St. Patrick's Day

TOP OF THE MORNIN' MATH

There are many myths surrounding St. Patrick. One of these is that he drove the snakes out of Ireland. This is not true because snakes cannot survive in Ireland's climate. Another myth is that he used the shamrock to explain the Trinity. This is also said to be untrue because the people of Ireland readily accepted the Trinity on faith. The one truth surrounding St. Patrick is that he definitely brought Christianity to the island. 93% of the population of the Republic of Ireland is Catholic today.

1. St. Patrick was actually born in Scotland in 387 AD How many years ago was this? He died on March 17, 460. How old was he when he died?

2. St. Patrick was sold as a slave and made to tend sheep for 6 years. He said that in that time, he said 100 prayers a day. How many prayers would that be in 6 years?

3. Ireland is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, which was controlled by the British for 750 year until 1921 when it became a dominion. When did the British first take control?

4. The area of Ireland is 70,280 sq. km. 1390 sq. km is water. How much is land?

5. Because of few jobs and poor harvests of potatoes, the population of Ireland has decreased from 8,200,000 in 1841 to 3,619,480 in 1998. What has been the decrease in population?

6. The coldest month in Ireland is February, when the average temperature is 42 degrees. The warmest month is August when the average temperature is 60 degrees. What is the range of these temperatures? The median?

7. According to 1997 estimates, 63% of Ireland's work force is in services, 27% in manufacturing and construction, and 10 % in farming, forestry, and fishing. Make a circle graph to show this.

   Use this map and scale to answer the questions.

8. What city is approximately 120 miles northwest of Dublin?

9. About how many km is it from Foynes to Waterford?

10. About how many km is it from Shannon to Dublin?

    About how many miles is it from the West Coast to the East Coast in the center?

11. The first St. Patrick's Day Parade was held in New York City in 1766 by Irishmen in military unit recruited to serve in the American colonies. Including 2000, how many times will the parade have been held? The parade marches down Fifth Avenue from 44th to 86th Sts. How many blocks long is the parade?

    And now for a bit of blarney!
    It is said that every Leprechaun hides his gold at the end of a rainbow...

12. Pure gold is 24 karat. An alloy containing 75% gold would have how many karats? 50% gold? 25% gold?

13. Lliam the Leprechaun has a pot of 24-karat gold coins. Use the clues to figure out how many coins he has:
    It is a 3 digit even number greater than 200.
    The ones digit is twice the hundreds digit.
    The tens digit is a multiple of 3 and is one less than the ones digit.

14. Darby and Paddy are two leprechauns. Together they have hidden 145 gold coins. Darby has 5 more coins than Paddy. How many coins do they each have?

15. O'Grady the Leprechaun is looking to hide his pot of gold. He takes 7 steps to the east, 12 to the south, 4 to the west and 15 to the north. This is where he hides his gold. How far from his starting point was he when he crossed his own path? When he hid the gold?