Fermi Questions C

[NeilMehta]

Is there a limit to the amount of scrap paper given to the teams?
(I don't know why, but I remember thinking we only had one piece)

The only limit is that imposed by the event supervisor. Really, the only thing that I can think of which would require significant hand calculations would be logarithms and other math problems.

Even with something like that, unless you have pretty big handwriting, you wouldn't ever really need more than a quarter of a page or so

[Tesel]

Does Anyone have a Key for the 2006 National test?

The nice thing about Fermi is it's usually possible to do research and independently check the steps for each problem (assuming you know how to relate everything that's being asked). It's going to be most helpful if you can do that process by yourself, since then you get a better feel for what you need to study better. I'll also take a look at the test for my team's practices, and if we work through it I'll post the results.

[scioly2012]

Hello! I just got put into Fermi Questions, but I've never even done an inquiry event before. I'm really lost, can anyone tell me what types of units I should know? Thanks

[whythelongface]

Hello! I just got put into Fermi Questions, but I've never even done an inquiry event before. I'm really lost, can anyone tell me what types of units I should know? Thanks

I know this isn't the answer you want, but ideally you want to know as many units as possible. Start with familiarizing yourself with metric and imperial units, and what their prefixes mean. Make sure you can convert between the prefixes well (example: a meter is 1E9 nanometers, a megawatt is 1E6 watts, etc). Then, start getting an idea of how to approximate conversions between imperial and metric (a foot is about 30 centimeters, a meter is roughly a yard, a mile is about 1.6 kilometers, stuff like that). Since Fermi is about approximation, you don't have to have be precise - quick approximations are key here.

Once you have that down pat, start learning the more obscure ones. The obvious ones would be stuff like Angstroms, Light-years, Astronomical Units, Parsecs, Cubits, Grains, Troy ounces, Hogsheads, Svedbergs, etc. Wikipedia has a great list of units of length and time, if I can remember, and you should check it out.

Fermi is one wild event. Have fun!

[scioly2012]

Hello! I just got put into Fermi Questions, but I've never even done an inquiry event before. I'm really lost, can anyone tell me what types of units I should know? Thanks

I know this isn't the answer you want, but ideally you want to know as many units as possible. Start with familiarizing yourself with metric and imperial units, and what their prefixes mean. Make sure you can convert between the prefixes well (example: a meter is 1E9 nanometers, a megawatt is 1E6 watts, etc). Then, start getting an idea of how to approximate conversions between imperial and metric (a foot is about 30 centimeters, a meter is roughly a yard, a mile is about 1.6 kilometers, stuff like that). Since Fermi is about approximation, you don't have to have be precise - quick approximations are key here.

Once you have that down pat, start learning the more obscure ones. The obvious ones would be stuff like Angstroms, Light-years, Astronomical Units, Parsecs, Cubits, Grains, Troy ounces, Hogsheads, Svedbergs, etc. Wikipedia has a great list of units of length and time, if I can remember, and you should check it out.

Fermi is one wild event. Have fun!

Thanks for the tips!!

[appleshake123]

Hello! I just got put into Fermi Questions, but I've never even done an inquiry event before. I'm really lost, can anyone tell me what types of units I should know? Thanks

I know this isn't the answer you want, but ideally you want to know as many units as possible. Start with familiarizing yourself with metric and imperial units, and what their prefixes mean. Make sure you can convert between the prefixes well (example: a meter is 1E9 nanometers, a megawatt is 1E6 watts, etc). Then, start getting an idea of how to approximate conversions between imperial and metric (a foot is about 30 centimeters, a meter is roughly a yard, a mile is about 1.6 kilometers, stuff like that). Since Fermi is about approximation, you don't have to have be precise - quick approximations are key here.

Once you have that down pat, start learning the more obscure ones. The obvious ones would be stuff like Angstroms, Light-years, Astronomical Units, Parsecs, Cubits, Grains, Troy ounces, Hogsheads, Svedbergs, etc. Wikipedia has a great list of units of length and time, if I can remember, and you should check it out.

Fermi is one wild event. Have fun!

Thanks for the tips!!

What's even better is that those obscure units are typically created in order to describe specific stuff.
EX: AU is earth to sun distance, angstroms for diametre of molecules etc. they are values while also being relative sizing.

[jonboyage]

I know this isn't the answer you want, but ideally you want to know as many units as possible. Start with familiarizing yourself with metric and imperial units, and what their prefixes mean. Make sure you can convert between the prefixes well (example: a meter is 1E9 nanometers, a megawatt is 1E6 watts, etc). Then, start getting an idea of how to approximate conversions between imperial and metric (a foot is about 30 centimeters, a meter is roughly a yard, a mile is about 1.6 kilometers, stuff like that). Since Fermi is about approximation, you don't have to have be precise - quick approximations are key here.

Once you have that down pat, start learning the more obscure ones. The obvious ones would be stuff like Angstroms, Light-years, Astronomical Units, Parsecs, Cubits, Grains, Troy ounces, Hogsheads, Svedbergs, etc. Wikipedia has a great list of units of length and time, if I can remember, and you should check it out.

Fermi is one wild event. Have fun!

Thanks for the tips!!

What's even better is that those obscure units are typically created in order to describe specific stuff.
EX: AU is earth to sun distance, angstroms for diametre of molecules etc. they are values while also being relative sizing.

Ahem barns ahem

[appleshake123]

Thanks for the tips!!

What's even better is that those obscure units are typically created in order to describe specific stuff.
EX: AU is earth to sun distance, angstroms for diametre of molecules etc. they are values while also being relative sizing.

Ahem barns ahem

Isn't it an area of a barn house? like really small like a barn
/s

[Unome]

Does anyone know any good ways to do factorials? I've been having problems estimating them, and memorization isn't helping.

[whythelongface]

Does anyone know any good ways to do factorials? I've been having problems estimating them, and memorization isn't helping.

My partner mentioned something called Stirling's Approximation on our shared document, although I haven't looked closely into it.