A chara , – Given that restrictions are now being lifted, I was speculating on how they might impact on the formulation of future exam questions for students in our secondary schools. Might this be a possible question for Junior Cert students?
Johnny lives in Co Louth, the smallest county in Ireland. Mary lives in Co Cork, the largest county in Ireland. Both are allowed to travel anywhere within their own county. Cork is 7, 500sq km and Louth is 827sq km.
Johnny’s family has 20 more friends than Mary’s. Mary’s family has 15 friends.
Johnny and Mary both like going to the library but will have to socially distance when doing so. The distance from Johnny’s house to the library is 8km. Mary lives 12km from her library.
Johnny and Mary both have to attend funerals of close family relatives after June 8th. A total of 25 people may attend a funeral and burial or cremation ceremony while observing social distancing rules. Any indoor events after a funeral must comply with the public health guidance applicable to indoor visits, that is limited to a maximum of six people indoors.
Johnny’s mother travels from Ardee to work in Dublin everyday.
Mary’s mother works in Cork city. See attached maps for this section of the question.
Both Johnny and Mary are members of their local GAA clubs. They may train for matches but no matches will be played.
Mary’s mother has a car, whereas Johnny’s mother uses public transport.
1) Who will travel more kilometres after June the 8th, Johnny or Mary?
2) How many friends does Johnny’s family have?
3) It takes Mary 20 minutes in her mother’s car to get to the library, and for Johnny, depending on the bus from Dundalk it can take anything up to an hour. Who is more likely to bother going to the library?
4) Based on the number of friends each family has, how many people will attend each funeral?
5) On average Irish people eat at least four chicken-salad sandwiches and four cocktail sausages each at a funeral and drink four to 11 pints of Guinness and up to 20 cups of watery tea.
Using the data above, provide a graph of how many sandwiches each family should prepare and how much they should expect to spend on drinks. The pint costs €4 and the cup of tea costs €1.23. Allowing that both Johnny and Mary have a problem drinker in the family, how much more do you think this individual will consume than all the others combined?
6) How often will Johnny be allowed train in his local GAA club? How many camogie matches can Mary expect to ever play again?
7) In your own words. Which family do you think will have an easier time of it after June 8th. Take into consideration the number of friends each family has, the size of their county and their means of transport.
Use graphs, maps, anecdote and whatever is left of your sanity to complete this question. – Is mise,
BILLY Ó HANLUAIN,
Kimmage,
Dublin 12.