"Mathematicians are like lovers...Grant a mathematician the least principle, and he will draw from it a consequence which you must also grant him, and from this consequence another." - (Fontenelle, 1657-1757)


Math History Tidbit:

Zero: The number we call 0 has a long and fascinating history. While the concept of 0 was used by the Chinese in the fourth century B.C., it did not surface in the Western world until the 1200's. Leonardo of Pisa, better known as Fibonacci (1180-1250) advocated strongly for the use of Hindu-Arabic numerals (which included 0) in Western Europe. For a variety of reasons, the West resisted the use of the efficient Hindu-Arabic numerals. As late as 1298, the City Council of Florence (Italy) outlawed any system but Roman numerals. (How would you like to do operations like multiplication and division with Roman numerals?)

I guarantee you that research on the number 0 will yield some extremely interesting historical information.

Herkimer's Corner

Why did Herkimer insist on placing lamps with his autograph collection that was stored in his attic?

Answer: He wanted to have his lights up in names.

Herky wants to know:

If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?

If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen are defrocked, can electricians be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed?


Reading: Section 11.1, pages 598-602 (up to TI-83 techniques)

Exercises: 11.13 (page 604). Enter data into calculator or spreadsheet, get necessary statistics, and respond to (a), (b), and (c). Check the "shape" of the differences. (See rules for t-test below).


Items for reflection:

You are working in section 11.1.

Rules for using the t-test:





The Practice of Statistics, by Yates, Moore, McCabe. New York,W.H. Freeman and Company, 1999. (;l 0-7167-3370-6)

Supplemental books:

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