I Can Count

I really expect you to be able to count things. There will be questions about counting stuff. One, two, three,... you get the idea, right? Here's the thing, no tricks, just count. Sometimes you have to be careful not to miss things - but counting is pretty easy. Try the following self test:

question 1

How many dogs are in this picture?

How'd you do? Did you get 3 ? The answer is 3. If you got 3, you're a good counter of dogs. Maybe you can branch out and count some other stuff.

Sometimes our counting objects are part of a bigger picture or even part of a group. This complicates things, but it is still fairly easy. Here's you another question with groups...

question 2

Carol and Steve invited their favorite 4 couples over for a dinner party. As they all sat around the table someone counted. How many people were sitting around the table?

Much tougher question, right? Why though? It is really straight forward. The answer is 10 people. A "couple" is two. 4 couples is 8 people, then you add in the hosting couple of Carol and Steve and you get 10. Straight forward and easy. Did you miss this? If you did, you are going to have a tough time in this class. Don't add more to the problem or less. Go with the obvious answer to the question that was asked. It doesn't "depend" on anything - if there were other factors at play, the question would have to state it. Please tell me you got 10 people. Now let's move on again.

Here is another one...

question 3

Larry was really hungry. He went out and purchased a dozen donuts to take home and enjoy. He also bought a dozen eggs, a carton of milk, a lotto ticket, and a dozen golf balls. When he got home, his wife - Donna, gave him 5 more golf balls that she found under the couch. Larry put everything out on the kitchen table. How many donuts are on the table?

Think about it... did you arrive at twelve donuts? That is the answer. Do you know what a dozen is? It's 12 of something. In this case, it is 12 donuts. Nevermind the more obvious number that wasn't asked for - the 17 golf balls... there were 12 donuts there ready to be eaten.

Remember to always just answer the question with the facts given. Don't add or subtract from the facts and make crazy assumptions. If you thought only 9 donuts were on the table because Larry's friend Bob bumped into him in the store parking lot and took 3 donuts... you would be wrong and you've read far too much into the question that wasn't there. Don't be that guy... don't be "conspiracy guy" about questions in this class. Don't make up scenarios that aren't there and aren't intended to be there. That is it. I hope you count well all semester long.