The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Mathematics Olympiad examination on August 26

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 06, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Mathematics Olympiad examination on August 26

Staff reporter

About 100 students have enrolled in the programme

CHENNAI: When most schools tell students to swot multiplication tables of 16 or 20, mathematics scholar ATB Bose says knowing nine times tables is quite sufficient.

"When you go to school, ask your teacher `Why not learn 21 times tables? Why only till 16?' " Mr. Bose told students at the inauguration of classes for a Mathematics Olympiad on Saturday. He says that learning of 16 times tables is an outdated rule that dates back to 1835, when the school syllabus was compiled.

If a student was competent with multiplication tables till nine, he or she could use the same principles for any number. For instance, 17 multiplied by 8 would be the same as (10 + 7) x 8 = 80 + 56 = 136.

Mr. Bose also taught students the concepts of Least Common Multiple and Highest Common Factor by drawing beads. After he gave a sample of what was to come in the Olympiad classes, the students were divided into three batches according to which standard they were in.

The students, ranging from classes 4 to 11, will take a Mathematics Olympiad examination on August 26.

Nehru Children's Cultural Association (Ph: 24453014) offers these weekend classes from 4.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. on Saturdays and from 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. on Sundays for two months. The venue is Karpagavalli Vidyalaya on East Mada Street in Mylapore.

M.R. Sugumaran, president of the association, said the classes would help students solve non-routine problems.

He said about 100 students had enrolled in the programme.

A few seats for students of classes 8, 9, 10 and 11 are open. The fee is Rs.600.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu