Continuing from his previous post, the tutor assesses whether the sequoia tree’s growth is exponential. Normally, tutoring doesn’t encompass this topic; it’s interesting nonetheless. Growing a foot (in height) per year, the tree is growing arithmetically, rather than exponentially. …
Recently in Victoria, the tutor noticed a sequoia tree in front of the Parliament Buildings. The plaque said it grows, on average, 1 foot per year. Is that exponential growth? I’ve introduced exponential growth in a couple of contexts: see …
Tutoring math, you see topics come in and go out of style. Arithmetic mean is such a concept…. In math, the “mean” is known by some as the average. To find the mean of 65 and 83, add them …
Continuing about autos, the tutor turns the ignition on another topic: ethanol as a fuel in North America. Sometime in the 2000s, if not before, ethanol’s use as an alternative auto fuel became a hot topic. Its use in Brazil …
From essay writing, one learns to define one’s own terms. During the weekend before regular tutoring recommences, the tutor discusses a topic his own children have been exploring. My (smart aleck) son recently told me, “Dad, important is a compound …
The tutor enjoys discussing scientific concepts, particularly ones with a Canadian dimension. The humidex provides a meaningful measure of a day’s heat. By considering dew point and temperature together, it provides an “effective temperature” that suggests the comfort level of …
The tutor spends most of his time on math and science. This particular question has never been asked during tutoring; rather, it comes from personal curiosity. While I’ve long known that Upper Canada is now Ontario, while Lower Canada is …
Tutoring math, computer science might always be around the corner. The tutor continues the discussion of random numbers, including a “live” example. As I mentioned in my previous post, random numbers comprise a favourite topic among computer science people. At …
Tutoring math, you realize that some of your students will move on to computer science at university. The tutor brings up a time-honoured favourite among comp-sci people: random number generation. Every computer programming language I know of has a random …
Out for a walk in the woods recently, the tutor couldn’t help but arrive at this topic. Like so many others, it’s relevant, yet rarely covered during tutoring…. On a hot day like we’ve had here lately, a hiker might …