ARITHMETIC FOR TEACHERS.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 9544, 2 December 1893, Page 3

ARITHMETIC FOR TEACHERS.

SlK,— I have jast seen the questions in arithmetic set in January to the teicbers who wished to pass in clans D. Number 11 fetches me :—" The pendulum of one clock vibrate* in 1 05 seconds and that of another in 95 second. If the clocks are started at 9 in the morning of Monday, 2nd January, when will they be together again ? " Perhaps there may be o clockmaker in Napier who can tell me how to do this. It seems to me that you have do data, and that it is not a question in arithmetic, but in practical physics. If you take it as a question in physics tbe proper answer would be that, for all we can tell, the clocks would remain together, Or does the eimpie examiner imagine thatanless a pendulum beats in exoct'y one second a clock must go either fast' or slow? If you 'assume this, yon can do the question if yon choose to take tbe trouble, Or does tbe examiner assume that the clock movements are identical ? If so, I don't see what it helps you. It seems to me that a question liko this is a catch, and should not be set. Bat I hope a clockmaker will explain. All tbe rest of the paper as far as I can see is ordinary arithmetic, not much harder than ordinary sixth standard work. If it is merely my own skull that is thick, of course it's all right, but if the question can't be done I think it is tough on the teachers.— l am, &c, W.F.H. December 1, 1803. [The question is very badly stated, but no donbt tbe answer expected was that 9 beats of the longer pendulum and 11 of tbe shorter would biing tbpro to the original starting point.— Yd H 8.8.]