ARITHMETIC(6) DOMAIN/IX SYS5 ARITHMETIC(6)
NAME
arithmetic - provide drill in number facts
USAGE
/usr/games/arithmetic [ +-x/ ] [ range ]
DESCRIPTION
Arithmetic presents simple arithmetic problems, and waits
for you to type an answer. If the answer is correct, it
replies ``Right!'', and supplies a new problem. If the
answer is wrong, it replies ``What?'', until you respond
correctly.
The first optional argument determines the kind of problem
to be generated. A plus sign (+), minus sign (-), lowercase
x, and a slash (/) produce addition, subtraction, multipli-
cation, and division problems respectively. Specifying more
than one of these characters on a command line generates a
variety of problem types, all mixed in random order. Speci-
fying any characters other than the four mentioned here also
produces a random mix of problem types. If you specify no
argument to arithmetic, subtraction problems appear by
default.
The second optional argument is range, a decimal number. If
used, all addends, subtrahends, differences, multiplicands,
divisors, and quotients will be less than or equal to this
number. The default range is 10.
At the start, all numbers less than or equal to range are
equally likely to appear. If the respondent makes a mis-
take, the numbers in the problem which was missed become
more likely to reappear.
Every twenty problems, it publishes statistics on correct-
ness and the time required to answer. Specifically, the
program tells you the number of correct and incorrect
answers that you have given, as well as the total percentage
of those correct. It also tells you how much time (in
seconds) has elapsed, and the average number of seconds it
took you to answer each problem. For example, the program
may output something like this:
Rights 20; Wrongs 1; Score 95%
Total time 50 seconds; 2.5 seconds per problem
Printed 12/4/86 ARITHMETIC-1
ARITHMETIC(6) DOMAIN/IX SYS5 ARITHMETIC(6)
To quit the program, type an interrupt (↑Q).
NOTES
As a matter of educational philosophy, arithmetic does not
supply correct answers, since the learner should be able to
calculate them. Thus, it does not try to teach number facts,
but instead serves as a drill program for those just past
the first learning stage of arithmetic. Usually, the most
relevant statistic it provides is time per problem, not per-
cent correct.
ARITHMETIC-2 Printed 12/4/86