"A" is for algebra: and a parody
As it turned out I got 3 more points on the algebra than I expected and the A cutoff was 3 points lower than I expected so I got my first math A since HS graduation!!! I'm 60% done w/finals (alg, chem, ger; chem viewing is in 2 hours) and only have the two hard ones to go next week (CA on Tues, Justice on Weds, both at 9:30)
Anyway: I'm pretty sure you all have heard about the "eighth grade test" (http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~haas/learningcenter/exam.html): here's a modern (satirical) version of it that most people could pass in 2003 but not in 1895
8th Grade Final Exam: Cambridge, MA - 2003
Part I
Grammar (Time: 60 minutes)
1. Find nine improperly capitalized letters in the 8th Grade Final Exam from 1895.
2. Name the parts of speech and explain the definition and usage of each one, as is done in the "Grammar Rock" videos.
3. Compare and contrast the following three things: verse, stanza, paragraph.
4. What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal Parts of do, compute, calculate, execute.
5. Write a sentence that contains at least one word in each of the following four cases: nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive. Place an N underneath the word in nominative, an A underneath the word in accusative, a D underneath the word in dative, and a G underneath the word in genitive.
6a. What is punctuation?
b. Give five rules for punctuation in formal writing.
c. Give five rules for punctuation in text messaging.
7 - 10. Using either Microsoft Word or WordPerfect, type a composition consisting of between 125 and 175 words; it will be graded on grammar.
Arithmetic (Time: 75 minutes; calculators allowed)
1. What is arithmetic? Which four basic operations are primarily used in its study?
2. A page of text consists of 60 lines, each of which consist of 65 characters. At the rate of 200 characters per minute, how long will it take to type a whole page?
3. If a jug of water weighs 100 kg, what is it worth at 10 cents per liter, deducting 1.5 kg for tare?
4. Bandwidth costs 10 cents per megabyte. If 2000 people visit your site (requiring 100 mB bandwidth per month) each month and visit it twice a week on average, what amount should you charge per visitor if you want to make $100 profit?
5. Determine the cost of 4096 kilobytes of storage space data at $2/megabyte.
6. If $512.60 is placed in a bank for one year at 100 percent interest compounded continuously, how much interest is collected over the course of one year?
7. What is the cost of a case of beer at the cost of 10 cents per ounce of beer?
8. What is the interest on $300 for 1/4 year at 10 percent interest per year compounded continuously?
9. If a square has perimeter 640, what is its area?
10. Write a PayPal form, a credit card statement, and a check.
U.S. History (Time: 45 minutes)
1. List the eras of American history from 1492 to the present.
2. Explain the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
3. Discuss the course of Woodrow Wilson's, and America's, involvement in World War I.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States. When and why did it end?
5. Tell what you can of the history of your own state.
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the twentieth century.
7. Who were the following: George Washington Carver, Eli Whitney, Marilyn Monroe, Alexander Graham Bell, Abraham Lincoln, William Penn, and John F. Kennedy?
8. Name events connected with the following years:
1620
1776
1865
1941
2000 (2 events acceptable: give both for extra credit)
Too damn lazy for Part II now... stay tuned
Anyway: I'm pretty sure you all have heard about the "eighth grade test" (http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~haas/learningcenter/exam.html): here's a modern (satirical) version of it that most people could pass in 2003 but not in 1895
8th Grade Final Exam: Cambridge, MA - 2003
Part I
Grammar (Time: 60 minutes)
1. Find nine improperly capitalized letters in the 8th Grade Final Exam from 1895.
2. Name the parts of speech and explain the definition and usage of each one, as is done in the "Grammar Rock" videos.
3. Compare and contrast the following three things: verse, stanza, paragraph.
4. What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal Parts of do, compute, calculate, execute.
5. Write a sentence that contains at least one word in each of the following four cases: nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive. Place an N underneath the word in nominative, an A underneath the word in accusative, a D underneath the word in dative, and a G underneath the word in genitive.
6a. What is punctuation?
b. Give five rules for punctuation in formal writing.
c. Give five rules for punctuation in text messaging.
7 - 10. Using either Microsoft Word or WordPerfect, type a composition consisting of between 125 and 175 words; it will be graded on grammar.
Arithmetic (Time: 75 minutes; calculators allowed)
1. What is arithmetic? Which four basic operations are primarily used in its study?
2. A page of text consists of 60 lines, each of which consist of 65 characters. At the rate of 200 characters per minute, how long will it take to type a whole page?
3. If a jug of water weighs 100 kg, what is it worth at 10 cents per liter, deducting 1.5 kg for tare?
4. Bandwidth costs 10 cents per megabyte. If 2000 people visit your site (requiring 100 mB bandwidth per month) each month and visit it twice a week on average, what amount should you charge per visitor if you want to make $100 profit?
5. Determine the cost of 4096 kilobytes of storage space data at $2/megabyte.
6. If $512.60 is placed in a bank for one year at 100 percent interest compounded continuously, how much interest is collected over the course of one year?
7. What is the cost of a case of beer at the cost of 10 cents per ounce of beer?
8. What is the interest on $300 for 1/4 year at 10 percent interest per year compounded continuously?
9. If a square has perimeter 640, what is its area?
10. Write a PayPal form, a credit card statement, and a check.
U.S. History (Time: 45 minutes)
1. List the eras of American history from 1492 to the present.
2. Explain the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
3. Discuss the course of Woodrow Wilson's, and America's, involvement in World War I.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States. When and why did it end?
5. Tell what you can of the history of your own state.
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the twentieth century.
7. Who were the following: George Washington Carver, Eli Whitney, Marilyn Monroe, Alexander Graham Bell, Abraham Lincoln, William Penn, and John F. Kennedy?
8. Name events connected with the following years:
1620
1776
1865
1941
2000 (2 events acceptable: give both for extra credit)
Too damn lazy for Part II now... stay tuned