From the Previous Issue… Quantitative Literacy Puzzle Solution | Academic Newsletter | Seneca Polytechnic

in the December 2017 issue

Congratulations to everyone who solved the Quantitative Literacy Puzzle (from the Fall 2017 issue of the Academic Newsletter): Christine Dalton, Jack Kilislian, Allan Randall, Maksim Sokolov, and Peter Skrypka.

Because there is only one prize, we submitted all the names to RONI (Random Online Name Identifier) and the winner is… Maksim Sokolov!

Reminder: this was the Quantitative Literacy Puzzle

You leave Seneca@York at 1 p.m. heading to King Campus, by car, for a meeting that starts half an hour later. Traffic and construction delays cause you to drive an average of only 26 km/hr for the first half (distance-wise) of the trip. If the distance from Seneca@York to King is 26 km, ...

1. how fast will you have to travel in the second half of the trip to average 52 km/hr for the whole trip?
2. will you make the meeting on time?

Walkthrough of the solution:

1. So, how fast would you have to travel to average 56 km/hr?
   Answer: infinitely fast, or given our current understanding of the universe we live in: it would be impossible.
   Why? If you averaged 26 km/hr (speed) for the first half of the trip, then you would have spent half an hour or 30 minutes (time) traveling those first 13 kilometers (distance). That would leave you 0 minutes to cover the last half of the trip to make your 1:30 p.m. meeting. And if speed = distance/time, with t=0, we would have to divide by zero, which is a "no-go" in math.
2. So, will you make the meeting on time?
   Answer: okay, here we can get creative. The mathematicians would say "obviously not," but the creatives might suggest things like "perhaps, if the Enterprise was in the neighbourhood and you could get Scotty to beam you over," or "perhaps, if there happened to be a Craigh na Dun-like stone circle nearby, then you could touch the stones to teleport back in time," or "perhaps, if you were driving with Dr. Who and you had his TARDIS strapped to the roof" – you get the idea.

Thanks to all for playing. We had a great response to this puzzle. Next up is the Intercultural Knowledge and Global Perspective Puzzle in this issue – enjoy!

View the December 2017 issue of the Academic Newsletter.