of attack. [The correct answer is supposedly 44 in. But like, how?] ............................................................................ 2. Description: Area of a circle Formula: A = xr2 (the r is to the 2nd power -- I can't do superscripts here), x = 22/7 Variables: r = radius Find A when r = 7 in. [Answer: 154 sq. in. So how come the previous answer isn't in sq. in? Huh?] ............................................................................ 3. Descrption: Volume of a shpere Formula: V = 4/3xr3 (that r is cubed/not mult. by 3), x = 22/7 (again!) (Verbally/it wd read: "V equals four-thirds times X times R cubed.") Variables: r = radius Find V when r = 3 in. [Answer: 113 1/7 cu.in.?????] ............................................................................ 4. Descrption: Volume of a cylinder Formula: V = xr2 (or: "V equals X times R to the 2nd power"), x = 22/7 Variables: r -- radius, h = height Find V when r = 2 ft., h = 7 ft. [Answer: 88 cu.ft.] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If absolutely anyone feels like tackling any or all of these problems AND explaining how to get the answers/show off yr brainpower & post yr handiwork here. Or you can e-mail me. Becuz God KNOWS I'll be up half the nite! I swear/the hoops you have to jump thru when you're unemployed-&-all-non-void....)

I send my deepest sympathies to you R.C. If it ain't 1 + 1 = 2, I can't help you. I sucked at that kinda math. Good luck!

Here's 2 more I cdn't get... And I thought I knew how to do fractions. I feel like such a fucking retard! (And for those Sorabjians who might have Down's Syndrome/I am way to pissed to care abt being p.c. right now! Get it?) 5. 5 7/8 + 4 2/3 + 9 1/2 = ? (Five & seven-eights + four & two-thhirds + 9 and one-half) Don't I have to convert all the mixed numbers to an improper fraction & get all the same common denominator/which wd be 24 (becuz it's divisible by 8, 3 & 2)? 5 7/8 = 47/8 (forty-seven eights) etc... [Answer: 20 1/24 (20 and one-twenty-fourth] ???????????????????????????????????? 6. 4 2/3 divided by 1 1/9 = (4 and two-thirds divided by 1 and one-ninth) [Answer: 4 1/5 (4 and one-fifth)] ?????????????????????????????????????? Where's the damn online after-school tutorial site when I finally need it?

I've sent an email regarding these. Hope it helps.

hey r.c., I am sure that markus has answered all for you in email, but: remember that you make a whole number into a fraction by putting a 1 in the denominator. so the number 9 as a fraction is 9/1. 1. Description: Circumference of a circle (Which is the distance around. I get that.) Formula: C = 2xr, x = 22/7 (that's 22 over 7) Variables: r = radius Find C when r = 7 in. So, C = 2(22/7)(7) (all multiplied, yes?) yes! so it should look like: 2/1 x 22/7 x 7/1 = 308/7 all you do is multiply the numerators straight across, and multiply the denominators straight across. when you divide 308 by 7, it works out evenly to be 44. a helpful way to remember fraction multiplication is that in a story problem, the word "of" means multiplication. so for instance, "what's half of a half?" means 1/2 x 1/2 = 1/4. because half of a half is a quarter, right? your circumference wasn't in square inches because circumference is just a one-dimensional line, not a two-dimensional area.

3. Descrption: Volume of a shpere Formula: V = 4/3xr3 (that r is cubed/not mult. by 3), x = 22/7 (again!) (Verbally/it wd read: "V equals four-thirds times X times R cubed.") Variables: r = radius Find V when r = 3 in. [Answer: 113 1/7 cu.in.?????] ok, in this one remember that anything times itself will be that thing "squared," and anything times anything times anything will be that thing "cubed." so inches times inches = inches squared inches times inches times inches = inches cubed (4/3) * (22/7) * (3 in * 3 in * 3 in) (4/3) * (22/7) * (27 inches cubed) then do the straight across fraction multiplication: 4/3 * 22/7 * 27/1 inches cubed = 2376/21 in cubed then you need to simplify the expression "2376/21." when you do this long division by hand, you get 113 with a remainder of 3. long-division remainders can be expressed as fractions like this: 2376/21 is the same as --------- 21 | 2376 and when you work that out, it comes out to be 113 with a remainder of 3. that remainder of 3 can be expressed as the fraction 3/21. which can be simplified into 1/7. so that is how the answer is 113 1/7 inches cubed.

4. Descrption: Volume of a cylinder Formula: V = xr2 (or: "V equals X times R to the 2nd power"), x = 22/7 Variables: r -- radius, h = height Find V when r = 2 ft., h = 7 ft. [Answer: 88 cu.ft.] the equation is missing the height part. I think the volume of a cylinder is: V = x(r*r)h so v = (22/7) * [(2 ft) * (2 ft)] * (7 ft) 22/7 * (4 ft squared) * (7 ft) 22/7 * 4/1 ft squared * 7/1 ft 616/7 ft cubed 88/1 ft cubed = 88 ft cubed remember that ft to the second power times ft to the first power (plain old feet) = ft to the third power, or ft cubed.

Than you guys so much! I gotta go do this test/but I'll be back by 11:30 a.m.

*crossing fingers for R.C.*

Anyway/it's over. Thanks again you 3 for yr help & good wishes. The test was the standard #2 pencil multiple-choice set-up. So I always had the option of guessing. And there were lots of word problems. Which I'm better at pulling the answers out of. (Esp. those 'train' or 'travel' problems. I tell ya -- just point me to a moving vehicle/tell me how fast it's going/or how far it's traveled in X amt. of time/& I can figure out the # of gas stations on I-95 from NY to CA! Well, practically.) And a lot of answers that called for an appx#. vs. the hard-&-fast figure. So I think I did okay. We were also allowed to use a calculator (which they supplied/thank goddess) during the final; math section. (There were 2 math sections & 3 language skills sections.) I can call Fri.afternoon for the results. And hopefully/I'll be able to move on the the application process. Oh yeah -- there was 1 problem that stumped me totally. I can't draw stuff into the board boxes/but maybe I can describe it: Picture a rectangle appx. twice as long as it is wide. Now picture that rectangle divided down the center diagonally/from corner to corner. One side is painted balck/the other white. The question was/what formula wd you use to calculate the length of the dividing line that runs diagonally down the center of the rectangle? No figures were given/but the answer I picked was: (L squared + W squared) divided by 2. Which was just a guess. But the other 3 choices didn't even look remotely correct. Does anyone know the correct formula?

square root of five is the answer, right?

the diagnonal line forms the third side of a right triagle, meaning that you can use the pythagorean theorem to calculate the length of third side. a^2 + b^2 = c^2, where the short legs are a and b, and the hypotenuse (?) is c. if one leg is twice the length of the other, we can say that: a = 1 and b = 2 1^2 + 2^2 = c^2 1 + 4 = c^2 5 = c^2 square root of 5 = c

duh, the formula. if the length, l, is twice the width, w: w^2 + (2w)^2 = x^2 w^2 + 4w^2 = x^2 5w^2 = x^2 so the square root of (5 times the width squared) equals the thing you're trying to find. right? any math majors in the house?

Correct.

R.C,my math is worse than my spelling,but for some idiot savant thing I,m good with money.I just want to wish you luck,Im sure you will get it.

Ahem... the sq. root of 5 was NOT one of the choices for that problem. I wd've picked that answer just becuz it's something I can figure out. We had to pick the formula/vs. come up w/an answer. But who the fuck cares? It's over now /thankfully.

What Cyst was saying was that the formula was the Pythagorean Theorum (a squared plus b squared equals c squared). Now my math juices are flowing. I'm going to have to get out some old Martin Gardner books and have some fun. I love math so much I almost majored in it just for fun; God knows it didn't have many practical applications that interested me, other than cryptology.

sorry, r.c. I misread the question the first time around. the formula for the diagonal line through a 2 x 1 rectangle, in terms of width, is the square root of (5 times the width squared). or so markus says. anyway, I'm sure you did great. I don't think all that many 911 response operators sit around thinking about the pythagorean theorem too much. or at least I hope they don't.

Markus, you love math??? Egad man!!! What a horrid thing to say. Just for that, it's about time I admitted that I like the Dewey Decimal System. Or was that Huey, Dewey and Louie? Damn.

Pointless insider lore: A friend of mine used to be a delivery driver for DHL. The company was named after the three founders' initials, but no one there could remember who they were, and just called them Dewey, Huey, and Louie. My friend is now an associate professor of sociology at KSU. Should have quit while he was ahead, obviously. And how could anyone not see the beauty in Penrose tilings, the whimsical fun in topology, and the satisfying order of the Fibonacci sequence? Hell, when I was in grade school, I knew pi to twenty decimal places. Physicists think that the universe is built out of ever smaller particles. It isn't. It's constructed out of pure mathematics, baby.

Now, if they'd ask a question abt the Fibonacci Numbers/I wd've been ready for their asses! I have a Fibonacci site bookmarked becuz that aspect of math fascinates me. There are lots of these type sites/but this is the coolest one I've found: http://www.mcs.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fib.html I think that in the last 5 minutes before The World As We Know It ends/some ragged little grad sutdent in math at MIT or Stanford or wherever will finally complete her discovery of the mathematical theorum to prove that God exists. Just when it won't matter anymore. And she'll sit down/have one last cigarette/& not say shit abt it to anyone.

For those who care: I got my results back today. 12.9 = 100%. I got 12.9 on the Reading & Language skills & 9.5 on the Math. The lady giving out the results on the phone was quite impressed (She said mine were the higest scores from that batch. But who knows...) So thanks guys! They're sending me an app/so I hope to score an interview by week after next.

You should have never worried in the first place,you go girl.I,m proud of you.

Thanks. So was my Mom. For, like, the 1st time in years. Now/if I don't get THIS job/I will simply stick my head in the oven & be done w/it!

R.C. Circumference of a circle 22/7. Suppose if a diameter of 7 inches. Therefore 7 inches times 3.14 pi=21.98. however, for radius; I.E. a Radius of 8 inches. Therefore you have to double the number for radius before pi Here it is: Radius of 8 inches- 8 inches times 2 = 16 times 3.14=50.24 Now next to area of circle, this one is different from circumfernce; two different things: as for diameter: I.E. diameter of 8 inches, means 3.14 times 4 times 4 =50.24. now, as for radius: I.E. radius of 3 inches, means 3.14 times 3 times 3=28.26 Last things that we have to becareful with Circumference and Area. And now, I haven't remember a few formula since my high school day. And I have a test on Feburary for possible of new job. The question is: How do I keeps with a good photographic memories of the math? I just needs some help.

Guys, my deepest thoughtful of you, I always had some trouble reading this, but, I will copy the formulas you guys left, But I had to be careful with the decimal, I.E. if they asked me to round to the nearest decimals. I will have to becareful, often that I overlooked this part. Going to copy these and study the formulas. Loved you guys for this!

Pep, hast thou some form of spongiform encephalopathy?

Doc, do you realize this thread is 11 year old? no, no you probably don't.

Yes, I already know it!.... :-p lol

hey pepper, did they give you sample questions? what else do you need to know? jac's a busy superhero, but jac's here to help when jac can.

jac, yes we know who you are. I thought your going away for a while º¿º..

I got to admit that after all, 22/7 are more effiency than 3.14..disregard my comments above. Althought 3.14 may be ok, but 22/7 proved to be more accuracy with the number...

Does anyone know "PEMDAS" formual for "Order of Operation?" Here's how: 1) Parentheses & Brackets () & [] 2) Exponents such like "2 to the second power". 3) Multiplication& Division 4) Addition & Subtraction This is how you works with the Algebra. B.t.w, the Acronym "P.E.M.D.A.S" stands for "Please excuse my dear aunt Sally".

you mean BEDMAS, that thing you learn in like 3rd grade? Yes.

They didn't teach me in 3rd grade but it was like in junior high school.

Wisper, what are you talking about?

I got it. Never mind. Email when you can or want to. Dying here in the cold midwest.

Daniel, were talking about the acronym "BEDMAS" which means, Brackets,Exponent,Division,Mutliply,Additional,and Subtraction. we use this for Algebra order of operation.

yup. got it. never heard of it. looked it up. never learned it. never used it.