Leraning Fun
C M Robinson,
Slough, Berkshire.
Your Computer, February 1982, page 71

Times is a 1K program designed to provide practice drill and test children on 
knowledge and use of multiplication tables. It may be set to any table up to 
21, via the input at line 2. Random questions are set followed by five possible
answers.

If the correct answer is displayed, the child must respond by touching the cor-
responding key, 1 to 5, within the permitted time. A correct answer credits the
child with one point and an incorrect answer debits the total by one.

Line 70 ensures the child can recheck the display as long as required before 
continuing. A final score is given out of a maximum possible of 10. To save 
memory space, others may find the technique employed here in lines 170 and 240,
of saving numbers as characters in a string useful.

The second program sets 10 questions of the form  12 X 7 = 108 which have to be
answered by touching the number key. I find lines 110 to 140 particularly use-
ful as protection against inadvertently touching the wrong key.

Thinking time is penalised by a descending score as is an incorrect answer. Up
to three incorrect answers are allowed. The correct answer is automatically 
displayed and held until the operator commands the game to continue by touching
the Newline key.

A reward appears for a good score. The degree of difficulty can be adjusted by 
amending line 80, for example, to become: LET X=INT(RND*100)+1.
