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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What great writer is mentioned in this chapter?

2. What did the invention reveal?

3. Which is not mentioned as being a way to teach children?

4. Who is used as one of the examples?

5. Things are often misused if they are ______.

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Paulos' quote regarding innumeracy and pseudoscience?

2. Why was Freud's calculation incorrect? What was overlooked?

3. How common is innumeracy? What is the opinion of the general population regarding the subject?

4. What other fallacies were contributed by Freud?

5. If algorithms are taught in elementary school, why is it difficult for students to learn and use them?

6. What is one of the largest errors in integrating math into a student's life? What is a common result?

7. What is Paulos' assertion regarding the principle of threes?

8. How is it possible for people to ignore false outcomes in regards to probabilities?

9. What is another commonly overlooked skill in elementary math classes? Why is it an issue?

10. How does Paulos explain the famous monkey/Shakespeare probability example?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The example of two drug traffickers is used to illustrate one of Paulos' theories. What was it? Do you think the example was accurate? Was it informative? Which result was most likely to happen? Could the outcome have been predicted? How? If you were to predict the outcome without knowing the value of the product, what would you predict? Why?

Essay Topic 2

Name at least five major or famous examples of probabilities and coincidences such as the Lincoln/Kennedy connection and the Columbus/Fermi correlation. Explain each in a coincidental sense and a probability sense.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the principles covered in chapter one. Outline and give examples of each. Which do you feel is the most important? Why?

Give at least three examples of the principle as it might apply to your daily life. How would you arrive at the answer? How could you determine if the answer was correct? Are there any other correlating principles that might help you to determine the answer?

(see the answer keys)

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