Totilas is a Dutch Warmblood stallion considered to be one of the most outstanding competitive dressage horses in the world. He was the first horse to score above 90 in a dressage competition.
He measures 69 inches at the withers.
1. What is Totilas’s height in hands?
He was born on May 23, 2000.
2. Write Totilas’s birth date using metric notation.
That is the date he was born. Believe it or not, by performing a simple math calculation, it is possible to figure out on which day of the week he was born!
Here’s how:
Step 1: Write the last two digits of the year Totilas was born. Call this number A.
Step 2: Divide that number (A) by 4 and drop the remainder if there is one. This answer, without the remainder, is B.
Step 3: Find the number for the month Totilas was born in the Table of Months. Call this number C.
Step 4: On which date of the month was Totilas born? Call this number D.
Step 5: Add the numbers from each of the first four steps: A + B + C + D.
Step 6: Divide the sum you got in step 5 by the number 7. What is the remainder from that division? (It should be a number from 0 to 6.)
Find this remainder in the Table of Days and like magic you know on which day of the week Totilas was born!
Before checking your answers, would you like to see Totilas in action? Check this out!
Black Stallion Dressage Champion Answers:
1. What is Totilas’s height in hands?
Answer: 69 ÷ 4 = 17 R 1. Totilas stands 17.1 hands high.
2. Write Totilas’s birth date using metric notation.
Hint: Start with the greatest unit of time – the year, and go to the least unit of time – the day.
Answer: 2000 05 23
Step 1: number A = 00
Step 2: 00 ÷ 4 = 0; number B = 0
Step 3: number C = 2
Step 4: number D = 23
Step 5: 00 + 0 + 2 + 23 = 25.
Step 6: 25 ÷ 7 = 3 R 4
The number 4 corresponds to Wednesday on the Table of Days. Totilas was born on a Wednesday.
Photos:
Totilas by Roland Hitze; CC BY 3.0
Totilas – YouTube screen grab
