2018's Awful Exams

[TomS333]

My exams had been a mixed bag of good and bad but then appeared this question in a
MATHEMATICS/STATISTICS Paper:
I want to select 5 letters at random so I use a calculator to generate random numbers.
The numbers are:
0.165, 0.222, 0.188, 0.435, 0.731, 0.005, 0.007.
(You do not have to use all the numbers)
Which letters do I pick? (Explain how you achieved your answer)

I couldn’t remember the alphabet (having not recited it since I was 5, so I don’t know the ordering of the letters very well anymore). I do Maths, I do not do English anymore. Especially not the parts of English that I see no purpose in retaining:
I don’t need the order of the alphabet, I don’t need to be able to say “look at “x-word” that’s a nice verb and the use of it connotes…”

I’ve read, seen and heard that a lot of people are particularly struggling this year. But questions without any information certainly do not help.

 

[TheLittleLady]

I do not do English anymore. Especially not the parts of English that I see no purpose in retaining:
I don’t need the order of the alphabet, I don’t need to be able to say “look at “x-word” that’s a nice verb and the use of it connotes…”

Do you live or work in an English speaking part of the world?

The ability to use proper grammar & punctuation is foundational if you wish to have a job or function in society.

Do you have a learning disability that prevents you from understanding language?

If you do not know the alphabet in order you will be giving yourself a handicap. When your boss tells you to sort these items or to file those papers, you need to know if the “c” files/items come before or after the “l” items.

Why would you think that you do not need basic skills?

 

[TomS333]

I retain the basic skills. I can speak fine and my grammar though not perfect is fairly good. Items needing to be filed in alphabetical order usually have labels on the front, eg. ABC, DEF,…, XYZ

I know the alphabet but I struggle to recall it in a short space of time, and I can’t tell you immediately whether the letter P is the 11th, 16th or 23rd letter of the alphabet if you asked me.
After much counting and reciting: K=11, P=16, W=23. I literally had to count on my fingers and thrice check the order of the alphabet.

@TheLittleLady when was the last time in real life you reviewed a section of a book and said “the author decided that the curtains should be red in order to portray love/anger/lust/blood” - maybe the author just likes red.

 

[BartholomewB]

I couldn’t remember the alphabet (having not recited it since I was 5

Well, I can recite at least three different alphabets, but I have no idea what that question means. I notice all the numbers are smaller than one. When a caclulator generates random numbers, is it unable to generate, say, 17, or 17,012, or 2.5?

If you multiply 26 by .188 you get 4.888. The nearest whole number to that is 5, so the letter would be E. Is that what the question is supposed to mean?

 

[TomS333]

Yes, when calculators give random numbers, they do seem to be less than 1.

My friend tried it your way, x26 then round to the nearest letter, but obviously I couldn’t ask her that during the exam. But no-one I’ve spoken to seems to know what the question is supposed to mean.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Understanding the meaning of words, looking at the language used by an author, that is something I do every day.

 

[Rhys_Thomas_00]

I’d have multiplied them by 26 and rounded to the nearest number.
.165×26=4.29 (4) 》D
.222×26=5.772 (6) 》F
.188×26=4.888 (5) 》E
etc.

I used to have trouble with the alphabet. That’s the problem when someone with a mathematical brain encounters the alphabet as the alphabet has no purpose as to its current order.

When counting 1 comes before 2 because 1 is smaller;
When reciting letters A comes before B because someone decided it should.

I’ve a feeling you’re a bit like me in that sense @TomS333 , don’t worry, if that was the only bad part of this Stats paper then everything else will be fine.

Best of luck with them.