interview question

[stdazi]

i got this question in a c/c++ job interview............

"why are manhole covers round? give at least 10 reasons"

do u no the a to this q???

Designing a round manhole makes it easier to write installation
instructions. (there are lower chances of misplacing the manhole)

 

[Philip Potter]

However, many manhole covers *aren't* round. All the ones near here
seem to be rectangular.

Yes. I think this fact marks the question as suspect.

The question may be a request for information ("How is it that manhole
covers ended up round?") which presumably requires specialist knowledge
of the history of civil engineering; or it may be a request for
justification ("Why is it better for manhole covers to be round than any
other shape?") which is suspect simply because some manholes /are/
square and they do their job well enough.

The question seems as daft as asking "Why do we drive on the right?"

 

[Joachim Schmitz]

my boss sez thats !true b/c according to a^2 + b^2 = c^2 , in his
words ,
"the height of a equilateral triangle is 0.8660254 times its edge
length, so there's plenty of space left to accomodate for the
supporting rim and the cover's thickness, and still some space
left to allow it drop down.

Your boss is partly wrong, a^2 + b^2 = c^2 is valid only in right triangle,
in an equilateral triangle the height is sqrt(3)/2 times it's edges' lenth,
so his result is correct ...


Bye, Jojo

 

[Very.Little.Gravitas.Indeed]

There are 10 types of people in this world. Those who understand
binary, and those who don't.

Is it big endian or little endian binary? We could be giving one too
many reasons.

 

[Richard Heathfield]

Joachim Schmitz said:

Your boss is partly wrong,

No, he isn't.

a^2 + b^2 = c^2 is valid only in right
triangle, in an equilateral triangle the height is sqrt(3)/2 times
it's edges' lenth, so his result is correct ...

So is his reasoning. The easiest way to calculate the height of an
equilateral triangle is to realise that it consists of two right
triangles back to back, both having the same height. Pythagoras is
exactly the right tool for the job.

 

[osmium]

i got this question in a c/c++ job interview............

"why are manhole covers round? give at least 10 reasons"

An interview is a face to face conversation. If the interviewer said "ten"
for 10 he was wrong.

Otherwise the transcript of the interview is wrong. The OP has little regard
for English, as demonstrated by following this, which looks like English,
with some gibberish.

Another possibility is that it wasn't an interview at all, but a written
test of some kind.

 

[Joachim Schmitz]

Joachim Schmitz said:


No, he isn't.


So is his reasoning. The easiest way to calculate the height of an
equilateral triangle is to realise that it consists of two right
triangles back to back, both having the same height. Pythagoras is
exactly the right tool for the job.

<blush>, embarrasing... your right, have overlooked (or is it overseen?)
that:
h^2 + (a/2)^2 = a^2 --> h = sqrt(3)/2 * a

Bye, Jojo

 

[Kenneth Brody]

Philip Potter wrote:
[...]

The question seems as daft as asking "Why do we drive on the right?"

Because if we drove on the left, we'd drive right into a car heading
straight towards us.

--
+-------------------------+--------------------+-----------------------+
| Kenneth J. Brody | www.hvcomputer.com | #include |
| kenbrody/at\spamcop.net | www.fptech.com | <std_disclaimer.h> |
+-------------------------+--------------------+-----------------------+
Don't e-mail me at: <mailto:[email protected]>

 

[Philip Potter]

Philip Potter wrote:
[...]

The question seems as daft as asking "Why do we drive on the right?"

Because if we drove on the left, we'd drive right into a car heading
straight towards us.

Funny. I have the opposite problem.

 

[srimks11]

i got this question in a c/c++ job interview............

"why are manhole covers round? give at least 10 reasons"

do u no the a to this q???

Hi.

I guess this query was becoz to test your aptitude rather C/C++. It
was basically a psychological assessment type of query that how one
approaches a question with more than one "right" answer.

Few things which strikes me are -
(1) Manholes, which interconnect underground sewerage pipes, and serve
as a point of entry for cleaning the pipes, are located at every major
sewer pipe junction, and are capped with round manhole covers.
(2) The reason for the circular construction of these covers is, quite
simply, that covers of any other shape would fall through the manholes
by virtue of their varying diameters.
(3) Anything falling takes round shape.
(4) Round shape or a sphere type object has less base area.
(5) The surface tension for round shape body is less then object
having different shapes.
(6) Above (3), (4), (5) makes things fall faster inside manhole.
(7) Manhole being round in shape makes a round manhole cover not to
fall through its circular opening, whereas a square manhole cover may
fall in if it were inserted diagonally in the aperture.
(8) Round manhole covers, once removed, require less lifting and less
manpower, as their shape allows them to be rolled easily.
(9) A round manhole and cover can sustain more damage and still serve
effectively.
(10) A round manhole is also easier to install.

HIH

Mukesh K Srivastava

 

[Walter Roberson]

# i got this question in a c/c++ job interview............
#
# "why are manhole covers round? give at least 10 reasons"

Because manholes are round.

Most manholes around here have square interiors (though the
pipe may be cylindrical outside.)

 

[CBFalconer]

.... snip ...

The question seems as daft as asking "Why do we drive on the right?"

Because, barring residence in Great Britain, Australia, Japan, and
some other countries, driving on the left leads to painful
accidents and greatly distresses the Automobile Insurers, while
amusing the tin-bashers. In the mentioned (and some other)
countries where thinking is inverted from the normal, driving on
the right causes similar pain, distress and amusement.

Maybe the compromise cure is to drive in the middle?

 

[Mark McIntyre]

In the mentioned (and some other)
countries where thinking is inverted from the normal,

You have the words "inverted" and "normal" inverted in that
sentence....

Maybe the compromise cure is to drive in the middle?

My made from the pub says that weaving from side to side does the
trick for him...
--
Mark McIntyre

"Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place.
Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are,
by definition, not smart enough to debug it."
--Brian Kernighan

 

[Al Balmer]

Yes. I think this fact marks the question as suspect.

The question may be a request for information ("How is it that manhole
covers ended up round?") which presumably requires specialist knowledge
of the history of civil engineering; or it may be a request for
justification ("Why is it better for manhole covers to be round than any
other shape?") which is suspect simply because some manholes /are/
square and they do their job well enough.

 

[Richard Heathfield]

Philip Potter said:

The question seems as daft as asking "Why do we drive on the right?"

Indeed it is, because we actually drive on the left.

 

[Keith Thompson]

Philip Potter said:



Indeed it is, because we actually drive on the left.

Depends on which way you're facing.