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I don't disagree with any of the facts here, but the instantaneous dismissal of teacher workload as a consideration could only come from someone who hasn't been at the front of a classroom for a decade. Perhaps he should have tried talking to some teachers as part of his MA?

1 month ago 0 1 0 0

I translated it all so that they were distances from the origin, thought about the equation they satisfied, and did an expansion to find the product of its roots. I think you can avoid the point case as there is a factor of z everywhere.

2 months ago 1 0 0 0

That sounds like we did it in very different ways!

2 months ago 1 0 1 0

I can't remember where I adapted it from - it certainly isn't wholly original.

2 months ago 1 0 0 0
A very difficult maths question.

A very difficult maths question.

I have been saving this one for a while.

2 months ago 3 0 2 0

I should have added #ALevelMaths (Further).

3 months ago 0 0 0 0
A series of six differential equations for which the left hand side first five is the total derivative of a product.

The sixth, not so.

A series of six differential equations for which the left hand side first five is the total derivative of a product. The sixth, not so.

In #MathsToday, my Y13 class really enjoyed the first five of these questions (and then the sixth shortly thereafter).

3 months ago 3 0 1 0

We teach OCR, and never have to do the correction*, I think for more or less this exact reason.

*Except in Further Maths.

3 months ago 2 0 0 0

It is worth adding that this does not happen for the mean.

Averaging lots of sample means tends to the true mean (which we know from Normal Distribution Hypothesis tests).

3 months ago 1 0 0 0
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That is mean!

'These data' in particular, even though we are told it is a sample.

3 months ago 1 0 1 0

I agree!

The real answer is along the lines of:

If we repeatedly do this, and average our answers, the average tends to a predictable amount below the real answer, relative to sample size.

In order to 'unbias' this, we need to multiply by a factor of n/(n-1), and the n terms cancel out.

3 months ago 2 0 1 0

Hence, by analogy, sample statistics will almost always underestimate population ones.

Dividing by n-1 makes th result slightly bigger than dividing by n does, which is good enough.

3 months ago 1 1 1 0

Someone once explained it to me by thinking about the range.

If you calculate the range of a sample, you are very unlikely to randomly pick the largest and smallest values, so the range of a sample is almost always going to be too small.

3 months ago 0 1 1 0

n-1 when you are using sample data to estimate the population parameter.

n when you have all the data.

(But whether you have to do this varies by exam board and Single/Further Maths.)

3 months ago 3 1 2 0
An exam question on proof with the name crossed out and replaced with 'Santa'. Also, a snowman.

An exam question on proof with the name crossed out and replaced with 'Santa'. Also, a snowman.

I did something similar?

4 months ago 1 0 0 0

Could it be along the lines of the numerator having to be always larger than the denominator when added, so there must be an intersection, hence they can't be mutually exclusive?

4 months ago 1 0 1 0
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The Cogwheel Brain by Doron Swade with an empty pint glass.

The Cogwheel Brain by Doron Swade with an empty pint glass.

One of the most interesting and exciting Maths books I have read for some time. Very balanced on its view of Babbage and his contemporaries, and stuffed full of fascinating detail.

An excellent way to do some Maths (sort of) over half term.

5 months ago 0 0 0 0

After looking at trig derivatives and the chain rule, I differentiate sin^2 x for my class, ask them to do cos^2 x, and then we look at cos^2 x + sin^2 x, which should obviously be more complicated...

5 months ago 2 0 1 0
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Anamorphosis - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anamorp...

Is it this?

I remember reading something recently about how in some sports they are now added digitally to look 'wrong' from a particular camera angle, and therefore more realistic.

6 months ago 4 0 0 1

This is also the shape that an orange makes if you peel it in one piece starting at the top. (Presumably for similar reasons?)

8 months ago 2 0 1 0

The red feels like the odd one out to me.

9 months ago 0 0 1 0

Which gives me back your original graph.

Maybe it was right all along?

9 months ago 0 0 1 0

Here is my suggestion then:

Convert it to something parametric (not sure what).

Stretch the two x and y equations separately.

Make it cartesian again.

9 months ago 0 0 1 0

I shall continue to think.

9 months ago 0 0 1 0

I think one needs to be 0.5, and the other 2, not both the same.

9 months ago 0 0 1 0
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I can reason that out, but it could definitely confuse a pupil.

9 months ago 0 0 1 0

It is neater, but this version doesn't feel complete to me without, for example, a justification that k(sqrt(2)-1) must be an integer. It is tacitly assumed above.

9 months ago 0 0 1 0
A wordless solution to this lovely puzzle.

A wordless solution to this lovely puzzle.

Here is my attempt.

10 months ago 1 0 0 0
What I like about the Quadratic Formula is not the Quadratic Formula.

What I like about the Quadratic Formula is not the Quadratic Formula.

Proof is not required; it's a bonus.

Proof is not required; it's a bonus.

You don't need all these big numbers, like ten.

You don't need all these big numbers, like ten.

A class did one for me an unspecified number of years ago. Such a good gift.

11 months ago 1 0 0 0
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Clopen Mic Night Clopen Mic Night

Do you like maths? Do you like entertainment? Want to be entertained in a variety show about maths? Come along to the latest Clopen Mic Night and see these cool people (also me and my excellent bandmates): clopenmicnight.com/events/2025-...

1 year ago 4 6 0 0