> The kind of code I write on a day-to-day basis does not require working with math equations of this type.
Normally I agree that algorithm-heavy CS problems are not representative of day-to-day software development, but this is pushing it. We're talking about a "return pi * r^2" here, in the latter example at least. The former example is a bit less realistic, but I could still see that type of logic being required occasionally.
Yes, this was my reaction, too, but after some thought, the first question is about seeing a pattern and converting it to an algorithm. I don't have a background in CS or math, so my initial reaction to a problem like that is "math! No fair!" but after some thought, it is just about patterns.
And, yes, if you've had high school geometry, you should be able to answer question #2 without much trouble.
Assuming one didn't graduate high school twenty years ago and may need some research time to recall equations that haven't been used since college.
Although, after reading the second one again I can agree that it shouldn't be too difficult to complete since he essentially tells you what to do; you just have to write the actual code. Well, assuming you don't have to write code to estimate for Pi and can just have 3.14 in there.
Normally I agree that algorithm-heavy CS problems are not representative of day-to-day software development, but this is pushing it. We're talking about a "return pi * r^2" here, in the latter example at least. The former example is a bit less realistic, but I could still see that type of logic being required occasionally.