Cambridge Intermediate Mathematics by HERBERT JAMES LARCOMBE PH.D., M.A., BSC, GEOMETRY PART I With Answers es a a CAMBRIDGE AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 1928PREFACE The Cambridge Intermediate Mathematics series, consisting of text-bocks in Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry, each in two parts, has been designed to meet the needs of pupils in the newly organised Modern Schools and Senior Classes recommended by the Hadow Report. “The first work of teachers and administrators is,” to use the words of The New Prospect in Education, just published by the Board of Education, “to think out their goal, feeling their way towards an appropriate curriculum.” It is impossible to predict with any certainty the form which the curriculum will ultimately take; indeed, it is improbable that any such limitations as are imposed upon the Secondary School can ever be applied to the diversified types of senior schools which are about to spring up. But probably all are agreed that these schools must not become “an anaemic reflection of the present Secondary School.” The underlying notion on which the treatment in the books of this series has been based is that the aim of the Modern Schools, whether selective or non-selective, is to fit the pupils to take their places in the industrial and commercial rather than in the professional walks of life. For the latter the academic course of the Secondary School is a more or less fitting preparation; for the former it is decidedly out of place. It is assumed that the mathe- matical work of the newly organised schools will have a practical bias; their scholars need to be able to apply principles rather than to be able to derive them. Hence in these books theoretical explanations have been reduced to a minimum, and the use of the results has been emphasised. Gerometry, Part I, deals in a simple manner with the more elementary principles of the subject, emphasising throughout the portions which lead directly to problems involving practical constructions and numerical calculations. It hasnot been thought necessary to deviate widely from the generally accepted sequence of proofs, but it is not intended that the proofs themselves shall be memorised. This book, with Parr II, will introduce the pupilvi PREFACE to the elementary principles on which the more advanced parts of Geometry and Trigonometry are based; if he is transferred at any stage of the course to a Secondary School, or if he vakes up his studies again in later life, he will not feel at a loss. Part I will provide a complete course of Geometry for the average non- selective senior school, and may even be found to be sufficient as a preparation for the simpler examinations, A feature of the book is the introduction of exercises which can be solved either without any working on paper or with the aid of a rough diagram; for want of a better term these exercises have been described as Mental. The author believes that there is as much justification for mental geometry as for mental arithmetic, and for the same reason, namely to fix firmly and to revise rapidly the basic principles. A further feature is the interpolation’ of a series of sectional revision exercises, each consisting of a Mental and a Written section; a general revision exercise concludes the book. These two features have also been adopted in the companion volumes of the series. I am indebted to Mr E. F. Partridge, B.Sc., for his valuable assistance in obtaining solutions to the questions, to the Cam- bridge Local Examinations Syndicate for permission to use four pages from their Cambridge Four-Figure Mathematical Tables, and to the following authorities for their courtesy in allowing me to make use of examination papers: the Oxford Local Examinations Delegacy, the Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate, the Royal Society of Arts, the East Midland Educa- tional Union (E.M.E.U.), the Union of Educational Institutions, and the Union of Lancashire and Cheshire Institutes. Special attention is directed to the first papers set in the Royal Society of Arts Junior Schools Certificate Examination and in the E.M.E.U. Central Schools Examination, both instituted in 1927; copies of these papers will be found at the end of the book. BIL September 1928