Unit 4: iq testing

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe. Albert Einstein

It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value.

Arthur C. Clarke

WARM-UP

1. How many words can you write in two minutes using only letters found in the word intelligence?

2. Discuss the following questions in small groups or pairs.

1. Do we inherit our IQ or is it the result of our environment and upbringing? How much effect does someone’s environment bear on their intelligence?

2. Does our IQ level change during lifetime?

3. Have IQ and intelligence got anything in common with creativity and genius? Is it possible to distinguish intelligence from imagination and common sense?

3. Do you agree or disagree with the quotations? Discuss them in pairs.

1. "There is no such thing as Intelligence; one has intelligence of this or that. One must have intelligence only for what one is doing." Edgar Degas

2. "If the aborigine drafted an IQ test, all of Western civilization would presumably flunk it." Stanley Garn

3. "The best intelligence test is what we do with our leisure." Laurence J. Peter

4. "Many highly intelligent people are poor thinkers. Many people of average intelligence are skilled thinkers. The power of a car is separate from the way the car is driven." Edward De Bono

5. "The difference between a smart man and a wise man is that a smart man knows what to say, a wise man knows whether or not to say it." Frank M. Garafola

6. "Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing." Abraham Lincoln

4. In pairs or small groups, try to find the answers to the following brain boosters.

• Just in Time

What occurs once in every minute, twice in every moment, yet never in a thousand years? The letter m

• The Value of Months

If March = 43 and May = 39, then by the same logic, what does July equal?

July = 68. Each letter is replaced by the number of its position in the English alphabet. Then the numbers are added together.

STRATEGY: Look for a pattern – think of ways letters are represented by numbers

• Whose Footprints?

One of the triplets left muddy footprints all over the kitchen floor. Since all three wear the same size shoes, their mom and dad can't tell which triplet should clean up the floor. "I didn't do it," said Annie. "Danny did it," said Fanny. "Fanny is lying," said Danny. Only one of the triplets is telling the truth — the other two are lying. Whose footprints are on the kitchen floor?

Annie left the footprints. Remember, only one triplet can be telling the truth. If Danny did it, then both Fanny and Annie are telling the truth. If Fanny did it, then Danny is telling the truth when he says that Fanny is lying. With Annie as the culprit, Annie is lying by claiming she is innocent, Fanny is lying by accusing Danny, and Danny is the one who is telling the truth.

• Zoo Favorites

Dan, Jen, Keith, and Mia are having an argument about which animals to visit first at the zoo — the deer, the lions, the leopards or the giraffes. Each kid wants to see his or her favorite animal first. Dan is allergic to cats, so he doesn't like animals that are in the cat family. Jen's favorite animal doesn't have horns. Keith doesn't care for animals that have spots. Mia disagrees with both Dan and Keith. Which is each kid's favorite animal?

Dan's favorite animal is the giraffe, Jen's is the leopard, Keith's is the lion, Mia's is the deer. To get the answer, make a chart like this:

	deer	lion	leopard	giraffe
Dan		x	x
Jen	x			x
Keith			x	x
Mia	YES

1. Make an X in the boxes that can't be right.

2. You can see that Mia's favorite animal is the deer, because she disagrees with both Dan (about cats) and Keith (about spots), so put a ( in the deer box in Mia's row.

3. Now make an X in all the other 3 boxes in Mia's row.

4. You'll find that Dan's favorite must be the giraffe, because that's the only possible box left in the giraffe column.

5. Make an X in the deer box in Dan's row, because you know his favorite is the giraffe.

6. Continue eliminating possibilities in this way until you have one check in each column and one check in each row.

• Can You Explain?

See if you can let your brain switch directions to answer these questions:

1. How can you throw a ball as hard as you can and have it come back to you, even if it doesn't hit anything, there is nothing attached to it, and no one else catches or throws it? Throw the ball straight up in the air.

2. Two students are sitting on opposite sides of the same desk. There is nothing in between them but the desk. Why can't they see each other? The two students have their backs to each other.

3. There are only two T's in Timothy Tuttle. True or false? True. There are only two T's (upper case). There are also three t's (lower case).

• Colours

Imagine a world in which the colors of things have changed from what we consider normal. Assume the following changes:

Snow is now red. Grass is now black. The sky is now brown. Blood is now white. Soot is now green.

In such a world, what is the color of dirt?

Dirt is now blue. The puzzle consists of pairs that exchange colors. Since the sky is now brown, brown things become blue.

• Where in the World?

Where in the world are you situated and in what direction are you facing if the following conditions are true?

• If you move to the right, it’s Saturday, July 1.

• If you move to the left, it’s Sunday, July 2.

• If you move forward, it’s summer.

• If you move backward, it’s winter.

You are at the intersection of the equator and the international dateline, facing north.

STRATEGY: Draw a picture.

• What's Next?

Here are three series of letters. Each letter in each series is the first letter of a word. The words in each series are related.

What are the next three letters in each series?

1. O, T, T, F, F, . . . (S, S, E (for six, seven, eight))

2. S, M, T, W, . . . (T, F, S (for Thursday, Friday, Saturday))

3. D, N, O, S, A, . . . (J, J, M (for July, June, May))

• Who Lives Where?

An apartment building has two floors, with three apartments on each floor. The Grays live in the top middle apartment. The Blues live directly above the Browns. If the Greens live on the top floor, then they live next door to the Blues. The Whites live to the left of the Greens, either on the top or bottom floor. The Blacks live on the top floor. Which family lives in which apartment?

Top floor, left to right: Blacks, Grays, Blues; bottom floor, left to right: Whites, Greens, Browns.

Make a chart with two three columns and two rows, representing the two floors and the three apartments on each.

• Start by filling in the middle apartment on the top floor, where you know the Grays live.

• Now fill in all the possible places where the other families could live.

• To begin with, you know the Greens can't live on the top floor, because they'd have to live next to the Blues, which is impossible since the Grays live in the middle. But they could live in any of the bottom-floor apartments. When you've filled in all the possibilities, your chart should look like this: Top floor, left to right: Blacks, Blues or Whites; Grays; Blacks, or Blues Bottom floor, left to right: Greens, Browns, or Whites; Greens; Greens or Browns

• You can see, right away, that the Greens have to live in the middle apartment on the bottom floor, because their name is the only one in that box, so cross out "Greens" in the left and right bottom boxes on your chart.

• You don't know if the Whites live on the top or bottom floor, but you know they live to the left of the Grays, so try it out with the Whites on the top floor.

• You'll find it can't work, because if they live on the top floor on the left, the Blues must live on the top floor on the right. (You know the Blues live on the top, because they live over the Browns.) Since the Grays live in the middle, that leaves no room for the Blacks, who you know live on the top floor. So the Whites must live on the bottom floor in the left apartment. Cross out their name in the top left box on your chart.

Start crossing out the eliminated possibilities from here on in, and you'll get the correct answer.

READING