Explore the World of Software 2: Kids, Adults, Educational

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User's Guide For: MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS (A Shareware Disk) (c) KIDware 1989 Portions (c) Microsoft Corp. 1989 KIDware 1380 156th NE, Suite H2 Bellevue, WA 98007 (206) 725-4859 MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS User's Guide - Page 1 INTRODUCTION MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS presents six programs for the IBM-PC that challenge a child's mathematics and thinking skills. The programs are aimed at grade levels K through 6, but can be enjoyed by all. The programs TARGET MATH and JELLY BEANS are competitions between two players, or one player versus the computer. In TARGET MATH, you take turns adding numbers trying to reach a target sum, while in JELLY BEANS you take turns removing beans from a jar and the one who takes the last bean loses! I SHOT AN ARROW is a simple simulation of an arrow flying through the air; the program introduces estimation and answer refinement skills. LEAKY TUB simulates filling a leaky bath tub with hot and cold water. This program helps teach logical thinking and is just plain fun. In MATH RACE, up to four players take turns answering flash card arithmetic problems. The faster you answer your problem, the further down the track your car travels. Each player can race at a skill level appropriate to their grade level. Finally, MATH AS ART simply draws pretty pictures using the ideas of fractal math. In this note, I briefly describe operation of the six computer programs provided to you on your shareware disk. Hopefully, these programs will be of some use to you in your home or classroom. If you use the programs, we ask that you register your copy (use the registration form at the end of this document). With registration, you will be sent a printed user's manual describing program operation in detail, including playing strategies and the equations behind each program. Also with registration, you will made aware of new programs and any updates to this disk. Now, let's talk about computer requirements. COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS You need an IBM-compatible machine equipped with a minimum of 256K of memory and a CGA (Color Graphics Adapter) or Hercules- compatible monochrome graphics card. A color monitor is recommended. Before using the programs, you must do two things: install the program on your own disk, then configure the program to your particular system. Depending on the number and types of disk drives you have, follow the given instructions for installing the programs. MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS User's Guide - Page 2 Installation on Single Floppy Drive System: Working with a single drive system can be tricky. Please pay close attention to instructions provided. 1. Place DOS disk in drive A and start system. 2. You first need to format a disk and put a copy of the operating system on it. Type: FORMAT A:/S 3. Replace DOS disk with blank disk and follow instructions provided by computer. 4. When formatting is complete, replace blank disk with MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS disk and type: COPY A:*.* B: This will allow you to copy the files from the MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS disk (referred to by DOS as disk A) to your newly formatted disk (referred to by DOS as disk B). Follow instructions provided by computer. 5. Installation is now complete. Put the original copy of the MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS disk in a safe place; you will always use your copy. Now, place that copy of the program in drive A and proceed to configuration instructions. Installation on Dual Floppy Drive System: Pay close attention to instructions provided. 1. Place DOS disk in drive A and blank disk in drive B; start system. 2. You first need to format a disk and put a copy of the operating system on it. Type: FORMAT B:/S 3. Replace DOS disk in drive A with MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS disk. Type: COPY A:*.* B: This will allow you to copy the files from the MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS disk in drive A to your newly formatted disk in drive B. 4. Installation is now complete. Put the original copy of the MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS disk in a safe place; you will always use your copy. Now, place that copy of the program in drive A and proceed to configuration instructions. MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS User's Guide - Page 3 Installation on Hard Disk System: Pay close attention to instructions provided. 1. Start system. 2. You first need to create a directory for the programs. At C: prompt, type: MKDIR C:\MLOGIC\ This creates a directory named MLOGIC on your hard disk (you may use another name if you want). Now, move to that directory by typing: CD C:\MLOGIC\ 3. Place MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS disk in floppy drive A. Type: COPY A:*.* C: This will allow you to copy the files from the MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS disk to your hard disk. 4. Installation is now complete. Put the original copy of the MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS disk in a safe place. Proceed to configuration instructions. Configuration Instructions: To configure the program to your system, place your copy of the program disk in drive A (or go to directory C:\MLOGIC\ on a hard disk) and type: MLCON You will be asked a single question; answer accordingly. The question asks you if you have color graphics (press 1) or Hercules monochrome graphics (press 2). If you have both, press 1 and use color graphics, because the monochrome graphics simulator will not work properly when both color and monochrome graphics cards are installed. PROGRAM OPERATION INSTRUCTIONS Once the program is installed and configured, you can run it. Please note if you ever change your system configuration, you should rerun the configuration program. Running the program is simple. If you are using floppy drives, place your copy of the program disk in a drive. If using a hard disk, move to the proper directory by typing: CD:\MLOGIC\ Type GO and press <Enter>. The program will begin running after a few seconds of loading some needed files and a selection menu will appear. (If the selection menu is unreadable, rerun the configuration program making sure you answered the question concerning graphics correctly.) Use the cursor control key to make your menu selection, then press <Enter>. Individual program instructions follow. MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS User's Guide - Page 4 TARGET MATH: In this game, a target number is selected at random. You and another player (or the computer) take turns adding numbers to a sum trying to reach the target number. You are limited to how large a number you may add each turn. The winner is the player who completes the sum, i.e. reaches the target number. In the program, the target number is graphically represented by open boxes (10 in each row). As numbers are added to the sum, these open boxes are replaced by colored boxes indicating how many boxes have been added and how many boxes remain to reach the target number. The game is played by selecting TARGET MATH from the menu screen. When loaded, you indicate whether there is one player, playing against the computer, or two players, competing against each other. If playing against the computer, you are then asked whether you want to go first or you want the computer to go first. Once these questions are answered, play begins, alternating turns. At each turn, simply indicate the number of boxes you wish to add. The game ends when the target number is reached. Pressing S will stop the game at any time. Once the game ends, you are asked if you wish to play again (press 1 for yes, 0 for no). JELLY BEANS: This game is very similar to TARGET MATH, with a slightly different goal. A random number of jelly beans is placed in a jar. You and another player (or the computer) take turns removing beans from the jar. You are limited to how many beans you may remove each turn. The winner is the player who makes the other player take the last bean (we've all been taught it's not polite to take the last one of anything!). In the program, the jelly beans are graphically depicted by colored star shapes (5 in each row). As beans are removed, the remaining number is seen in the jar. The game is played by selecting JELLY BEANS from the menu screen. When loaded, you indicate whether there is one player, playing against the computer, or two players, competing against each other. If playing against the computer, you are then asked whether you want to go first or you want the computer to go first. Once these questions are answered, play begins, alternating turns. At each turn, enter the number of jelly beans you want to remove from the jar. MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS User's Guide - Page 5 The game ends when the jar of jelly beans is empty. Pressing S will stop the game at any time. Once the game ends, you are asked if you wish to play again (press 1 for yes, 0 for no). I SHOT AN ARROW: This program is used to discover the basics of ballistics, or motion in the x-y plane. The program has no right or wrong answers--it simply provides an arena for trying different things and seeing the results. The general idea of the program is to determine at what angle (measured from the x-axis) an arrow should be launched (starting at x=0, y=0) to hit a specific point. The arrow moves in the x-y plane (y=0 representing the ground) under the influence of gravity in the negative y- direction, i.e. the arrow will fall down. The x-y plane and concept of an angle should be explained to the user, at a level the user can understand. With this general basis, several exercises can be tried. The program is loaded by selecting I SHOT AN ARROW from the menu screen. When loaded, you indicate the value of the x point (0-100) you wish to hit and the value of the y point (0-50) you want to hit. To stop the program, enter 999 as the x value. Next, enter the arrow angle (from 0 to 90 degrees). Enter an angle of zero to re-select the desired x-y point. After answering these questions, a plot of the arrow's trajectory is drawn and you are told whether or not you hit your desired point. You clear this screen by pressing any key. If you hit the point, you are asked to enter another desired point. If you missed, you are asked to enter another angle and the new trajectory is plotted. LEAKY TUB: This program demonstrates a principle used extensively in engineering and mathematics disciplines, that of computer simulation. Simulation is used to test designs and procedures before actually building some device or structure. For example, we use simulators to train airline pilots--this is much safer than training them in actual planes because if they make a mistake, there is no loss of airplane or life. Before constructing a building, we simulate it on a computer to see if it can withstand winds and possible earthquakes. In this program, we will simulate filling a leaky bath tub to help teach logical thinking skills. MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS User's Guide - Page 6 There are no correct answers or predeveloped goals for this program. The child can just play with it and make up his/her own goals. The idea is that you have a tub with a leak. You can decide how much hot water to put in the tub and how much cold water to put in the tub. Once you set these values, the computer will show you how the level in the tub changes and what the temperature of the water in the tub is. On the screen display, the column on the left of the tub indicates how much hot water is going into the tub, the column on the right of the tub shows cold water flow. Thus, in the program you can control two quantities: tub level and water temperature. You can tell the tub leaks because if you fill it up then turn off both the hot and cold water flows, the tub will drain! The program is loaded by selecting LEAKY TUB from the menu screen. When loaded, simply press 1 to get to the tub display screen. The tub starts out empty. Flow into the tub is controlled with a two key sequence: you first hit H or C to adjust the hot and cold water flows, respectively. After pressing H or C, the computer will ask you whether you want to increase the flow (press +), decrease the flow (press -), or stop changing the flow (0). After pressing a key, you will see the requested change take effect. Changes will be seen in the column associated with the hot and cold water flows (an empty column indicates zero flow while a full column indicates maximum flow) and in tub level and water temperature. Note once you ask for the flow to change in a certain direction, it will continue changing until you turn it off by pressing H or C, then 0. The program is stopped and the display erased by pressing the S key at any time. After pressing S, the computer will ask you if you wish to continue (press 1) or stop (press 0). MATH RACE: One thing every kid likes is competition, whether it be against a computer (how do you explain the immense popularity of Nintendo?) or against a classmate (friendly only, of course!). In this program, from one to four kids can compete in basic flash card math skills. The faster you answer your problem correctly, the further down the track your race car travels. The first to the finish line wins! The nice thing about this game is that each player selects the level of problems she/he wishes to answer. Thus, an adult can compete (using very difficult division problems) against a first-grader (doing simple addition). Another selected variable is how long one has to answer the problem. I speak from experience in tutoring at-risk students that kids love to beat adults at math! MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS User's Guide - Page 7 Select MATH RACE from the menu. Several questions must be answered to get the program started. First, you enter the number of players (from 1 to 4). Enter a zero to stop the program. Next, each player is asked a series of questions. You are first asked to type in your name, so the program can keep track of who's turn it is. Next, you select the type of problems you want to try--press 1 for addition, 2 for subtraction, 3 for multiplication, 4 for division, and 5 for mixed problem types. The next question concerns how large you want the numbers in your problems to be; enter a number from 5 (easy) to 500 (difficult, especially in division and multiplication). Lastly, you enter the clock speed, i.e. the time you want to answer the problem. Each problem is worth a maximum of 10 points. With each tick of the clock, one point is removed from your possible score. With a slow clock, there are about two seconds between ticks, with a medium clock, about 1.5 seconds, and with the fast clock, there is about 1 second between ticks. Once each player has answered the corresponding questions, the race begins. In the same order they entered their names, players are given problems to answer. To see their problem, the player presses the space bar when asked to. The problem is then displayed. At that point, the player types in the answer to the problem and presses <Enter>--remember you must press <Enter> in order to get the computer to check your answer. You can erase your answer (before pressing <Enter>) by tapping the space bar. If your answer is correct, your car will move across the screen a distance related to how much time was left when you answered. If incorrect, you are given another chance. You can continue to answer until time runs out. The game is completed when one or more players reaches the finish line. It takes a total of 84 points to reach the line, so you must answer at least 9 problems fairly quickly to win. After completion, the winner(s) and runner-up(s) are displayed. At this point, another race can be run (press 1) or the programmed stopped (press 0). MATH AS ART: This is not a game, but just a demonstration of how mathematics can be used to generate pretty pictures. What this program does is generate a coarse color picture using the mathematics of fractals. What are fractals you ask? Fractals describe in a pictorial sense how fast certain equations tend toward large numbers. Such descriptions are very useful to mathematicians trying to solve very complicated problems which may have many potential solutions. All we have to worry about MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS User's Guide - Page 8 is that they can draw pretty pictures. The pictures drawn here are very rough because I use screen text coordinates (40 boxes wide by 24 boxes high). This was done to save computation time. Using pixel (individual dots on the screen) coordinates make prettier pictures, but take a lot of time to draw (about 60 times longer). The program is very easy to use. Select MATH AS ART from the menu screen. You are asked to enter some number between 0 and 20 (enter 999 to stop the program). Then, enter another number from 0 to 20. These numbers are used to start the drawing process and each pair of numbers gives a different picture. Once these numbers are entered, the computer draws its picture (the drawing process can be stopped by pressing the S key). MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS User's Guide - Page 9 MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS REGISTRATION FORM If you use the shareware version of MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS and like it, we ask that you register your copy. Upon receipt of your registration, we will send you printed program documentation including playing strategies and the equations behind the mathematics. This material will enhance your understanding of the programs. Also registration entitles you to information about other KIDware programs and any future program updates. Furthermore, registration allows us to continue program development efforts. Thank you! Please register my copy of KIDware's MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS disk. The registration price is $11.95 (WA residents, add 8.1% sales tax.) Name ___________________________________________________________ Address ________________________________________________________ City _________________________ State _________ Zip _____________ Payment Method: _______ Check _______ Money Order ______ VISA/MasterCard Card Number _________________________________ Exp. Date _______ Signature _____________________________________________________ I obtained my copy of MATH AND LOGIC GAMES FOR KIDS from ________________________________________________________________ and my computer type is ________________________________________________________________ Send your registration to: KIDware 1380 156th NE, Suite H2 Bellevue, WA 98007 (206) 725-4859