Math skills: Use them or lose them

Can you pass a middle school math quiz?

Why not take this little sample test I've created and find out? (No cheating with calculators. Pencil and paper OK.)

Question 1: 26 is what percent of 50?

Question 2: Jon turns in his rent-a-car late. The rental cost is $120 per day. As a penalty, the company charges an extra 50 percent for the last day's rental. How much is the penalty? How much must he now pay in total if he's had the car for five days?

Question 3: Mary looks at her luncheon bill from the Swanky Palace restaurant. It's $105. She wants to leave a 20 percent gratuity. How much in total will she pay?

Question 4: Juan has a small investment of $6,000 that pays 10 percent APR. He wants to earn $1,200 in interest before he cashes in. How many years will it take to earn that amount?

Question 5: Mrs. Washington gave her class a math test. The test scores are the following: 73, 74, 85,103,100, 90,73, 94, 41 and 84. What are the mean, median and mode of these scores?

Question 6: Chef Carrie wants to make a new dish for this evening's meal. The recipe calls for a quarter cup of sage, but she wants to cut the recipe in half. How much sage should she use?

Question 7: Paul is working the register at a chain restaurant. A customer pays his $19.68 tab with an Andrew Jackson bill, plus a dime, a nickel and 3 pennies. How much change should he receive?

Question 8: What is an irrational number?

Question 9: Casey has an account negative balance in the bank of -$102.50. What is the absolute value of his debt?

Question 10: Billy needs to arrange cars on a used car lot in a variety of ways. There are 60 cars on the lot. What are the different ways he can arrange them so that each row has the same number of cars?

Answers: (1) 52.( 2) $60, $660. (3) $126. (4) 2. (5) 81.7, 84.5, 73. (6) one-eighth of a cup. (7) 50 cents. (8) A number that cannot be written as a simple fraction because its decimal goes on forever. (9) 102.50. (10) 1 row of 60 cars, 2 rows of 30 cars, 3 rows of 20 cars, 4 rows of 15 cars, 5 rows of 12 cars, 6 rows of 10 cars, 10 rows of 6 cars, 12 rows of 5 cars, 15 rows of 4 cars 20 rows of 3 cars, 30 rows of 2 cars, and 60 rows of one car (but that's the same as 1 row of 60).

So how did you do? Not so hot? Well, to make you feel even worse, this is only a very small sample of what middle school kids are expected to learn in math class these days.

But you're not alone. It's estimated that 85 percent of adults cannot do the math expected from today's eighthgrade students. There are a number of reasons for this. Some may have slept through class, but for the majority, it's simply a matter of “use it or lose it.” Skills not practiced tend to be lost over time.

So is it any wonder why we have a difficult time helping our kids and grandkids with their nightly homework?

But not to worry. There's always hope. A little more studying and a little less Jerry Springer can put us all back in the game.