Can anyone let me know and define about fermi questions / problems and give me some intersting questions and solutions related to it. Regards cgnanij
From India, Madras
9From India, Madras
Fermi problems are the puzzles and riddles asked in the interviewers in the MNCs nowadays. For example "What is the weight of earth?" answer could be " since it rotates in the universe freely, so it is weightless". For more have al look on Times Accent dated 3 Dec 2008.
From India, Delhi
From India, Delhi
Fermi Problems are the set of problems or situations which showcases various capability strengths of individual answering these problems. It involves making logical assumptions to certain hypothetical situations with restricted information in hand. For e.g - How many golf balls are there in india?? It doesn't only check the decision making and analytical ability of an individual but also focuses more on a process oriented approach of an individual.
Thanks
Jitender
Consultant - Cerebrus Consultant
From India, Mumbai
Thanks
Jitender
Consultant - Cerebrus Consultant
From India, Mumbai
Fermi question's goal is to get an answer to an order of magnitude (typically a power of ten) by making reasonable assumptions about the situation, not necessarily relying upon definite knowledge for an "exact" answer.
A Fermi question demands communication.
A Fermi question utilizes estimation.
A Fermi question emphasizes process rather than "the" answer.
It is developed by ENRICO FERMI (was an Italian physict)
Thanks & Regards,
Nawaz
From Kuwait, Kuwait
A Fermi question demands communication.
A Fermi question utilizes estimation.
A Fermi question emphasizes process rather than "the" answer.
It is developed by ENRICO FERMI (was an Italian physict)
Thanks & Regards,
Nawaz
From Kuwait, Kuwait
Fermi was a NL (nobel Laurete) in Physics and did path breaking research in fission which lead to the discovery of A bomb.He used to challenge his students in U of Chicago with "Fermi" questions which necessitates making logical assumptions to hypothetical problems.
You can actually googlethis.Microsoft has been using this kind of questions in their interview techniques to assess the capacity of students to think on their feet. Mainly used to understand the approach of the candidates to use their alertness and ability to think on their feet. Try searching under "Fermi questions" by microsoft.
best wishes
From India, Pune
You can actually googlethis.Microsoft has been using this kind of questions in their interview techniques to assess the capacity of students to think on their feet. Mainly used to understand the approach of the candidates to use their alertness and ability to think on their feet. Try searching under "Fermi questions" by microsoft.
best wishes
From India, Pune
Here is the book "How would you move Mount Fuji".You will get many questions in last two chapters. Regards,
Hello All..
Here are some questions that I found on the net...u might find these interesting
Fermi Problems: Solve Them If You Dare...
1. How many frames are in a Walt Disney animated movie such as Tarzan?
2. What is the mass of a fully loaded cement truck?
3. What is the mass of a fully loaded Boeing 747?
4. If you were to stack a pile of one dollar bills corresponding to the US national debt,
A. how high would it reach?
B. how much would it weigh?
C. what would be the pressure on the bottom dollar?
5. What is the length in miles of the US Interstate Highway system?
6. How many molecules come off a car tire with each revolution?
7. How many gallons of water move down the Mississippi River in one day?
8. How many piano tuners would you expect to find in the local telephone directory?
9. How much energy is released due to latent heat of vaporization when a hurricane dumps 16 inches
of rain on North Carolina?
10. If a high explosive (e.g. TNT) releases as much energy per kilogram as food, how many people would the
energy of a 1-MT H-bomb feed for one day, if its energy could be converted to food at 100% efficiency?
11. How many square kilometers of surface would it take to supply the U.S. with all its energy needs if solar
energy could be converted with 1% efficiency? Allow for night time, cloud cover, etc. The solar constant
is 1.35 kW/m2.
12. If all the oxygen atoms breathed by Enrico Fermi over his lifetime are now distributed uniformly through the
atmosphere, how many of these atoms do you breathe in with each breath?
13. If you could get a penny for each time someone said "Ouch!" in the United States, how long would it take you to become a billionaire?
14. If all the ball-bearings in all the fishing reels in the U.S. were dumped into a single grain elevator silo, how tall
would the silo have to be?
15. If we used ALL the electrical energy in the world to operate motor that could slow down the earth with 1% efficiency,
how many days (as measured by Earth rotations) would it take to bring the rotation of the Earth to a halt?
16. Pick a nearby tree. Estimate the number of leaves on the tree.
17. Assuming that energy is transferred with 100% efficiency, how much soup could be heated up from room temperature to "hot soup eating temperature" by making use of all of the energy expended in playing a game of pool? Note: This problem was devised a few meters from the pool tables at the Reynolds Club at the University of Chicago, which is not far from the old squash courts. If you don't know the significance of the U of C squash courts to physics, look it up!
From United Kingdom, London
Here are some questions that I found on the net...u might find these interesting
Fermi Problems: Solve Them If You Dare...
1. How many frames are in a Walt Disney animated movie such as Tarzan?
2. What is the mass of a fully loaded cement truck?
3. What is the mass of a fully loaded Boeing 747?
4. If you were to stack a pile of one dollar bills corresponding to the US national debt,
A. how high would it reach?
B. how much would it weigh?
C. what would be the pressure on the bottom dollar?
5. What is the length in miles of the US Interstate Highway system?
6. How many molecules come off a car tire with each revolution?
7. How many gallons of water move down the Mississippi River in one day?
8. How many piano tuners would you expect to find in the local telephone directory?
9. How much energy is released due to latent heat of vaporization when a hurricane dumps 16 inches
of rain on North Carolina?
10. If a high explosive (e.g. TNT) releases as much energy per kilogram as food, how many people would the
energy of a 1-MT H-bomb feed for one day, if its energy could be converted to food at 100% efficiency?
11. How many square kilometers of surface would it take to supply the U.S. with all its energy needs if solar
energy could be converted with 1% efficiency? Allow for night time, cloud cover, etc. The solar constant
is 1.35 kW/m2.
12. If all the oxygen atoms breathed by Enrico Fermi over his lifetime are now distributed uniformly through the
atmosphere, how many of these atoms do you breathe in with each breath?
13. If you could get a penny for each time someone said "Ouch!" in the United States, how long would it take you to become a billionaire?
14. If all the ball-bearings in all the fishing reels in the U.S. were dumped into a single grain elevator silo, how tall
would the silo have to be?
15. If we used ALL the electrical energy in the world to operate motor that could slow down the earth with 1% efficiency,
how many days (as measured by Earth rotations) would it take to bring the rotation of the Earth to a halt?
16. Pick a nearby tree. Estimate the number of leaves on the tree.
17. Assuming that energy is transferred with 100% efficiency, how much soup could be heated up from room temperature to "hot soup eating temperature" by making use of all of the energy expended in playing a game of pool? Note: This problem was devised a few meters from the pool tables at the Reynolds Club at the University of Chicago, which is not far from the old squash courts. If you don't know the significance of the U of C squash courts to physics, look it up!
From United Kingdom, London
In physics, particularly in physics education, a Fermi problem, Fermi question, or Fermi estimate is an estimation problem designed to teach dimensional analysis, approximation, and the importance of clearly identifying one's assumptions. Named for 20th century physicist Enrico Fermi, such problems typically involve making justified guesses about quantities that seem impossible to compute given limited available information.
Fermi was known for his ability to make good approximate calculations with little or no actual data, hence the name. One well-documented example is his estimate of the strength of the atomic bomb detonated at the Trinity test, based on the distance traveled by pieces of paper dropped from his hand during the blast.[1]
From India, Madras
Fermi was known for his ability to make good approximate calculations with little or no actual data, hence the name. One well-documented example is his estimate of the strength of the atomic bomb detonated at the Trinity test, based on the distance traveled by pieces of paper dropped from his hand during the blast.[1]
From India, Madras
General
- Estimate the total number of hairs on your head.
- Estimate the number of square inches of pizza consumed by all the students at the University of Maryland during one semester.
- When it rains, water would accumulate on the roofs of flat-topped buildings if there were no drains. A heavy rain may deposit water to a depth of an inch or more. Given that water has a mass of about 1 gm/cm 3 , estimate the total force the roof of the physics lecture hall would have to support if we had an inch of rain and the roof drains were plugged.
- One suggestion for putting satellites into orbit cheaply without using rockets is to build a tower 300 km high containing an elevator. One would put the payload in the elevator, lift it to the top, and just step out into orbit. Ignoring other problems (such as structural strain on the tower), estimate the weight of such a tower if its base were the size of Washington DC and it were made of steel. (Steel is about 5 times as dense as water, which has a density of 1 gm/cm 3 .)
- Estimate the total amount of time 19 year olds in the US spent during this past semester studying for exams in college. (Not counting finals.)
- The deficit in the Federal Budget this past year was approximately $100 Billion ($10 11 ). (a)Assuming this was divided equally to every man, woman, and child in the country, what is your share of the debt?
(b) Supposing the deficit were paid in $1 bills and they were layed out on the ground without overlapping. Estimate what fraction of the District of Columbia could be covered.
(c) Suppose you put these $1 bills in packages of 100 each and gave them away at the rate of 1 package every 10 seconds. If you start now, when will you be finished giving them away?
(d) Are any of these calculations relevant for a discussion which is trying to understand whether the deficit is ridiculously large or appropriate in scale