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The concepts of even and
odd are used in all kinds of situations. Some uses are just for fun,
and other situations are designed to improve our lives. Check out some
of the interesting effects below: |
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CALENDAR
DATES |
Friday, 19 November 1999 (11-19-1999) was the last ODD date for a very long time. The next odd day will be 1 January 3111 (1-1-3111). What was the last odd date? When will the next odd date be? A recent EVEN date is 2 February 2000. Can you find several other recent even dates? When will the rash of even dates stop? What will be the next even date after the large gap? CONNECTION: which of these dates are PRIME dates? |
| COMPUTERS |
When computers send data to each other, they use binary numbers. To ensure that the data stays intact, the computer counts the number of zeros and ones in the data byte. Then it adds another zero or one as a "checksum" to make it add up to an EVEN or ODD total. This extra number is called parity. |
| PHYSICS |
A nuclei can have the same or different numbers of protons and neutrons. They can be called even-even, even-odd, or odd-even according to the amounts of protons and neutrons. This has to do with nuclear supersymmetry and the way the universe works. |
| CHEMISTRY |
Chemists have just discovered that there are more organic compounds with an even number of carbon atoms than an odd number of carbon atoms. They checked over seven million componds in an organic database. In 1996 a letter was sent to the magazine Nature in hopes of someone finding an explanation. Almost all molecules have an EVEN number of electrons. If you remove an electron, then the molecule with an odd number of electrons becomes ionized. These molecules are called radicals. |
| QUILTING |
Artistic quilt designs are more pleasing when using an ODD number of colors, blocks, or dimensions. |
| DANCE |
Dances have rhythms that can be considered EVEN or ODD. For instance, the Tango has a rhythm of odd-odd-even-even. The Samba has an odd-odd rhythm. |
| LOTTERY |
Some people think they will win more often if they pick all ODD or all EVEN digits in the lottery. Statistically, picking all even digits has the lowest chance of winning. The best bet is to pick half even and half odd. (Actually your best bet is to save your money and don't gamble!) |
| CONSERVATION |
Many communities try to save water during dry seasons by enforcing EVEN/ODD watering schedules. They often assign households with ODD addresses to water on odd days, and households with EVEN addresses to water on even days. Other plans may assign a certain region of the community to water only on even or odd days. |
| MAGIC
SQUARES |
Magic squares come in EVEN and ODD varieties. Even magic squares mean that the array is an even by even number, such as 4x4 or 6x6. Odd magic squares contain 3x3 or 9x9. The 3x3 odd magic square is the smallest magic square. |
| SOCCER
PARKING |
Parking was so bad at the 2001 World Cup in Korea that something had to be done about the congestion and pollution. The solution was to only allow cars with EVEN tag numbers to drive on even days, and ODD tag numbers on odd days. This way only half the amount of cars were on the road on a given day. Exemptions were made for diplomats, emergency service vehicles, and handicapped people. |
| PRINTING |
If you want to print out your report as two-sided copy, you must select EVEN or ODD number of pages. If you are putting your pages into some sort of binding, then you must choose different margin amounts for even and odd pages (to accommodate the extra space at the right or left margin). |
| FUNCTIONS |
Mathematical functions can be considered as even or odd. An EVEN function has horizontal reflective symmetry (left side matches right side). An ODD function has rotational symmetry (sides are reflected upside down). |
| HIGHWAYS |
For interstate highways numbered with two digits, east-west highways are given EVEN numbers and north-south highways are given ODD numbers. Three digit highways are reserved for highway branches within a city. If it goes all the way around the city, it has an even highway number. If it stops somewhere in the city, it has an odd highway number. |
| HUNTING |
Washington State has instigated even and odd hunting days in an effort to cut down the crowds of pheasant hunters. Each license is assigned as an even or odd hunting permission. Each person is restricted to one hunting permit. |
| PASCAL'S
TRIANGLE |
What pattern emerges if you color all the ODD numbers in Pascal's Triangle? |
| BIOLOGY |
Have you noticed that all animals come with an EVEN number of legs? People have two legs, cats have four legs, spiders have eight legs, and even millipedes have an even number of legs (however many they really have!). Can you think of any animal with an odd number of legs? |
| ZERO |
Is the number zero EVEN or ODD? |