Nick B
Posts:
19
Registered:
9/23/07
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Re: a history of regents exam errors
Posted:
Jun 30, 2011 8:08 AM
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What about #19 this year, with no correct answer?
There was a Newsday article published about the errors on the test, and the focus was on #19. Some had commented on the online version of the article saying that inverse cosine doesn't have to be a function; however, we can go to the NYSDOE Glossary for grades 9-12 to see that assertion is false, even according to the state:
http://www.jmap.org/JMAP/SupportFiles/NYS-NYCDOEDocuments/Math/Glossaries/NYSDOE_Glossary_Grades_9-12.pdf
(Page 42) inverse trigonometric functions (A2T) Given the value of a trigonometric function for an angle ?, the inverse trigonometric function outputs the measure of angle ?. The inverses of the six basic trigonometric functions are written as sin-1, cos-1, tan-1, csc-1, sec-1, and cot-1.
While that is a lousy definition, the state is clearly defining the ^-1 notation as the inverse function. None of the choices in #19 is a function. I happen to know the people at Stony Brook University in the Newsday article personally and ALL are fantastic mathematicians and teachers and would not lead us astray.
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