₦airaland Forum

1

Riff-Raff:
I see myself on Forbes 10 most famous piple in d world.

As the Forbes 10 most famous Riff-Raffs or something?

AjanleKoko:
As an aside (please don't let's turn this particular one into another argument o!), I know at least two guys personally who were flunked out of their MB after third year med, and were pushed to engineering. One of them graduated with a first class (UNN), and the other with a 2.1 (Ife). Before both these guys went in for medicine, they were top students at their various high schools, so it wasn't like a fluke. You can see why I would root for medicine.
Peace.

I am not trying to argue here but to dispute the premise for you wanting to root for medicine. I know couple of friends in high school who were top students at national level. These were students who made WAEC and JAMB seem like child's play. But honestly, these students I am citing cannot study Medicine because they are so mathematically inclined that any academic material not in that direction does not interest them at all. Flunking out of a program doesn't make it any more difficult. There are reasons that could be attributed to that.

Maybe those kids you mentioned lost interest in Medicine and became slackers. Probably, they understood an Engineering degree is apt for them and decided to switch majors. There is still a chance they were prevailed upon to study Medicine due to their stellar high school performance. Several factors abound that could have caused the example you cited but I am not convinced it is not sufficient to use that as a premise in rooting for Medicine as been more challenging than Engineering because it is very disputable.

tpia:
Medicine is way more challenging than Engineering, imo.

What's the percentage of students who even graduate from medical school, compared to the ratio who are Engineering graduates.

After you manage to make it through graduation nko? You still have to go for residency and take more exams in order to qualify as a specialist. And people can still be dropped during the residency program, even abroad talkless Nigeria.

Staying long in school doesn't make a course more challenging. I personally did not go for medicine because of the time and financially burden involved. It was not because medicine is more challenging.

Engineering, on the other hand, I can say is as challenging as you can make. If you hope to just be a mediocre engineer, then most colleges will let you be and you'll come out as mediocre so long as you meet the minimum criteria for graduation.

Besides, if Medical doctors will spend close to 7-10 years studying Medicine, an Engineer can also chose to get his PhD where he'll be opportuned to conduct state-of-the art research and come out very professionally competent as a researcher in about 10 years (same time-frame as Medicine). And that route is as challenging as it can get.

Lots of Engineering PhD candidates end up not graduating with one because of the stress, loneliness and challenge involved.

I would say, in my opinion, both specialties are challenging "relatively"!

A mathematically inclined student would most likely perform better in Engineering even though it'll still be challenging but he might really struggle to come to grasp with the challenge in medicine and vice versa.

As an example, a friend who was so mathematical inclined in his academic pursuits, had A's in almost all his science and engineering courses, but had back logs in the biological and social sciences and the humanities.

So "challenging" to some extent is relative and both engineering and medicine are challenging!

On a serious note, why would someone get a third class degree? I guess on a scale of 5.00, you had below 2.4.

Honestly, that's ridiculous. Why even go to college then? Success in life is not all about degrees. I am only forced
to say here that if you had a third class in college, probably academically, you were organizationally incompetent.

This doesn't mean in life you will be a loser. But dude, check out those years in life you wasted. I've realized success
of the self-agonizing and third class supporting graduates is tied to financial success. If so, can't I rightly say you
lost on the first battle? You were trying to get this college degree so as to get a start in your career but you couldn't.

Man, irrespective of the class of your degree, you can make something out of your life. But the whining should stop. And no need to
reference some very talented peeps like Okocha, Bill Gates, Michael Jackson, R.Kelly, etc.

Can you be as creative as these peeps are in their respective fields?
Can you dribble Roberto Carlos the way Okocha does at times?
Can you sing so melodiously to make the club go crazy and all the girls go "Psycho" as R. Kelly does?
Can you perform as tremendous as Michael Jackson did in his career when he was in his prime?


I bet you probably, can't. So guys, give me a break. You are talking about guys who are best in their field using their non-academic talents.

How about those who are highly successful individual in their fields using their academic talents and abilities?

There are a whole bunch of PhD holders too who are kicking it high in the financial area. People like Irwin Jacobs (co-founder
of QualComm), Ronald Rivest (the inventor of RSA crytographic protocol), Andrea Goldsmith (founder of Quantenna Communications),etc.

Why don't you mention them to encourage some peeps to also do well academically? Please stop the ignorant talk here.

If you have a third class, look for a way to better yourself and in the first place, there are a bunch of ways to make millions without
a college degree inasmuch as you relate success to having multi-millions in your financial accounts. But don't encourage those coming
after you, your younger ones who have decided "I need a college degree", to see third class as being an "ok" thing.

A-town:
To all the people bragging about their Gpa's and wot not, Go to the Central bank and ask them to give you money for getting such a high GPA!!!
Abeg, who cares. It's the people with the 2.2 gpa's that would still employ you to do their thinking for them, What d heck,

Nigga, give me a break and just keep quiet if you've got nothing positive to contirbute. What the heck you talking about? People are discussing the "secrets of first class students" and you are trying to instill antagonistic shrapnels into the discussion. Come on, relax! No one here is bragging. This is a stimulative discussion that most, I feel will enjoy reading. So I impore you don't digress from the topic. People are all nice here, but can also be mean if they choose to. Therefore, you better back the F off before you get smacked the wack off this forum!!! Damn it!))))

RichyBlacK:
Eyo, how have you been?

RichyBlack, I am really fine now. I took some time off this forum and guess I'm back. RichyBlack is one of the Math wiz we have on this forum. From him, I learnt the fundamentals of Perm and Comb. (one of the high school math topics that haunted me down right to college). Now, it's very ok by me. People help me thank RichyBlack for helping me understand Perm. and Comb. The technique came to me after I glanced through his methods over and over.

However, Richy, the GRE was not as I expected! Managed a 780 in the Math. When I checked where I went wrong, it was only on question 4, 5 and 6, though they were all level 5 questions. But it's all good. At least, I'll be doing good research.

Are you Nigerian? If yes, then you should know. It works the same way grading system works in Nigeria. You are even from the city where I was born and bred, PH, the garden city. The way they grade in Uniport where 1st class is from 4.50/5.00 upwards is the same way it works in most countries. In the US, most schools use the 4 point scale, though some use 5. India uses the british percentage system. This should at least serve as a clue.

To Ibime,

I learnt in the UK they use the percentage system. You got to extend your horizons man. In Nigeria, The US and most countries, the GPA system is used where you'll be graded on either a 4 or 5 point grading system. Some countries like Denmark have even very strange grading systems. Be informed! No offence intended. Forums are meant to be educative.)))

Who said First class students live triangular lifestyles? Damn it! That's far from the truth. I graduated summa cum laude (4.97/5.00), but lived a balanced life. Sure, I was not the best "academically" in my class or batch but I knew the game. Starting from matriculation, I knew I wanted a first class so I could advance to top graduate schools. Made my strategies and followed through them conscientiously. So you people should stop the hype that first class materials, as a cited example, SEUN, are boring peeps. That really sounds greek!!! I have friends who were real nerds but never graduated with a first class no matter how hard they tried--they wanted it but it just wasn't theirs because they aint got what it takes. It's not all about studying 24/7. It all stems down to the individual--his personality and the kind of lifestyle he lives. I can't live without fun, pals, I got to club, chase those beautiful girls but leave it! I always have my mind on my studies.

I do these things mostly weekends and frankly, all through my college years, I never missed a class. My goal was to understand the fundamental concepts in all courses so I'll never stray whenever I encounter problems emanating from Mars. lol)) Now let me spell out my secrets:

1) I had the foundation required for a college education. My freshman year was more like a continuation of my high school science and social science curriculum. They were all familiar though more advanced. As such, I had no problems.

2) I built on these foundation and went smoothly until I graduated letting my sweet and memorable college years pass salaciously though me ( I am tantamount to ladies). Just that now, grad school is cutting them off me. This also goes to prove that if your goals are high and you are determined to achieve them, then as a disciplined though fun-loving person, you'll always know how to set your priorities.

3) I had high goals of getting A's in all my course and worked towards achieving them. It's a matter of being a smart ass! lol! Of course, this doesn't make me better (or smarter) than those with lower grades. Again, I am very confident that I really know the detailed intricacies of my coursework. As a sociable person, even in the work place during internships, I never performed bad either.

So as a summary, it all goes to say first class is for the disciplined, determined and above all, academically talented students. Not everyone sure can achieve this feat. People are born with different talents. Find yours, get educated in any of the facets of "education" and try living a life you personally would call a FIRST CLASS life. For me, it's working in the R & D department of industry. Whats yours? Keep searching, when you find it and enjoy living that way, presumably, it should make you a "first class" citizen, lol))). If you don't find it, the search itself might be.)))))

@M_Sef

Constant practice and the right mood is the key to acing the GRE. Keep doing as many practice test as possible. Get the GRE BigBook and see for yourself. That is a sure bet for the verbal. Let me have your email address, I will forward some of the BigBook practice tests to you in pdf format and the korean math practice test. I am pretty sure you will find them useful.

My best wishes as you prepare to face GRE the second time. Remember once beaten, twice shy. You gotta beat them this time around. And don't neglect the analytical writing section. That was what messed up my GRE. I never prepared for it at all and flopped on the test day. Don't let same happen to you.

@ C_Jay

I seem to disagree with your advice with regards the GREBIBLE software. I have the software( which is readily available on the internet) and from personal experience during preparations for the GRE, I would say the software is not up to standard. It has got bugs in it that impedes its proper functioning. Besides, I easily scored an 800 in the verbal test of this software whereas in the real GRE official guide( refering to the GRE BigBook), my scores never went above a 700.

I would say the software can serve as a relaxing tool while trying to learn the vocabulary. Even then, one has to be very careful as there are inherent errors attributable to the bugs. The words are interplaced at times.

In my opinion, the best preparatory guide still remains the PowerPrep test. That is certainly the level of the real exams. Other guides are useful to hone your test taking skills but are either too easy or too difficult. The only guide that seemed closer to the kind of question one can find on the main test is the Kaplan tests on the CD; not the ones in the textbook(these are far below level).

All the same, you shouldn't forget the Barron's prep. guide. That name, Barron's, is akin to GRE. It has a universal reputation for bringing back to light some of your lost test taking skills. I see it as the best when it comes to the verbal. Of course, it still will not compare to the GRE BigBook verbal. The latter is certainly the bible if you are talking about GRE verbal. The math there is way too simple and not recommended.

Please, guys, post your views here so that those preparing for these exams would benefit as they slogg hard for their test.

I think it is possible to transfer from a lowly ranked graduate program to the top programs. I have heard of several of such transfers though I certainly don't know the procedures. I believe it will be easier if a PhD is your final degree objective.

Getting admissions into these top schools is more of a gamble. I personally know somebody with a terrific application package who got rejected by Stanford and MIT. At the same time, the friend of this guy who also applied to the same program in the same year but with an application of lesser strength got admitted. I wonder what the inner intricacies of the graduate admission committee is. Methinks, once you meet the minimum requirement and have some strong areas in your application, probably some extensive research experiences, then it wouldn't hurt giving it a shot at the top ten graduate programs in your field.

It is this idealogy of mine that gave me the impetus to apply to MIT, Stanford and Cornell and several others. Fingers are still crossed. I have done my best and waiting impatiently for the admission mortals to decide what to do with my application. I am very optimistic and at the same time fidgeting intensely about what the upshot would be.

@ C_Jay,

Come on, I am also applying for fall 2008 admissions to US universities. Though, I have already written the required exams like the GRE and TOEFL. So what are you up to with the applications? Where did you apply?

@ Me Sef,

Sorry about what happened to you. It was really pathetic. I also wrote the GRE in November last year. My scores were not as I had expected them to be. I was demoralized when I got the second quantitative section. It was already 3rs into the exam and I was kind of exhausted. I still managed, nonetheless, to pull off not too bad a score as I am sure it was the second quant. section that was scored.

During preparation, I used mostly the GRE BigBook and Barrons and the Powerprep CD I was sent when I registered for the exams. The GRE math is one funny exam. To me, it is the easiest exams I have ever written and ironically, the one I have scored so low that I wonder if really that was my score.

I have some materials for anyone who wants. I couldn't attach it as the files are into the megabyte range while the maximum size allowed for attached files on nairaland is 200kb. If you need suggestions and materials, feel free to ask. I'll be glad to respond promptly at my convenience.

So when are you applying? Are you writing for fall 2008 admissions? I also applied to several schools for the upcoming september admissions and yet to hear from them. Impatiently waiting!!

I second you on this. The good old days are gone. But I believe it's still possible to bring to light the lost glory. Come on, we have got the players. The motivation, industry,ingenuity and what have you inciter is gone. The team lacks it. And whenever we can find someone or something that will be an instigator of high motivation, then in my opinion, we are on the road back to the lost glory.

@doyin13

I agree intoto with you. Apam, as he is called, the right full back, is not worth the Super Eagles Shirt.

Looking at the game, I think a lot need to be done to revitalize soccer in Nigeria. In fact, blaming the coach, methinks, is not the right step to take. The players, from what I saw, are not in any bad shape.

A drastic change in the system of play is what is urgently needed. This slow kind of football wouldn't take us nowhere. In the next game, if no change in style is adopted, I am afraid, we might be kicked out of the tournament earlier than we had ever imagined.

Hi buddy,

What kind of engineering e-books do you want?

I've got some though mostly Telecomms related.

I hope Seun allows links on this site. Try this site:

www.ebdb.com

From there, you make your search for the book you

want. Type in the author's name and if it's there in the

database, then there you have it. I hope it helps.

All the same, holla whenever u've got the time.

Have u concluded issues? U know what I mean.

ADint:
Eyohimself,

The agent must sell for $199,395(nearest $).
Only Ann's gain is made on the initial cost price.
To the Agent the current cost price is 170270 + (0.11*170270) = $188,999.70
So, selling price is 188,999.70 + (0.055*188,99.70) = $199,394.68 ($199,395)

Thanks for noting that. I made my calculations based on the assumption that they both had

gains on the initial cost price which I think is quite possible. Your contribution is welcomed.

You based your solution on the assumption that the Agent made the gain on Ann's selling price which

from common logic, is more probable. Thanks for the insight.

I thought the other way round.

gracee:
if 18,000 was earned from investing in 2 accounts A & B at15% and 20% respectively at 3:2 ratio what is d amount invested in B.

THE ANSWER IS NEEDED URGENTLY.Tanks

Given:

A:B=3:2 => A/B = 3/2 => A= (3/2)B.

Lets assume amount invested in account A and account B are A and B respectively.

For account A,

at 15% ineterest rate, I'll see in my account when it matures an earning of:

0.15*A

For B at 20%,you'll see:

0.2*B

Now these two earnings total 18 000.

=> 0.2B + 0.15A = 18 000

=> 0.2B + 0.15*1.5B = 18 000

Multiply through by 1000:

200B + 225B = 18 000 000

=> B= (18 000 000)/425 = 42 352. 94

=> The amount invested in B was approximately 42 352

RichyBlacK:
Let
R be the number of rubies
D be the number of diamonds
E be the number of emeralds

So, D/R = 5/6 and R/E = 8/3 (given)
Choose any of these as a unit. Let's choose E.

So,
R = (8/3)E
D = (5/6)R = (20/9)E

Let R+D+E = X
X must be a whole number.

Therefore,
R+D+E = (8/3)E + (20/9)E + E = (53/9)E = X

So, the question reduces to: What is X if E is the least value that makes X a whole number?
E = 9, and X = 53 (Answer = D)

I like your solution- it is well reasoned out. Well this was how I solved mine when I simulated a test condition.

Frankly speaking, if I had the slightest idea of your method, thats what I would have used. I just gave my first

PowerPrep Practice test and this was one of my questions. On this question, I spent about 2 mins. I wanted to see

other approaches.This was how I solved it:

Given:

D/R = 5/6 and R/E = 8/3 . The question reduces to finding D:R:E in the lowest form.

D/E= D/R * R/E = 5/6 * 8/3 = 20/9

=> D : E = 20 : 9

To find the common R for both ratio, we take the HCF of the two R's i.e 6 and 8.

HCF (6 and 8 ) = 24.

=> D:R:E= 20:24:9

The least number becomes 20 + 24 + 9 = 53 ( the ratio as you can see is in its lowest term)

ajisafejt:
Pocket Change


Your friend has a dollar bill and needs change for the vending machine. In your pocket, you have 7 pennies, 5 nickels, 8 dimes, and 3 quarters.

How many different ways can you make change for a dollar?

Let d = dimes, n = nickels, q = quarters, p = pennies.

quarter = 25 cent coin
dime = a 10 cent coin
nickel = 5 cent coin
penny = 1 cent coin

Lets start with d. Using d, the number of combination pairs possible are:

(d,n) (d,q,n) (d,q,p) (d,n,p)

Without d, the number of possible combination pairs are:

(n,p,q) (n,q)

This implies the total number of ways would be 11.

ajisafejt:
Determine the point of intersection (if there is one) of the lines :
(x-1)/3=(y-3)/2=z+2 and x=(7-y)/3=(z+7)/2 try this mathematics scholar

The solution stems down to solving these multiple equations simultaneously.

Now,(x-1)/3=(y-3)/2=z+2 => x-1= 3z + 6 => x=3z + 7, (A)

x=(7-y)/3=(z+7)/2 => 2x = z + 7 , (B)

Solving A and B simultaneously we have x= 14/5 and z = -7/5 .

Now letz solve for y.

(x-1)/3=(y-3)/2=z+2 => 2x- 2 = 3y - 9 => 3y = 2x + 7

Therefore, 3y = 2* 14/5 + 7 = 63/5 . From here, y = 63/15.

The lines intersect at the point ( 14/5 , 21/5 , 7/5 ) .

edusegzy:
eyohimself:
Ann purchased a house for $ 170270. She wants to sell it for a profit of exactly 11%. However, she does not want to sell it herself. She wants a Real Estate Agent to sell it for her. The Agent must make a commission of exactly 5.5% (in addition to Ann's 11% profit). How much must the Agent sell the house for? Give your answer to the nearest dollar.

He must sell it for :


0.11*170270 + 0.055*170270 + 170270 = $198 364.55 ( $198 365--to the nearest $)

( Assuming they are making the gains on the cost price).

I'm interestd in how fast this problem could be solved and to see if I can find a faster approach.




The jewels in a crown consist of diamonds, rubies and emeralds. If the ratio of diamonds to rubies is 5/6

and the ratio of rubies to emeralds is 8/3, what is the least number of jewels that could be in the tiara?

a) 16

b) 22

c) 40

d) 53

e) 67

Nice one there RichyBlack.

Can we solve this?

A credit card number has 6 digits (between 1 to 9). The first two digits are 12 in that order, the third digit is bigger than 6, the forth is divisible by 3 and the fifth digit is 3 times the sixth. How many different credit card numbers exist?

a) 27.
b) 36.
c) 72.
d) 112.
e) 422.

[s]Can we solve this?

A credit card number has 6 digits (between 1 to 9). The first two digits are 12 in that order, the third digit is bigger than 6, the forth is divisible by 3 and the fifth digit is 3 times the sixth. How many different credit card numbers exist?

a) 27.
b) 36.
c) 72.
d) 112.
e) 422.[/s]

The wording of the question is kind of vaguely expressed.

But I'll do it the way I understood.

If Kate has 2 pails and 3 more shells leftover,

=> in the 2 pails there'll be 20 shells.

In all, Kate has 20 + 3 = 23 shells then.

Sam has 1 more pail than Kate,

=> Sam has 3 pails with a total of 30 shells.

Jan has 30 + 4 = 34 shells.

Kate has 2 more shells than Mike.

Kate had 23 shells, => Mike will have 23 - 2 = 21 shells.

In otherwords,

Kate has 23 shells, Sam has 30 shells, Jan has 34 shells and Mike has 21 shells.

I'm confused with the wording of the first proviso:

Kate had (2 pails and 3 more shells) left over or

he had 2 pails and (3 more shells) left over?

The rationale to my solution is based on the latter.

@RichtBlack,

Why can't I think this was when I see problems like

this? All other math topics are like second nature to me

except this one. Your logic is great RichyBlack. I now

understand how to solve problems like this. But there's an

issue here which I think will need some clarifications from

you.

Now look at this:

RichyBlacK:
Elements in E will have 4 digits (PQRS) and S will be either 0, 2, 4, or 6.
Let us fix S = 0 (we'll do this later for 2, 4, and 6)
So, there are:
6 choices for P
5 choices for Q
4 choices for R
Therefore, there are 6*5*4 = 120 numbers in E with S=0
Extending this to S = 2, S = 4, and S = 6, we see that there are 120+120+120+120 = 480 numbers in E.
Answer = 480 (correct answer not among options - maybe a typo).

Well, for S=0, I understood how you assigned 6 choices to P,

5 choices to Q,

and 4 choices to R.

Now, for S= 2 , 4 , 6 :

P I think can't have 6 choices. Why?

0 cannot start a number.

With S=2,

There will be 5 choices for P ( i.e, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6) excluding 0 because 0

cannot be the firs[/b]t digit of a 4-digit number.

Q will also have 5 choices ( i.e, 0, 3, 4, 5, 6) assuming the next digit assigned to Q was [b]1.

R will have 4 choices then and S which is already = 2 will have just 1 [/b]choice.

=> There'll be 5*5*4= [b]100 numbers in E with S=2.

Same applies for S=4 and S=6.

Extending the results,

We find that there will be 120 + 100 + 100 +100 = 420 numbers in E.

Answer = 420-- option C.

Thanks man, RichyBlack for showing me the method to use.

The problem I've got with questions like this is where to start from.

I hope you'll continue to throw more light on questions I'll be posting.

If I can get to understand this topic, I'll attribute it to this wonderful

forum, edusegzy and you in particular for your insightful and vivid

solutions. You kinda a math prodigy I think.