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December 11th, 2006, 07:42 AM
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ImPerfectHacker has requested that I post this problem - allegedly because
he does not understand it. It does not look too difficult to me, though a bit
fiddly.
RonL
One day it started snowing at a heavy and steady rate. A snowplough
started out at noon, going 2 km the first hour and 1 km the second hour.
What time did it start snowing?
.
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Last edited by CaptainBlack; December 11th, 2006 at 08:00 AM.
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December 11th, 2006, 07:56 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainBlack  One day it started snowing at a heavy and steady rate. A snowplough
started out at noon, going 2 km the first hour and 1 km the second hour.
What time did it start snowing?
[/size][/font] | What does word "snowplough" means? |
December 11th, 2006, 07:58 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OReilly What does word "snowplough" means? | It's English for Snowplow
RonL
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December 11th, 2006, 08:00 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainBlack It's English for Snowplow
RonL | Same question. What does "snowplow" means?  |
December 11th, 2006, 08:56 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OReilly Same question. What does "snowplow" means? | Hello,
where do you live?
But nevertheless have a look here: Snowploughs
EB |
December 11th, 2006, 09:08 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by earboth Hello,
where do you live?
But nevertheless have a look here: Snowploughs
EB | A better reference if you can find it is the Mr Plow episode of the Simpsons.
RonL
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December 11th, 2006, 09:17 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OReilly What does word "snowplough" means? | I presume you know what snow is. A snowplough is a vehicle used for clearing snow from railways or roads using something vaguely like a bulldozer blade.
I would upload a picture, but there seems to be something wrong with
the upload system at present, so lets try this Google Image Result for http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d3/Snowplow.jpg/300px-Snowplow.jpg
RonL
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Last edited by CaptainBlack; December 11th, 2006 at 02:35 PM.
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December 11th, 2006, 03:03 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainBlack ImPerfectHacker has requested that I post this problem - allegedly because
he does not understand it. It does not look too difficult to me, though a bit
fiddly.
RonL
One day it started snowing at a heavy and steady rate. A snowplough
started out at noon, going 2 km the first hour and 1 km the second hour.
What time did it start snowing?
. | You will need to make a number of assumptions in order to develop a solution of this problem. The most important is that the plough can clear a fixed volume of snow per unit time. The other assumptions are fairly standard and I will leave those to the solvers. RonL
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December 11th, 2006, 10:38 PM
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The correct answer (or what I believe to be it) is in the attached pdf file. I hope it's there, I've never uploaded one of these before. | | The following users thank BubbleBrain_103 for this useful post: | |  |
December 11th, 2006, 10:54 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BubbleBrain_103 The correct answer (or what I believe to be it) is in the attached pdf file. I hope it's there, I've never uploaded one of these before. | As I said not difficult just a bit fiddly
RonL
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December 12th, 2006, 05:59 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainBlack As I said not difficult just a bit fiddly
RonL | Bizzare. Looking at the problem there doesn't seem to be nearly enough information to solve it.
-Dan
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"I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain." - The Litany Against Fear, "Dune" by Frank Herbert |
December 12th, 2006, 06:31 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by topsquark Bizzare. Looking at the problem there doesn't seem to be nearly enough information to solve it.
-Dan | Ahh.. but there is my dear squark there is..
On a serious note I make it three unknowns (sweep rate, snow accumulation rate, and time at which snow started)
and three equations, swept path at noon, ay 13:00, and at 14:00. That does not guarantee that a solution can be
found it should at least give hope that it can be found.
RonL
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December 12th, 2006, 09:04 AM
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What supprises me is that non of you guys heard this problem. I definetly knew CaptainBlank has heard of it (for some reason), and would bet on Soroban. |
December 12th, 2006, 09:14 AM
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I have heard of it. I tackled it years ago in DE.
What's interesting is that the answer is related to the golden ratio.
[math]\frac{\sqrt{5}-1}{2}[/math]
This equals about 37 minutes. When subtracted from 12 noon, one gets
11:23 am.
I can't seem to get LaTex to work for some reason. I just get a blank screen when I try to preview. |
December 12th, 2006, 12:04 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by galactus I can't seem to get LaTex to work for some reason. I just get a blank screen when I try to preview. |
MathGuru says he's working on the problem.
-Dan
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