Mathematician Finds Answer To Timeless Question

With the current economic climate forcing many people to forget this year’s sunny overseas holiday and instead take a ‘staycation', families are opting to stay at home and take day trips out instead.

But more UK-based trips means more long car journeys, which will undoubtedly see the back seats of family cars ringing to the sound of one of life’s great questions - ‘Are we there yet?’

However, a mathematician has answered parents’ prayers and put an end to the question for good. Professor Dwight Barkley, Department of Mathematics at the University of Warwick, has formulated an equation to calculate the exact time into a journey it takes for a child to ask ‘Are we there yet?’

The equation takes the following form: *

T is the exact time at which a child first asks “Are we there yet?”

to is the time you left the house

C is the number of children in the car

A is the number of activities to do

The equation, which was commissioned by Škoda to help its customers better prepare for long summer car journeys, works by taking into account the length of time since leaving the house, the number of activities available and the number of children in the car. It illustrates how the length of time until a child asks the question will increase with the number of activities on offer and the number of children in the car.

Commenting on the triumph, Professor Dwight Barkley explained, “Mathematics can help answer many of life’s questions and this equation can be a fun way to think about the problem of keeping children entertained on a family car journey.”

Catherine Bell, Head of Press and PR for Škoda UK, comments, “We commissioned the research in order to help our customers understand what to consider before embarking on a long holiday trip. As the ‘manufacturer of happy drivers’, we’re always thinking about how the family car can improve the lives of our customers. You can see that across our range, including our supermini Fabia, which has lots of helpful features to make a car journey easier.

* The formula is expressed as: The time it takes for a child to ask the question equals: one, plus the number of activities available to do, divided by the number of children in the car, squared. That figure is then added to the time the family left the house to give the answer.

17 July 2008