Fermi Questions C

Locked
User avatar
Name
Member
Member
Posts: 434
Joined: January 21st, 2018, 4:41 pm
Division: C
State: NY
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Has thanked: 49 times
Been thanked: 46 times

Re: Fermi Questions C

Post by Name »

Unome wrote:
jonboyage wrote:
Unome wrote:Does anyone know any good ways to do factorials? I've been having problems estimating them, and memorization isn't helping.
I looked it up recently and Stirling’s Approximation seems to be good:
That seems to be a really good approximation... but how are you supposed to use that practically?
N times log(n minus n times .43429(log of e) plus one works well, especially with higher numbers
Edit: it should be plus log(sqrt of n but it'll usually be 1 anyways
South Woods MS, Syosset HS '21
BirdSO TD/ES
Past Events: Microbe, Invasive, Matsci, Fermi, Astro, Code, Fossils 
1st place MIT Codebusters 2019-2020
1st place NYS Fermi Questions (2019), Astronomy and Codebusters (2021)
Science Olympiad Founder's Scholarship winner
Top
User avatar
PM2017
Member
Member
Posts: 524
Joined: January 20th, 2017, 5:02 pm
Division: Grad
State: CA
Has thanked: 23 times
Been thanked: 13 times

Re: Fermi Questions C

Post by PM2017 »

Name wrote:
Unome wrote:
jonboyage wrote:
I looked it up recently and Stirling’s Approximation seems to be good:
That seems to be a really good approximation... but how are you supposed to use that practically?
N times log(n minus n times .43429(log of e) plus one works well, especially with higher numbers
Edit: it should be plus log(sqrt of n but it'll usually be 1 anyways
Can you clarify what you mean by the edit?
West High '19
UC Berkeley '23

Go Bears!
Top
User avatar
Name
Member
Member
Posts: 434
Joined: January 21st, 2018, 4:41 pm
Division: C
State: NY
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Has thanked: 49 times
Been thanked: 46 times

Re: Fermi Questions C

Post by Name »

PM2017 wrote:
Name wrote:
Unome wrote: That seems to be a really good approximation... but how are you supposed to use that practically?
N times log(n minus n times .43429(log of e) plus one works well, especially with higher numbers
Edit: it should be plus log(sqrt of n but it'll usually be 1 anyways
Can you clarify what you mean by the edit?
Instead of plus 1 it should be plus log(sqrt of n
South Woods MS, Syosset HS '21
BirdSO TD/ES
Past Events: Microbe, Invasive, Matsci, Fermi, Astro, Code, Fossils 
1st place MIT Codebusters 2019-2020
1st place NYS Fermi Questions (2019), Astronomy and Codebusters (2021)
Science Olympiad Founder's Scholarship winner
Top
hippohungry
Member
Member
Posts: 5
Joined: January 25th, 2018, 5:26 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Fermi Questions C

Post by hippohungry »

Do any of you guys have a list of stuff you should memorize?
Top
User avatar
NeilMehta
Wiki Moderator
Wiki Moderator
Posts: 318
Joined: August 27th, 2016, 5:27 am
Division: C
State: NY
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Fermi Questions C

Post by NeilMehta »

hippohungry wrote:Do any of you guys have a list of stuff you should memorize?
A few that might help:
-Sheets of paper in an inch
-Inch/Feet/Mile
-Radius of the earth
-Ratio of radius of earth to sun and earth to jupiter
-One AU
-Speed of light
-Height of well-known structures (Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, etc)
-Size of the observable universe, Milky Way, distance to Andromeda galaxy
-Number of liters in the Pacific and Atlantic ocean (sounds specific, but related questions are incredibly common)
-General idea of US geography (know the distance from top to bottom, be able to estimate size of a state
-General idea of how big cars/school busses/etc are
-Log 2,3,4,5 (will make exponent questions so much faster)
Honestly, it's a good idea to practice with questions on http://www.fermiquestions.com to get an idea for common ones
i can't feel my arms wtf i think i'm turning into a lamp

voted least likely to sleep 2018, most likely to sleep in class 2017+2018, biggest procrastinator 2018
Top
User avatar
Tailsfan101
Member
Member
Posts: 829
Joined: April 14th, 2017, 4:33 pm
Division: Grad
State: ID
Has thanked: 130 times
Been thanked: 117 times
Contact:
Contact Tailsfan101

Re: Fermi Questions C

Post by Tailsfan101 »

NeilMehta wrote:
hippohungry wrote:Do any of you guys have a list of stuff you should memorize?
A few that might help:
-Sheets of paper in an inch
-Inch/Feet/Mile
-Radius of the earth
-Ratio of radius of earth to sun and earth to jupiter
-One AU
-Speed of light
-Height of well-known structures (Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, etc)
-Size of the observable universe, Milky Way, distance to Andromeda galaxy
-Number of liters in the Pacific and Atlantic ocean (sounds specific, but related questions are incredibly common)
-General idea of US geography (know the distance from top to bottom, be able to estimate size of a state
-General idea of how big cars/school busses/etc are
-Log 2,3,4,5 (will make exponent questions so much faster)
Honestly, it's a good idea to practice with questions on http://www.fermiquestions.com to get an idea for common ones
Wow, Neil, I'm impressed. Division B and already Fermi-ready. I would never be able to do that.
"Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Matthew 5:11-12

I have no regrets.
Top
User avatar
EastStroudsburg13
Admin Emeritus
Admin Emeritus
Posts: 3204
Joined: January 17th, 2009, 7:32 am
Division: Grad
State: PA
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Has thanked: 49 times
Been thanked: 204 times
Contact:
Contact EastStroudsburg13

Re: Fermi Questions C

Post by EastStroudsburg13 »

The principles behind Fermi are not difficult. It's mastering the applications that takes practice.
East Stroudsburg South Class of 2012, Alumnus of JT Lambert, Drexel University Class of 2017

Helpful Links
Wiki
Wiki Pages that Need Work
FAQ and SciOly FAQ Wiki
Chat (See IRC Wiki for more info)
BBCode Wiki

So long, and thanks for all the Future Dictator titles!
Top
User avatar
PM2017
Member
Member
Posts: 524
Joined: January 20th, 2017, 5:02 pm
Division: Grad
State: CA
Has thanked: 23 times
Been thanked: 13 times

Re: Fermi Questions C

Post by PM2017 »

Tailsfan101 wrote:
NeilMehta wrote:
hippohungry wrote:Do any of you guys have a list of stuff you should memorize?
A few that might help:
-Sheets of paper in an inch
-Inch/Feet/Mile
-Radius of the earth
-Ratio of radius of earth to sun and earth to jupiter
-One AU
-Speed of light
-Height of well-known structures (Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, etc)
-Size of the observable universe, Milky Way, distance to Andromeda galaxy
-Number of liters in the Pacific and Atlantic ocean (sounds specific, but related questions are incredibly common)
-General idea of US geography (know the distance from top to bottom, be able to estimate size of a state
-General idea of how big cars/school busses/etc are
-Log 2,3,4,5 (will make exponent questions so much faster)
Honestly, it's a good idea to practice with questions on http://www.fermiquestions.com to get an idea for common ones
Wow, Neil, I'm impressed. Division B and already Fermi-ready. I would never be able to do that.
Wait, why is he (neil) doing this then?
West High '19
UC Berkeley '23

Go Bears!
Top
User avatar
NeilMehta
Wiki Moderator
Wiki Moderator
Posts: 318
Joined: August 27th, 2016, 5:27 am
Division: C
State: NY
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Fermi Questions C

Post by NeilMehta »

PM2017 wrote:
Tailsfan101 wrote:
NeilMehta wrote: A few that might help:
-Sheets of paper in an inch
-Inch/Feet/Mile
-Radius of the earth
-Ratio of radius of earth to sun and earth to jupiter
-One AU
-Speed of light
-Height of well-known structures (Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, etc)
-Size of the observable universe, Milky Way, distance to Andromeda galaxy
-Number of liters in the Pacific and Atlantic ocean (sounds specific, but related questions are incredibly common)
-General idea of US geography (know the distance from top to bottom, be able to estimate size of a state
-General idea of how big cars/school busses/etc are
-Log 2,3,4,5 (will make exponent questions so much faster)
Honestly, it's a good idea to practice with questions on http://www.fermiquestions.com to get an idea for common ones
Wow, Neil, I'm impressed. Division B and already Fermi-ready. I would never be able to do that.
Wait, why is he (neil) doing this then?
(Not competing in the event, but it’s one of my favorite C events, so i try to help out when i can on the forums and through test-writing)
i can't feel my arms wtf i think i'm turning into a lamp

voted least likely to sleep 2018, most likely to sleep in class 2017+2018, biggest procrastinator 2018
Top
hippohungry
Member
Member
Posts: 5
Joined: January 25th, 2018, 5:26 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Fermi Questions C

Post by hippohungry »

Other than memorizing a bunch of facts, is there another way to practice for this event?
Top
Locked

Return to “2018 Study Events”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests