Found this (Number 5) in a math work for the German 7th form (12-year-old pupils). Any Idea?
The text translates to :
"5. Complete the following sequences.
a) ...
b) ...
c) Tom passes the tree with his bike.
WTF does c) mean? Is it a pun? Is there a solution?
a) The pattern is *n,*(n+1), ... so 120*6 = 720
b) The pattern is +3 + 2n, so 24 + 11 = 35
c) 42
>>9122506
This is retarded, there exists infinitely many possible sequences where these numbers arise, they are only asking you to guess at what the "obvious" one is.
>>9124110
Come on, just admit that you couldn't solve it.
(Just kidding)
Indeed, the answer could actually be anything but since it's for 7th graders and not Maths/Philosophy majors, I'd say the obvious ones are the ones the teacher expects.
>>9124112
>complete the sequence 1 2 6 24 120 ...
"Hmm, it looks like the sequence is n!, because that fits with the given numbers, and is perhaps the simplest, and in some way seems right. The next integer would be 720 because 6!, so I'm going to guess that".
>Err! Wrong! The actual sequence is n! mod 121. You lose, sucker!
Wtf, how could I even have known that?
>It's wrong because I said so, brainlet!
>>9124133
That's one of the problems with teaching Maths. People are taught to do things mechanically, practically only with algorithms and they aren't taught the philosophical bases of each operation. I noticed this when a friend of mine asked me if dy/dx was the same when he writes it as dx/dy. He clearly just memorized derivatives as dy/dx and never thought about them being measures of change.
>>9122506
After that the tree is behind him.