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Are the sides 20 and 15 and the altitude 12? </p>
<p>I suspect most kids don’t remember the mean altitude proportionality because they learn it as freshmen or sophmores in high school now, and don’t have much ocassion to use it. I suspect that it was learned later in those days. If smart kids studying for entrance exams today knew this was something likely to be on the test, many could easily memorize geometrical formulae, even proofs and identities to some extent. I’d bet they do know the 3-4-5 rule pretty much off the top of their heads though.</p>
<p>Also, question 5 is a little ridiculous, don’t you think? Given a circle of radius 10 what’s the area?</p>
<p>I agree that geonetry proofs can be difficult. I hated them. I don’t know if kids do those step by step proofs these days.</p>
<p>THe main thing that makes these exams difficult, AFAIC, is that they are not multiple choice. I believe that there are some people for whom multiple choice exams are just easier - and I am one of those people.</p>
<p>Now that we’re discussing the tests - on one of those exams there is a question - “name one work fromm Irving, one from Tennyson, and one from Pope”. I couldn’t name anything by Pope - I barely know who he is.
But I was able to drag up from the recesses of my brain “THe Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (Irving) and “The Charge of the Light Brigade” (Tennyson). But that’s pretty much the extent of my knowledge on either of these authors. Just the names of those works. So I’m not sure what that proves exactly.</p>
<p>But thanks to the posters of these tests, it is really fun and interesting.</p>