[Odds are his first question will be, "Where do the batteries go?"]
LOL! I wonder if kids even have to deal with things like slide rules anymore.
Old fashioned device for converting logarythms to distance; people used to pay as much as two or three hundred dollars for them in the days when a new Porsche could be had for $3000.
I admit that I started her on a circular (to lock in the concept of ratios) and that the log scale concept took a while to "sink in". But once she was "playing with" the circular SR and coming up with good answers, her transition to the linear SR was a snap...
She loves math (and the fact that her mom is a math teacher doesn't hurt, either...)
The funny thing was that even when the calculators were allowed and many students had TI-55’s, I could still solve problems faster because I know how to structure the problem in my head. Others had to look at their calculator's functional description / instruction in order to figure out how to work the problems.
I always wanted one of those large circle slide rules that my dad used in is sheet metal classes.
The Slide Rule
The slide rule is a tool that has long since been outdated by computers. It performed simple multiplication and division problems, as well as trigonometrical equations and logarithms. The rule below is a working Java applet; to use it, simply slide the center piece or the glass to the left or right to position them, and the computer will calculate the result in relation to the cursor.
This is the Java Slide Rule
Java Slide Rule courtesy of System Source
What the heck is that?
