Graduate Zebra chased by Crocodile problem for 16y exam

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The discussion centers around a controversial exam problem involving a zebra chased by a crocodile, which caused significant distress among students. Participants question the requirement to solve the problem without using calculus, arguing that students aged 17 and 18 are expected to understand differentiation, which is essential for finding maxima or minima. Many agree that differentiation is part of the math curriculum, making the no-calculus requirement puzzling. The thread concludes with the original poster closing the discussion to prevent further time-wasting. The debate highlights the disconnect between exam expectations and students' mathematical knowledge.
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eldrick said:
Solve

8 (b)

without Calculus...
Why without calculus? 17 and 18 year olds studying maths would generally be expected to at least know how to differentiate, and that the derivative will be zero at a maximum or minimum, which is all that's required here. Further, the comments below the article seem to agree that differentiation was part of the curriculum.
 
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andrewkirk said:
Why without calculus? 17 and 18 year olds studying maths would generally be expected to at least know how to differentiate, and that the derivative will be zero at a maximum or minimum, which is all that's required here. Further, the comments below the article seem to agree that differentiation was part of the curriculum.

eh ?

so you can't solve it without Calc

don't waste my time...
 
eldrick said:
don't waste my time.
OK, in order to avoid the risk of accidentally wasting your time with any future responses, I have closed the thread.
 
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Thread 'Area of Overlapping Squares'

Here is a little puzzle from the book 100 Geometric Games by Pierre Berloquin. The side of a small square is one meter long and the side of a larger square one and a half meters long. One vertex of the large square is at the center of the small square. The side of the large square cuts two sides of the small square into one- third parts and two-thirds parts. What is the area where the squares overlap?
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