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Scientific Programming
Scientific Programming:

Numeric, Symbolic, and

Graphical Computing with
Maxima

By
Jorge Alberto Calvo
Scientific Programming:
Numeric, Symbolic, and Graphical Computing with Maxima

By Jorge Alberto Calvo

This book first published 2018

Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Copyright 
c 2018 by Jorge Alberto Calvo.

All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of
the copyright owner.

ISBN (10): 1-5275-1117-0

ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-1117-0

Cover Photograph: Antarctic Ice by Christine A. Wilkins (2011).

The beautifully intricate structures formed by ice crystals off the Antarctic coast-
line serve as a reminder both of the order required when designing computer
programs and of the infinite possibilities that result when these are organized by
a well-disciplined method.

All figures were rendered by the author using Maxima’s draw package and the
tikz package for the LATEX typesetting language. The following photographs are
included with the copyright owner’s permission:
◦ Lofting Ducks (page 361) by Mathew Emerick (2012).
◦ Oratory at Sunrise (page 455) by Tyler Neil Photography (2015).
To my father
 Table of Contents

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

Chapter 1. An Introduction To Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1.1 Getting Started with Maxima . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1.2 Symbolic Computation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
1.3 User-Defined Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
1.4 Repetition and Iteration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
1.5 Leibniz’s Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
1.6 Archimedes’ Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
1.7 Computational Error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Chapter 2. Computation in Mathematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

2.1 Fibonacci’s Rabbits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

2.2 The Babylonian Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
2.3 Detecting Prime Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
2.4 Lists and Other Data Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
2.5 Gaussian Elimination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
2.6 Partial Pivoting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191
2.7 Binary Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
2.8 Floating-Point Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Chapter 3. Graphics and Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

3.1 Celestial Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

3.2 An Epitaph for Archimedes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
3.3 Rabbits Revisited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
3.4 Projectiles in Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
3.5 Fourier Likes It Hot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .317
3.6 Plotting Curves by Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
3.7 Plotting Lines with Pixels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

Chapter 4. Interpolation and Approximation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

4.1 Lagrange’s Formula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

4.2 Piecewise Linear Interpolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
4.3 Interpolation using Splines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
4.4 Smooth Splines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
 viii TABLE OF CONTENTS

4.5 Approximation using Splines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413

4.6 Interpolating Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427
4.7 Interpolating Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445

Chapter 5. Numerical Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457

5.1 Riemann Sums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459

5.2 Trapezoids and Parabolas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
5.3 Smooth Splines Revisited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
5.4 Gaussian Quadrature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
5.5 Monte Carlo Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519

Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
 Foreword

“If one approaches a problem with order and method, there

should be no difficulty in solving it; none whatever.”
— Hercule Poirot

as quoted in Death in the Clouds

by Agatha Christie (1935)

This book was developed for an undergraduate course in scientific

programming, offering an introduction to computer programming, nu-
merical analysis, and other mathematical ideas that extend the basic
topics learned in calculus. It is designed for students who have finished
their calculus sequence but have not yet taken a proofs course. The
primary goal is to teach students how to write computer programs,
and covers both the general building blocks of programming languages
(such as conditional statements, recursion, and iteration) as well as
a description of how these concepts are put together to allow com-
puters to produce the results they do. In particular, careful attention
is given to binary arithmetic, the IEEE standard for floating-point
numbers, and algorithms for rendering graphics. The content builds
on the topics covered in an introductory calculus course, including
the numerical solution of both ordinary and partial differential equa-
tions, the smooth interpolation of discrete data, and the numerical
approximation of non-elementary integrals.
More importantly, however, this book will teach students about
“order” and “method,” particularly when it comes to organizing data
and solving problems. The guiding principle throughout is the belief
that, for a novice mathematician, writing computer programs can be
a useful exercise in developing the intuition for abstract concepts nec-
essary to make the transition towards writing proofs. If nothing else,
when you write an incorrect program, you get immediate feedback
that something went wrong, even if the error message itself might
x FOREWORD

seem cryptic at first. This gives you a chance to find mistakes in a

way that writing an incorrect proof never can.
All of the programming in this book is done in an open-source
Computer Algebra System (CAS) called Maxima. There are several
reasons for this choice of software. First of all, instead of tackling
a high level language like C, Java, or Python, we prefer a CAS that
provides students a friendly, unified front-end which allows them to
perform more familiar mathematical tasks, such as graphing func-
tions or solving equations, as well as write new programs. Secondly,
in contrast to other well-known proprietary systems, Maxima is freely
available for Macs, Windows, and Unix machines. Not only is Max-
ima supported by a large network of volunteer developers and used by
researchers throughout the world, but it provides an excellent envi-
ronment in which students can learn the basic structures of program-
ming before moving on to other popular platforms. Unlike mastering
a foreign language, which sometimes involves learning new and alien
grammatical concepts like noun declensions (in Latin) or adjectival
nouns (in Japanese), making the transition from one programming
language to another often involves only small adjustments in syntax.
The epilogue at the end of this book provides some simple examples
of how this works in practice.
To install Maxima on your computer, visit the Maxima Project’s
website at maxima.sourceforge.net, download the installation files
for your operating system, and follow the documentation included
with the installer. For Unix and Windows machines, this involves
running a single script. For Macs, more care is required as new fonts
must be loaded and three different applications must be installed and
configured to work together; for more detailed instructions, consult
the excellent article at:
themaximalist.org/about/my-mac-os-installation.
Any additional questions can be directed to the Maxima discussion
email list, which can be accessed from:
maxima.sourceforge.net/maximalist.html.
I am indebted to Michael Marsalli, who entrusted me with the
development of this course, and to Patrick Kelly, Ricardo Rodriguez,
and my other colleagues at Ave Maria University for their continual
advice. My gratitude also goes to all of my Math 270 students who
were subjected to one iteration of course notes after another; their
 FOREWORD xi

feedback, both implicit and explicit, has made this a better book
than it otherwise would have been.
My beautiful wife and children deserve a special word of mention
since they have tolerated many a late night, especially as I put the
manuscript in its final form.
Finally, I wish to dedicate this book to my father, to whom I owe
more than I could ever repay. I have many fond memories of going as
a child to see his enormous Burroughs B1700 mainframe computer at
work. The world has changed a lot since the time of punch cards and
tape reels. His countless sacrifices throughout these years have made
me into the man I am today.
Framingham, Massachusetts
March 2018
 CHAPTER 1

An Introduction to Programming

“Method, you comprehend! Method! Arrange your facts. Ar-

range your ideas. And if some little fact will not fit in—do not
reject it but consider it closely. Though its significance escapes
you, be sure that it is significant.”
— Hercule Poirot

as quoted in The Murder on the Links

by Agatha Christie (1923)
 1.1. Getting Started with Maxima
In pure mathematics, we often study numbers, formulas, and geo-
metrical shapes for their own sake, with no intention of ever finding an
application for our newfound knowledge. For instance, in a previous
calculus course, you may have learned that Archimedes of Syracuse
(c. 287 – 212 BC) showed that the infinite sequence
  
  
√ √ √ √
2 2, 4 2 − 2, 8 2 − 2 + 2, 16 2 − 2 + 2 + 2, . . .

converges to π. You may have also learned that Gottfried Wilhelm

Leibniz (1646 – 1716) proved that the infinite series
4 4 4 4 4 4 4
4− + − + − + − + ···
3 5 7 9 11 13 15
is also equal to π. From a purely theoretical vantage point, these two
statements stand side by side as equally valid facts.
From a computational point of view, however, we may consider
how each of these infinite limits may be used to provide a suitable
approximation for the number π. For example, to determine a partial
sum in Leibniz’s series, we simply add finitely many fractions together;
if one finite sum is deemed inadequate, we can improve it by adding
more fractions. Unfortunately, as we shall soon find out, Leibniz’s
series converges painfully slowly, so it will take literally hundreds of
additions before we arrive at a reasonable approximation for π. On the
other hand, computing a sufficiently complicated term in Archimedes’
sequence involves working out one square root after another, starting
from the innermost part of the formula and making our way to the
outermost power of two. If we are dissatisfied with one approximation,
then we need to start the next approximation essentially from scratch.
Nevertheless, if we survive the computations, the convergence for this
sequence is quite fast and provides accurate estimates of π in short
order. This is essentially what Archimedes discovered some twenty
two hundred years ago, when he determined that π ≈ 22 7 ≈ 3.14.
It is all the more impressive to remember that he completed this
excruciatingly delicate calculation entirely by hand and without the
benefit of our decimal number system.
The advent of the computer has put large-scale numerical experi-
mentation within our reach. For instance, back in 1949, ENIAC (the
first general-purpose computer) determined the first 2 037 places of π
in about 90 hours; nowadays, a desktop computer can do the same
4 1. AN INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING

in just a couple of seconds. However, we are still faced with the task
of explaining to our computers exactly how to perform the calcula-
tions that we need them to perform. This is where programming
languages come into play. In the course of this book, we will start to
learn a programming language called Maxima. Just as our everyday
thoughts are expressed in English (or perhaps Latin or Spanish) and
our descriptions of quantitative phenomena are expressed using math-
ematical notation, our computational instructions will be expressed in
the language of Maxima.
Before successfully using computers to study a mathematical prob-
lem, we need to understand three key areas:
x the mathematical theory that underlies the problem at hand,
y the implementation, or the way that we choose to represent
mathematical objects inside the computer, and
z the syntax, or the grammar that we use to communicate our
instructions to the computer.
For instance, in order to compare the computational efficacy of Leib-
niz’s series and Archimedes’ sequence in our discussion above, we need
to remember the mathematical concepts of infinite sequences and se-
ries, as well as the definition of convergence. These definitions form
part of the mathematical theory that gives shape and context to the
problem. Next, we need to decide whether these abstract objects will
be represented numerically, symbolically, or graphically in our com-
puter. This is the realm of implementation. Finally, we need to know
what instructions to type into our computer to bring about this im-
plementation. This is a question of syntax; it is here that we shall
start our study of programming in general and of Maxima specifically.
In order to begin, you will need to sit down in front of a computer
terminal and start up a session of Maxima.1 You can do this by click-
ing on the wxMaxima icon from the Applications folder in a Macintosh
or the Start menu in a Windows PC. Depending on the version of
the software installed in your computer, the wxMaxima icon will look
something like this:

After you click on this icon, your computer will open up a new Maxima
window for you. When the Maxima session first starts up, you will see

1 For instructions on how to install Maxima on your computer, consult page x.

 1.1. GETTING STARTED WITH MAXIMA 5

the words “Ready for user input” at the bottom of the window. This
is Maxima’s way of telling you that she is ready for your instructions.
Maxima consists of three distinct components running simultane-
ously on your computer:
x an external user interface or “front end” called the iris,
y an internal computational engine called the kernel , and
z an extensive library of functions bundled in packages.
The Maxima window is just the visible part of the iris, which is run
by the application wxMaxima. The kernel is maintained by a sepa-
rate application that runs in the background of your computer. The
various packages are stored in a hidden directory in your computer’s
hard drive. For the sake of simplicity, we will use the term “Maxima
session” to refer to our interaction with all three of these components.
The main content of a Maxima session is organized as a sequence
of cells, each one of which is made up of some text or of some Maxima
instructions and their corresponding results. Every time that you type
an instruction into the iris, hold down the Shift key on your keyboard,
and press Enter, the iris passes this instruction to the kernel. The
kernel may need look up one or more functions from a package in the
library to execute this instruction, but when it is finished, it passes the
result back to the iris to display. Then the whole process is repeated
with a new cell.
To start, let us suppose that you want to make a header for your
Maxima session. You may wish to include such information as your
name, today’s date, a title, and whatever other relevant comments
you think are appropriate. For example, if you were working on the
homework problems at the end of this section, you could include a
phrase like “Section 1.1 homework” as part of your header. To do
this, select
Cell  Insert Text Cell
from the drop-down menu at the top of the screen. Immediately, a
cell marker in the shape of a red square bracket will appear on the
left hand side of the window. You can then start typing your header
information.
When you have finished, you can create a new cell by going to the
drop-down menu and selecting
Cell  Insert Input Cell
Again, there will be a cell marker on the left-hand side of the window,
6 1. AN INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING

but this time you will also see an arrow-shaped input prompt that
looks like this:
-->

The simplest kind of expression you might type at the input prompt
is a number:
--> 485

When you press Shift-Enter, Maxima will respond by displaying the

same number back to you:

(%i1) 485
(%o1) 485
You will observe that the arrow prompt was replaced with the input
label (%i1), and that the corresponding output is also given an out-
put label (%o1). For the sake of simplicity, we will ignore input and
output labels throughout this book. Instead, we will indicate Maxima
input and output by using a cell marker, with the instructions given
in typewriter font and the corresponding output in normal Roman
font. Thus, the short interaction above would be rendered as follows:
485;
485
Take special note of the use of the semicolon in the expression
above. This is our first encounter with Maxima’s syntax, which re-
quires that every expression end in either a semicolon or a dollar sign.
Ending an expression with a semicolon instructs Maxima to display
the result of evaluating the expression. In our example above, this
result was the number 485. In contrast, ending an expression with
a dollar sign instructs Maxima not to display the result and to just
move on to the next expression. If you do not have the appropriate
punctuation mark, then Maxima will insert a semicolon automatically
for you, but sometimes this can result in an error message.
Numbers may be combined with arithmetic operators into more
complicated expressions, such as:
139 + 346;
485
 1.1. GETTING STARTED WITH MAXIMA 7

Table 1-1. Maxima’s five arithmetic operators, in

order of decreasing precedence.

operator operation associativity

^ exponentiation right to left
/ division left to right
* multiplication left to right
- subtraction left to right
+ addition left to right

5 * 97;
485
Maxima recognizes the five arithmetic operators listed in Table 1-1.
In addition, parentheses provide a straightforward way to create even
more complex expressions out of simpler ones by means of nesting.
For instance, you might enter:
(3 * 5) / (10 - 6);
15
4

(3 * ((2 * 4) + (3 + 5))) + ((10 - 7) + 6);

57
Observe that as soon as you type an open parenthesis, Maxima will
display it along with its matching close parenthesis, highlighting both.
The cursor will then be placed in between the parentheses to allow
you to enter a nested expression. When you reach the end of the ex-
pression, simply type a close parenthesis or use the right arrow key to
move the cursor over the one that is already there. At first, you may
find Maxima’s automatic parenthesis matching a little awkward and
it might take you some time to get used to it. However, in time you
will come to appreciate its utility, especially when you are entering
much more complicated expressions than the ones above.
In principle, there is no limit to the depth of nesting or to the
overall complexity of the expressions that Maxima can evaluate. In
8 1. AN INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING

fact, when presented with even the most complicated of expressions,

Maxima always operates in the same basic read-evaluate-display
cycle:
x The iris reads an expression from the terminal.
y The kernel evaluates the expression.
z The iris displays the result and awaits a new input.
When it comes to evaluating complex expressions, the second step in
this cycle consists of first evaluating each subexpression separately,
and then combining the results by applying the operator in question.
For example, in order to evaluate the expression
(3 * ((2 * 4) + (3 + 5))) + ((10 - 7) + 6),
Maxima first evaluates each one of the subexpressions
3 * ((2 * 4) + (3 + 5)) and (10 - 7) + 6
separately, and once it has those values in hand, it adds them to-
gether, as indicated by the operator +. Of course, to evaluate the first
subexpression above, Maxima must evaluate
3 and (2 * 4) + (3 + 5),
and to evaluate the second of these, Maxima must evaluate
2 * 4 and 3 + 5.
The process continues in this way until our original expression has
been broken down into its simplest atomic constituents, at which
point these are combined, two at a time, to make up the final result.
Fig. 1-1 shows a tree-like schematic of this evaluation process. The
computation starts at the node at the top of the tree and moves down
the branch on the left side as the first subexpression is evaluated.
When this value is determined to be 48, the process returns to the
top and follows the branch on the right as it evaluates the second
subexpression. Then, once this value is found to be 9, the two values
are combined into the final result of 57.
In practice, you can avoid using unnecessary parentheses in Max-
ima expressions. Therefore, instead of typing the long expression
above, you might enter:
3 * (2 * 4 + 3 + 5) + 10 - 7 + 6;
57
 1.1. GETTING STARTED WITH MAXIMA 9

+ 57

* 48 + 9

3 + 16 - 3 6

* 8 + 8 10 7

2 4 3 5

Fig. 1-1. Evaluating (3*((2*4)+(3+5)))+((10-7)+6).

In either case, Maxima will return precisely the same value. In the ab-
sence of any parentheses, complex expressions are evaluated by follow-
ing a strict precedence rule in which higher precedence operators are
applied before lower precedence ones. The five arithmetic operators
that appear in Table 1-1 are listed from highest to lowest precedence.
This means that, in an expression with no parentheses, exponentia-
tion is done first, followed by division, multiplication, subtraction, and
finally addition. If the same operator appears more than once in an
expression, then it will typically be applied from left to right; this is
known as left-to-right associativity . For instance, when evaluating
the expression
3 * (2 * 4 + 3 + 5) + 10 - 7 + 6,
Maxima will first tackle the highest precedence operation, which in
this case happens to be the product
3 * (2 * 4 + 3 + 5).
10 1. AN INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING

3 * (2 * 4 + 3 + 5) + 10 - 7 + 6
↓
3 * (8 + 3 + 5) + 10 - 7 + 6
↓
3 * (11 + 5) + 10 - 7 + 6
↓
3 * 16 + 10 - 7 + 6
↓
48 + 10 - 7 + 6
↓
48 + 3 + 6
↓
51 + 6
↓
57
Fig. 1-2. Evaluating 3*(2*4+3+5)+10-7+6.

This is followed by a subtraction and two additions, which are per-

formed from left to right. Of course, before even the first multiplica-
tion can take place, the subexpression
2 * 4 + 3 + 5
must be evaluated. This, too, consists of a multiplication followed by
two additions. Fig. 1-2 gives a step-by-step schematic of the entire
evaluation process. Observe that, even though the final result is the
same as before, the order in which the individual subexpressions were
evaluated and combined is, in fact, different than the one shown in
Fig. 1-1.
The only exception to the left-to-right associativity rule is expo-
nentiation, which has right-to-left associativity , as indicated in
the last column of Table 1-1. We can see this principle at work in an
expression like
4^3^2;
262144
 1.1. GETTING STARTED WITH MAXIMA 11

which gives the same answer as the nested expression

4^(3^2);
262144
rather than the much smaller value of the expression
(4^3)^2;
4096
Besides the five arithmetic operators discussed above, Maxima is
equipped with literally hundreds of primitive functions at our dis-
posal. For example, we can call on the function sqrt(), which com-
putes the square root of any number we give it:
sqrt(45);
√
3 5
A function call, like the one above, is always composed of the name of
the function followed by one or more inputs surrounded by a pair of
parentheses. As before, the use of parentheses allows nesting of func-
tions, or indeed any combination of functions and operators, inside
one another. For instance, suppose that we ask Maxima to determine
the value of the following compound expression:
2 + sqrt(5^2 + (3 * 4)^2);
15
In this case, Maxima first evaluates the subexpression

5^2 + (3 * 4)^2

resulting in a value of 169. This value is then passed as the input to

sqrt(), which returns an output value of 13. Finally, this result is
added to 2 to produce the final answer displayed above.
Table 1-2 lists some useful primitive functions of which you should
take note. As their names indicate, these functions compute absolute
values, natural exponentials and logarithms, as well as the standard
and inverse trigonometric functions. You should take particular care
to remember that log() computes the natural logarithm (base e) and
not the common logarithm (base 10), as you might otherwise expect:
log(2.718281828459045);
1.0
12 1. AN INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING

Table 1-2. Sixteen primitive functions of note.

abs() exp() log() sqrt()

sin() cos() asin() acos()

tan() cot() atan() acot()

sec() csc() asec() acsc()

You can store a computational object, like a number or a formula,

in the kernel’s memory by using the variable assignment operator
denoted by a colon (:). For instance, the command
pi : 3.14;
3.14
makes the variable name pi indistinguishable from the numerical value
3.14 in any expression you might type. For example:
pi;
3.14

2 * pi;
6.28

pi^2 - 0.14 * pi - 6.70172;

2.71828

2 * cos(pi/5);
1.618408361976065
You can even use the value of one variable when you assign values to
other variables. For instance, you might enter:
circumference : 2 * pi * radius;
6.28 radius
 1.1. GETTING STARTED WITH MAXIMA 13

area : pi * radius^2;
3.14 radius2
This associates each of the variables circumference and area with a
formula that depends on the variables pi and radius. In each case,
pi was replaced with its value. On the other hand, radius, which
is a free variable that has not yet been given a value, appears by
name only. We can replace it with a value, say with the radius of the
earth (in kilometers), by calling the substitution command subst()
as follows:
rad_of_earth : 6371;
6371

subst(radius = rad_of_earth, circumference);

40009.88

subst(radius = rad_of_earth, area);

1.2745147274 108
Notice that subst() takes two inputs separated by a comma. The first
consists of the substitution we wish to make (using an equal sign rather
than a colon), and the second is the expression in which we wish to
make the substitution. The resulting substitution is only temporary
and does not affect the values stored in memory:
radius;
radius

circumference;
6.28 radius

area;
3.14 radius2
As you might imagine, Maxima maintains a record of all of the
variables assigned during a session. You can see the names in this list
by evaluating the variable values:
values;
[pi, circumference, area, rad of earth]
14 1. AN INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING

You can remove a variable from this list by invoking the command
kill():2
kill(rad_of_earth);
done
As expected, this command removes the variable in question from the
list of assigned variables and disassociates it from its former value:
values;
[pi, circumference, area]

rad_of_earth;
rad of earth
Although you can use nearly any combination of letters or numer-
als and even some symbols like % or \ to name a variable, there are a
few rules you must abide by. First of all, you cannot start a variable
name with a numeral. Secondly, you should remember that Max-
ima is case-sensitive, so the names Billy, BILLY, and billy are
all distinct. Finally, there are a few protected names that Maxima
reserves for its own use. For example, you would get an error if you
tried to store a value under the variable name values. You would get
a similar error if you tried to assign a value to the names %e, %phi, or
%pi, since these are permanently assigned to the exact values of the
mathematical constants e, ϕ, and π. You can see their decimal (or
floating-point) approximations by using the special function float()
as follows:
float(%e);
2.718281828459045

float(%phi);
1.618033988749895

float(%pi);
3.141592653589793

2 This aggressive-sounding command can also allow you to clear all of the con-
tents in the kernel’s memory and reinitialize the Maxima session. Simply enter
kill(all). Yikes!
 1.1. GETTING STARTED WITH MAXIMA 15

Suppose that, inspired by the last result, you decide to use a better
approximation for π in the circumference and area formulas that we
defined above. To start, you would give the variable pi a new value
by entering:
pi : float(%pi);
3.141592653589793
This change will affect all future interactions with Maxima during this
session. For example, you can now define a new formula for the vol-
ume of a sphere by typing:
volume : 4/3 * pi * radius^3;
4.188790204786391 radius3
As expected, the variable pi in this formula was replaced by its (new
and improved) numerical value. On the other hand, the circumference
and area formulas are not affected by the change in the value of pi.
Instead, they stubbornly cling to their old (and now obsolete) values:
circumference;
6.28 radius

area;
3.14 radius2
To understand the reason behind Maxima’s strange behavior here,
we need to go back and remember exactly what happened in our
interactions with Maxima, from the kernel’s point of view. When we
first assigned formulas to circumference and area, the variable pi
was already assigned the value 3.14. Therefore, these formulas were
immediately evaluated, respectively, as

6.28 radius and 3.14 radius2 .

These were the values that were originally stored in the kernel’s mem-
ory. When the free variable radius was replaced with a numerical
value, Maxima was able to evaluate both circumference and area
as numbers, but their values in memory (in other words, the formulas
above) never changed. Since the variable name pi does not appear in
either of those formulas, they remained unaffected when the value of
pi was changed later on, as we saw above. These observations might
be summarized in the following fortune cookie mantra:
16 1. AN INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING

The kernel remembers your instructions

only in the order that you enter them.

Suppose that, in an attempt to remedy the situation, you decide

to move the cursor back to the cell where you first gave pi a value,
and change the contents of that cell to:
pi : float(%pi);
3.141592653589793
You can then bring the cursor back to bottom of the Maxima session
and evaluate circumference and area once again. In this case, you
will see:
circumference;
6.28 radius

area;
3.14 radius2
Note that nothing has changed in the kernel’s memory! Even though
the iris shows the new definition of pi occurring before the definitions
of circumference and area, as far as the kernel is concerned, pi was
given its new value after these two formulas were defined. In fact, you
can see that this is the case by taking a closer look at the numbers
in the input and output labels for the cells containing the respective
definitions. Once again, you will find that the kernel remembers your
instructions only in the order that you enter them.
In order to fix the two formulas in your computer’s memory, you
will need to enter the original definitions for circumference and area
a second time. Luckily, Maxima keeps track of all of the instructions
that you have entered so far in your session, saving you the effort of
typing the definitions from scratch. You can see these instructions
by holding down the Alt key while pressing the up arrow key several
times. You will see the last commands that you typed appear in re-
verse order in a new cell. You can also scroll forward through your
commands by holding down the Alt key while pressing the down arrow
key. For now, continue pressing Alt-⇑ until you see the command with
which you first defined circumference, and then, without changing
a thing, press Shift-Enter:
 1.1. GETTING STARTED WITH MAXIMA 17

circumference : 2 * pi * radius;
6.283185307179586 radius
Repeating the same process, press Alt-⇑ until you find the command
with which you defined area. Once again, without changing anything,
press Shift-Enter:
area : pi * radius^2;
3.141592653589793 radius2
You have finally changed the contents of the kernel’s memory as de-
sired!
Using the mouse to move back and forth between the various cells
in a Maxima session is a convenient way to correct small errors; how-
ever you should do so only with extreme caution. In particular, since
the order in which the contents of the Maxima session appear in the
iris might not reflect the true contents of the kernel’s memory, it is
also an excellent way to propagate chaos, mayhem, and confusion. A
safer (though arguably less efficient) strategy is to make use of the
Alt-⇑ and Alt-⇓ shortcuts to scroll through your past commands and
make the appropriate changes in order. Regardless of the approach
you choose, you should always keep in mind that the kernel remembers
your instructions only in the order that you enter them!
“Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!”3 And nobody expects
to encounter critical errors in their computations. However, every
once in a while things may go awry and you will be required to restart
Maxima. To prevent losing your data in such an event, you should
save your work often. This can be done by selecting
File  Save
from the drop-down menu at the top of the screen, by clicking the
Save icon at the top of the Maxima window, or by using the keyboard
shortcut Command-S.
The first time that you save a Maxima session, you will be asked to
choose a name, a location for your file, and a document format. There
are two file format options from which to choose. One of these options
is a “wxMaxima document” ending with the file extension .wxm. This
format saves all of your input during the session (including text com-
ments), but none of the corresponding output produced by Maxima.

3 Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Series 2, Episode 2 (1970)

18 1. AN INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING

To recover the output, you would have to evaluate all of the session’s
input again, perhaps by choosing the drop-down menu selection
Cell  Evaluate All Cells
or by pressing Command-R.
The second option is to save your Maxima session as a “wxMaxima
xml document” ending in the extension .wxmx. This format saves
both the input and output from a session, but at the cost of producing
larger files. In general, the choice of format is entirely up to you, but
if you are planning on turning in a Maxima session as a homework
assignment, you should always use the xml format so your instructor
can see the same results you saw before you saved your work. This
is particularly important if you ignored our advice (which you are
always free to do) and the contents of the iris do not reflect the order
in which you evaluated them.
Finally, to close the Maxima session and exit, you can either go to
the drop-down menu and select
wxMaxima  Quit wxMaxima
or press Command-Q. If you have not already done so, you will be
offered one last chance to save your work. Then, after a few moments,
the iris will close down until you summon Maxima once again at a later
time.
 Exercises for Section 1.1
1. Add parentheses to the expression
3 + 2 * 10 - 1;
so that it evaluates to each of the following values. Explain the
evaluation process in each case.

(a) 21 (b) 22 (c) 45 (d) 49

2. Add parentheses to the expression

3 * 8 - 4 / 2;
so that it evaluates to each of the following values. Explain the
evaluation process in each case.

(a) 6 (b) 10 (c) 18 (d) 22

3. Remember that the function log() computes the natural loga-

rithm. Explain how you can still use Maxima to compute log-
arithms with an arbitrary bases. In particular, use Maxima to
determine the value of each of the following logarithms. Note
that you might need to use the function float() to convince
Maxima to give you a simplified answer.
√ 
(a) log2 2 (b) log3 (81) (c) log5 (0.04) (d) log10 (101)

4. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the

world reached a population of 7 billion people in late 2011 or early
2012.
(a) Suppose that the 149 million square kilometers of land on
the surface of the earth was divided equally among this pop-
ulation, so that each person was allotted a square parcel of
land. How long would the sides of each square parcel be?
(b) According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Or-
ganization (FAO), only about 32% of the surface of the earth
is considered arable and suitable for farming. If only the
arable land was divided into equal square parcels among the
population, how long would the sides of each square parcel
be?
(c) Express your answers to parts (a) and (b) in terms of some
concrete unit of length. For instance, you might compare
them to the height of the Empire State Building, the span of
20 1. AN INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING

the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, or the length of a football

field.
5. In the third century BC, Eratosthenes of Cyrene (c. 276 – 195 BC)
noted that the sun was directly overhead at noon on the first
day of summer in the Egyptian city of Syene, on the Nile River
near the Tropic of Cancer. At exactly the same time, in the
northern city of Alexandria, on the Mediterranean coast, the sun
was approximately 7.2◦ to the south. Supposing the earth to be
a perfect sphere, Eratosthenes concluded that its circumference
was given by the formula
360
C= d,
7.2
where d is the distance between Alexandria and Syene.

Alexandria 7.2◦

sunlight
Syene

(a) Explain why Eratosthenes’ formula is correct. If you choose,

you may refer to the diagram above, but be sure to use
complete sentences and proper grammar to formulate a well-
reasoned explanation.
(b) According to surveying records dating to the times of the
Pharaohs, the distance from Alexandria to Syene was 5 000
stadia, a unit of measurement commonly used in antiquity.
Assuming that this measurement is correct, what is the cir-
cumference of the earth in stadia?
(c) Recent archaeological studies suggest that a stadion mea-
sures about 157.5 meters. In this case, what is the circum-
ference of the earth in kilometers? Compare your answer to
the result obtained from the circumference formula in this
section.
 1.2. Symbolic Computation
Most of our interaction with Maxima thus far has consisted in
combining numbers with arithmetic operations, modifying them with
mathematical functions, and storing them in memory using the assign-
ment operator. This sort of behavior, aptly described by the broad
term of numerical computation, may lead you to the conclusion
that Maxima is nothing more than a sophisticated calculator. But
this is hardly the case.
We already caught a glimpse of Maxima’s more advanced capabil-
ities when we evaluated the square root function with an input that
was not a perfect square:
sqrt(45);
√
3 5
Instead of providing us with a decimal approximation, Maxima replied
with a simpler but exact version of the number we wanted. Of course,
we can ask Maxima to provide the corresponding numerical approxi-
mation with the command
float(sqrt(45));
6.708203932499369
The point is that Maxima allows us to manipulate exact mathematical
expressions and only worry about finding decimal approximations as a
last step, assuming that we even do this at all. Indeed, as we saw ear-
lier, Maxima can manipulate free variables before we assign any values
to them. For example, we can ask Maxima to evaluate expressions like
x + x + x;
3x
or
x * x * x;
x3
and she knows perfectly well how to do this, even though x does not
have a well-defined value assigned to it. This type of interaction lies
at the heart of what we mean by symbolic computation.
Whenever possible, Maxima automatically performs standard sim-
plifications like the ones above. However, many other possible sim-
plifications (including logarithmic and trigonometric identities) are
22 1. AN INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING

applied only when requested. For instance, Maxima allows equivalent

expressions like the following to stand unmodified side by side:
a/c + b/c;
b a
+
c c

(a+b)/c;
b+a
c

log(x) + 2*log(y) - log(z);

− log (z) + 2 log (y) + log (x)

log(x*y^2/z);
 2
xy
log
z

sin(x + y);
sin (y + x)

sin(x)*cos(y) + cos(x)*sin(y);
cos (x) sin (y) + sin (x) cos (y)

On the other hand, we can ask Maxima to apply the appropriate iden-
tities to move back and forth between these expressions as follows:
combine(a/c + b/c);
b+a
c

distrib((a+b)/c);
b a
+
c c

logcontract(log(x) + 2*log(y) - log(z));

 2
xy
log
z
 1.2. SYMBOLIC COMPUTATION 23

Table 1-3. Maxima simplification functions.

combine() distrib() expand()

factor() logcontract() radcan()

ratsimp() rootscontract() trigexpand()

trigrat() trigreduce() trigsimp()

radcan(log(x*y^2/z));
− log (z) + 2 log (y) + log (x)

trigexpand(sin(x + y));
cos (x) sin (y) + sin (x) cos (y)

trigreduce(sin(x)*cos(y) + cos(x)*sin(y));
sin (y + x)

Table 1-3 contains a list of just some of the many Maxima functions
available to help you in the process of simplifying expressions. For the
most part, the names of these functions tell you exactly what they
do. Thus, ratsimp() simplifies ratios, logcontract() contracts log-
arithms, trigexpand() expands expressions containing trigonometric
functions, and so on. One notable exception is the function radcan(),
short for “radical cancellation,” which serves as a sort of all-purpose
utility tool that can be useful for simplifying many different types of
expressions. You can find more information about these and other
functions by consulting the Maxima Manual [8], which you can access
by selecting
Help  Maxima Help
from the drop-down menu or by pressing the question mark icon at
the top of the Maxima window.
This impressive list of functions might lead you to wonder why
Maxima does not have a single function that can find the simplest
24 1. AN INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING

form of any given expression. The answer is that any given expres-
sion might have more than one form that could be considered the
simplest. For example, consider the polynomial:
A : (x + x^2 + x^3 + x^4 + x^5 + x^6)^2;
 6 2
x + x5 + x4 + x3 + x2 + x

One way to simplify this polynomial is to decompose it into a product

of prime factors:
factor(A);
2 2  2 2
x2 (x + 1) x2 − x + 1 x +x+1

Another, would be to expand it out as a sum of monomials:

expand(A);
x12 + 2 x11 + 3 x10 + 4 x9 + 5 x8 + 6 x7 + 5 x6 + 4 x5 + 3 x4 + 2 x3 + x2
Which of these is the simplest depends on what we want to do with
our polynomial. If our task is to find its x-intercepts, the factored
version is better. However, if we wish to integrate it, the expanded
version is better. This just goes to show that “shorter” is not necessar-
ily “simpler”. Perhaps there are even some applications in which the
original formulation of this polynomial, which incidentally is shorter
than either of the other two, is the preferable one. Evidently, like
beauty, simplicity is in the eye of the beholder.
As a second example, consider the variety of different forms in
which we might rewrite the following rational expression:
B : (x^6 + 1)/(x+1)^6;
x6 + 1
6
(x + 1)

For instance, we could factor the expression:

factor(B);
 2  
x + 1 x4 − x 2 + 1
6
(x + 1)

Or we could distribute the terms in the numerator between two frac-

tions:
 1.2. SYMBOLIC COMPUTATION 25

distrib(B);
x6 1
6 + 6
(x + 1) (x + 1)

Or we could expand the denominator:

ratsimp(B);
x6 + 1
x6 + 6 x5 + 15 x4 + 20 x3 + 15 x2 + 6 x + 1

Or we might distribute the terms in the numerator over an expanded

denominator:
expand(B);
x6
x6 + 6 x5 + 15 x4 + 20 x3 + 15 x2 + 6 x + 1
1
+
x6 + 6 x5 + 15 x4 + 20 x3 + 15 x2 + 6 x + 1

Again, note that whichever of these forms is preferable has little to

do with which is longer or shorter, or the number of symbols used to
write it, and instead depends on our particular mathematical needs.
In addition to the simplification functions mentioned above, Max-
ima also provides us with a couple of useful shortcuts. For example,
you can access any of the results already computed by entering its
corresponding output label. Thus, you can recall the second result in
this session by typing:
%o2;
6.708203932499369
Furthermore, you can refer to the last result evaluated by the kernel
by making use of the ditto operator (denoted by a percent sign %):
%;
6.708203932499369
Assuming that you started a brand new Maxima session when you be-
gan reading this section and have entered all of the commands exactly
as given above, you should see the same results.
26 1. AN INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING

To see how the ditto operator can aid in symbolic computation,

suppose that we wish to determine the radius and center of the circle
given by the equation

9x2 + 42x + 9y 2 − 120y = 176.

We can enter this equation into Maxima as follows:

9*x^2 + 42*x + 9*y^2 - 120*y = 176;
9 y 2 − 120 y + 9 x2 + 42 x = 176
Observe that using an equal sign does not have the same effect as using
the assignment operator. In particular, the expression above does not
change the value of any of the variables stored in memory. Instead,
the equation above, by itself, represents an unevaluated statement
that may or may not be true. In later sections (when we discuss con-
ditional statements and iteration), we will evaluate equations like this
and get a value of either true or false, but we do not need to worry
about that now.
Returning to the problem at hand, what we need to do is to com-
plete two squares, thereby giving the equation a more recognizable
form. We begin by dividing both sides of the equation by nine, in
order to clear away the coefficients of x2 and y 2 . We do this using the
ditto operator as follows:
%/9;
9 y 2 − 120 y + 9 x2 + 42 x 176
=
9 9

expand(%);
40 y 14 x 176
y2 − + x2 + =
3 3 9

Now, if we were completing the first square using paper and pencil,
we would divide the coefficient of x by two, square it, and add it to
both sides of the equation. Similarly, we would divide the coefficient
of y by two, square it, and add it to both sides of the equation. This
would produce the perfect squares
 2
2 14
2 49 7
u =x + x+ = x+
3 9 3
 1.2. SYMBOLIC COMPUTATION 27

and  2
40 400 20
v2 = y2 − y+ = y− .
3 9 3
In Maxima, we accomplish the same task by replacing x with the ex-
pression u - 7/3 with the substitution command subst() as follows:
subst(x = u - 7/3, %);
 
7
14 u −  2
40 y 3 7 176
y2 − + + u− =
3 3 3 9

expand(%);
40 y 49 176
y2 − + u2 − =
3 9 9

Following the same recipe, we can complete the second square in our
equation by replacing y with the expression v + 20/3:
subst(y = v + 20/3, %);
 
20
 2 40 v +
20 3 49 176
v+ − + w2 − =
3 3 9 9

expand(%);
449 176
v 2 + u2 − =
9 9

Finally, we obtain the desired formula for a circle by moving the con-
stant terms to the right and substituting back for the dummy variables
7 20
u=x+ and v=y− :
3 3

% + 449/9;
625
v 2 + u2 =
9
28 1. AN INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING

subst([u = x + 7/3, v = y - 20/3], %);

 2  2
20 7 625
y− + x+ =
3 3 9

It should
 nowbe clear that the center of our circle is located at the
point − 73 , 20
3 . The radius can be found by taking the square root
of the right hand side of the equation, which we can extract with the
rhs() function as follows:4
sqrt(rhs(%));
25
3

Nearly all of the operators and functions listed in Tables 1-1, 1-

2, and 1-3 can be applied to equations, as we did in the example
above. The only exceptions to this rule are the function exp() and
the operator ^ when used for exponentiation. However, we can use
the operator ^ to raise both sides of an equation to a given power.
Perhaps the most striking tool in Maxima’s symbolic computation
arsenal is the command solve(), which can automatically find the
solution to a large variety of equations. For example, we can find the
unique solution to the linear equation

7x − 3 = 4x + 9

by entering the instruction

solve(7*x - 3 = 4*x + 9);
[x = 4]

We can verify the validity of this solution by substituting it back into

the original equation as follows:
subst(%, 7*x - 3 = 4*x + 9);
25 = 25
We can use the same technique to solve a quadratic equation:

4 The analogous Maxima function to extract the left hand side of an equation is
lhs().
 1.2. SYMBOLIC COMPUTATION 29

solve(x^2 - x = 1);
√ √
5−1 5+1
[x = − ,x = ]
2 2
This yields two solutions which Maxima reports within a list, sepa-
rated by commas and surrounded by square brackets. (Technically
speaking, the unique solution for the example above was also set in a
list with only one item in it.) To access the contents of the list, we
must use an indexing operator , which consists of a pair of matching
square brackets [ · · · ] with a number in between them. In particu-
lar, we can assign the list of solutions above to the variable soln and
then select the first of these by entering soln[1] and the second by
entering soln[2]:
soln : %;
√ √
5−1 5+1
[x = − ,x = ]
2 2

soln[1];
√
5−1
x=−
2

soln[2];
√
5+1
x=
2
As before, we can check the validity of these solutions by substitut-
ing them back into the original equation using subst(). However,
as is often the case when dealing with complicated expressions, an
additional application of radcan() is required to make the equality
explicit:
subst(soln[1], x^2 - x = 1);
 √ 2 √
1− 5 1− 5
− =1
4 2

radcan(%);
1=1
30 1. AN INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING

subst(soln[2], x^2 - x = 1);

√ 2 √
5+1 5+1
− =1
4 2

radcan(%);
1=1
We can also use solve() to find the solution to an equation in-
volving more than one variable. In this case, however, Maxima must
be told for which variable we are intending to solve. For instance, in
order to solve the general quadratic equation

a x2 + b x + c = 0,

where x is the unknown and a, b, and c are coefficients, we enter the

command:
solve(a*x^2 + b*x + c = 0, x);
√ √
b2 − 4 a c + b b2 − 4 a c − b
[x = − ,x = ]
2a 2a
Here, the second input tells Maxima to solve for x and not for one of
the coefficients.
The computational machinery employed by solve() is guaranteed
to work for polynomial equations of degree four or less. In such cases,
Maxima implements the quadratic formula above, as well as the analo-
gous (though less well-known) cubic and quartic formulas.5 However,
Maxima is not limited to such expressions. In addition to many quin-
tic and higher-degree polynomials, solve() can also handle a variety
of equations involving rational expressions, logarithms, exponentials,
and trigonometric functions. For instance, the following equations are
all easily solved by entering a one-line instruction:
solve(x^5 - 5*x^3 + 4*x = 0);
[x = −2, x = 2, x = −1, x = 1, x = 0]

5 Unfortunately, according to a famous theorem by Niels Henrik Abel (1802 –

1829), there is no general algebraic formula for solving polynomials of degree five
or higher.
 1.2. SYMBOLIC COMPUTATION 31

solve((x - 5)/(2*x - 3) = 4/x);

[x = 12, x = 1]

solve((3-log(x))*(3+log(x)) = 9 - log(x));
[x = 1, x = e]

solve(2^(2*x-1/2) = 32*sqrt(2));
[x = 3]

solve((sin(x))^2 = 1/4);
solve: using arc-trig functions to get a solution.
Some solutions will be lost.
π π
[x = − , x = ]
6 6
Take heed of that last warning: Although x = π/6 and x = −π/6
are two possible solutions, there are infinitely many others, including
x = 5π/6, x = −5π/6, and all of their coterminal variants.
The substantial mathematical knowledge displayed in the examples
above leaves no doubt that Maxima can serve as a valuable compu-
tational assistant. However, we should not lose sight of the fact that,
from time to time, Maxima will require our human guidance. After
all, solve() follows a particular set of instructions (what, in computer
science and mathematical circles, is referred to as an algorithm) that
could never completely account for the intuition that a mathematician
brings to bear when solving a problem. For instance, Maxima’s so-
lution for the following equation hardly seems satisfactory until after
we apply radcan():
solve(3^(x+1) = 27);
log (27) − log (3)
[x = ]
log (3)

radcan(%);
[x = 2]
32 1. AN INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING

The same can be said for this equation:

solve(log(x-1)/log(4) = 1/2);
log (4)
[x = e 2 + 1]

radcan(%);
[x = 3]

On the other hand, in the following example, radcan() seems to have

no effect on the final outcome. A little experimentation reveals (per-
haps surprisingly) that expand() does the trick, providing a more
compact answer:
solve(5^(3-x) = 7);
log (7) − 3 log (5)
[x = − ]
log (5)

radcan(%);
log (7) − 3 log (5)
[x = − ]
log (5)

expand(%);
log (7)
[x = 3 − ]
log (5)

Finally, Maxima solves the following equation in terms of x1/3 , so we

must cube the result in order to find the corresponding values of x:
solve(x^(2/3) + 6 * x^(1/3) = -8);
1 1
[x 3 = −2, x 3 = −4]

%^3;
[x = −8, x = −64]

Occasionally, Maxima’s first attempt at solving an equation fails

altogether, and a little more human ingenuity is required from our
part. In many cases, the fix involves applying radcan() before call-
ing on solve(). For instance:
Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
 The measures actually adopted by the government show many
traces of the Civil War Workers Committee recommendations,
though, hastily put in force as they were, they were much less
complete, and in some cases widely different. The arrangements
made but little distinction between men and women workers. The
whole process of “demobilizing” war workers was put in charge of a
“controller general” responsible to the Ministry of Labor, who
controlled the employment exchanges, a new “Appointments
Branch” for “men of office rank” and the labor departments of the
Ministry of Munitions, the Admiralty and the War Office. The
employment exchanges were made the center for the transfer of war
workers. By the day after the armistice the recall of employment
exchange officials from the army had been arranged. Staff and
premises were enlarged and additional local advisory committees
formed. Various efforts were made to provide raw materials and to
hasten the change to peace time work by munition manufacturers.
Instructions to manufacturers asked them to avoid an immediate
general discharge of workers, to abolish all overtime and piece work
at once, and to retain as many workers as possible on short time. If
wages under this plan fell below certain levels, which were for
women 25s. ($6.00) a week, the government agreed to make up the
difference. In case of actual discharge, a week’s notice or a week’s
pay was to be given, and free railway passes home or to new work
places were provided. “The loyal and cordial cooperation of all
employers” in carrying out the directions was invited, but nothing is
at hand to show to what extent they were observed or how far they
lessened unemployment. It will be noted that men and women
workers were treated practically alike under this scheme. The
“Waacs” and other women auxiliaries of the army and navy were
demobilized under the same conditions as all members of the
military forces, receiving, besides certain gratuities, a civilian outfit,
four weeks’ pay and a railway pass.
Special provision for unemployed women through training
courses was outlined in a pamphlet issued by the government in the
spring of 1919.[273] It was stated that a large number of typical
women’s trades, such as clothing, textiles, food manufacture and
laundry work, would be covered by short training courses of from
one to six months’ duration, usually three months. In addition a
special course in housekeeping would be offered. The courses might
be given in any suitable place, such as a factory, as well as in trade
schools and the government instructional factories formerly used for
training munition workers. Approved students were to receive 15s.
to 25s. ($3.50-$6.00) a week while taking the course, with traveling
fares if necessary, and an additional 10s. ($2.40) weekly if obliged to
live away from home.
When the government adopted for immediate action the plans
for relieving unemployment previously outlined it also put forward
certain other schemes for decreasing unemployment during the later
reconstruction period, which included the stimulation of orders and
contracts, public and private, an increase in public works and
improvements and the extension of contributory unemployment
insurance to practically all workers.
The chief reliance of the government in dealing with
unemployment after the armistice was not a contributory insurance
plan, but a system of unemployment “donations.” Before the war
contributory unemployment insurance, paying 7s. ($1.68) a week to
unemployed workers for fifteen weeks a year from a fund created
through small weekly contributions for employers, employes and the
government, covered 2,200,000 workers in six trades, almost all of
whom were males. In 1916 the law was extended for a period of
from three to five years after the end of the war to include most of
the chief war industries with an additional 1,500,000 employes,
including many women. But by an emergency order made within a
few weeks after the armistice, the contributory insurance law was
temporarily superseded by a scheme of “donations” applying also to
all war workers not previously covered and all ex-soldiers and
sailors. Free policies were issued, at first good in the case of civilians
for six months beginning November 25, 1918, and in the case of
soldiers, for twelve months from the date of demobilization. The
policies provided their holders with donations while unemployed for
thirteen weeks if civilians and twenty-six weeks if soldiers. The
original scale was 20s. ($4.80) weekly for women workers, which
was raised after a few weeks to 25s. ($6.00). Additional payments
were made for dependent children, amounting to 6s. ($1.44) weekly
for the first and 3s. (72 cents) for each succeeding child. A later
amendment permitted payments to civilians for an additional
thirteen weeks at a reduced rate, which was, for women, 15s.
($3.60) weekly. Later, in May, 1919, when according to the terms of
the original order all donation policies held by civilians would have
expired, they were renewed for an additional six months. Except for
ex-service men and women, the system was finally discontinued on
November 25, 1919. At this date 137,000 civilians were receiving
donations, of whom 29,000 were females. All donations were paid
through the employment exchanges and could be stopped if the
recipients refused “to accept suitable employment.”
Undoubtedly the system of unemployment donations prevented
much suffering among thousands of wage earners to whom the
country was indebted for their war work. But as a whole its
operation can not be said to have been satisfactory, particularly
among women employes. An entire session of the House of
Commons was devoted mainly to criticisms of the system and its
defence by the Minister of Labor. Complaints of “slackers” who were
taking a vacation at the taxpayers’ expense were met by charges
that women were being forced to take places at sweated wages by
refusals to pay the unemployment donations. In the five months
ending April 25, 1919, claims for donations numbering 141,770 were
disallowed, in 100,442 of which cases appeals to the referees were
made. Only 27,536 of the appealed claims were finally allowed, 81
per cent of the women’s claims being denied, about half of them on
the ground of “refusal to accept suitable employment.”[274]
The Ministry of Labor, which administered the unemployment
donations, admitted that an unsatisfied demand for women workers
existed in domestic service, laundries, the needle work trades and in
some districts in the textile industry at the same time that half a
million women were out of work. But the places open were either
very highly skilled or grossly underpaid and unattractive. For one
firm which needed 5,000 workers, the employment exchanges could
find only fifty women who seemed qualified, of whom the firm hired
only fifteen.
The association of laundrymen even appealed to the government
to bring pressure to bear on the women to accept work, but
apparently no action was taken in answer to the demand. The
women workers themselves said that when the government had
raised the rate of unemployment donations from 20s. to 25s. weekly
on the ground that a single woman could not live on less, they could
not be expected to enter laundries at 18s. ($4.32) a week.
Other less prominent difficulties of adjustment were the
reluctance of soldiers’ wives to enter new kinds of work when they
would retire from industry in a few months, and the unwillingness of
women in general to go from the comparatively high wages of
munitions to the low wages of learners and to factories lacking the
conveniences of the new munitions plants.
Criticism of the system was so widespread that an official
investigating committee was formed which issued two reports.[275]
The committee concluded that there had been no widespread fraud,
though under the plan as first put in operation it was possible legally
for persons who were not genuinely seeking work to abuse the
scheme. The committee felt, however, that the emergency had been
great and that if the later safeguards had been introduced in the
beginning the whole system might have broken down. They
recommended, among other points, swifter prosecution of fraud, a
contributory rather than a noncontributory plan, and discontinuance
of allowances based on the number of dependents. They felt that
applicants must not expect exactly the same sort of work or wage
rates that they had had during the war, and that donations should be
stopped if similar work was refused.

The Domestic Service Problem

 Some of the main difficulties and the keenest discussion centered
on the question of domestic service. That the Ministry of
Reconstruction found it advisable to appoint a “Women’s Advisory
Committee on the Domestic Service Problem,” which made a formal
report, indicates the extent of agitation on the subject. It will be
recalled that during the war the number of household servants
decreased by 400,000. Householders seemingly expected that as
soon as the war was over this shortage would be made up from the
ranks of ex-munition workers. But this failed to occur. Some
dissatisfaction with the wages offered, most frequently 10s. to 13s.
($2.40 to $3.12 a week, with board) was expressed, but the chief
complaint was that of long hours and unsatisfactory personal
treatment.
Various schemes for attracting workers by improving conditions
were put forward, some of which involved radical changes from the
usual customs. The majority of the official Women’s Advisory
Committee, however, placed its chief emphasis in solving the
problem merely on the provision of improved methods of training,
notably a two year course to be entered by girls of fourteen. Other
groups, such as the Fabian Women’s Group and the Women’s
Industrial Council, advocated plans which in essence abolished all
“living in,” and provided for hostels giving training which would send
qualified workers into the homes for a fixed number of hours. By
May the Young Women’s Christian Association was ready to open a
hostel in London from which workers were to be sent out on an
eight hour basis. Employers were to pay 10d. (20 cents) an hour to
the hostel, and the workers were to receive 30s. ($7.20) for a forty-
eight hour week, and to pay the hostel £1 ($4.80) weekly for board,
for a guarantee against unemployment, for use of uniform and club
privileges. If the hostel was successful, others were to be started.
[276]

Meanwhile an active movement for union organization among

domestic servants was begun, and forty branches having 4,000
members were formed in the four or five months after the armistice.
The chief aim of the union was said to be the raising of the status of
domestic service so that the workers would be proud of it. Its
standards seemed to be comparatively modest—a minimum weekly
wage of 12s. 6d. ($2.40) for general servants and 15s. ($3.60) for
cooks, a ten hour work day during a fourteen hour period, part of
Sunday and another half day off weekly and abolition of uniforms.
This last demand perhaps represented the sharpest departure from
prevailing customs. In Glasgow a “Mistresses’ League” was formed
to cooperate with the union, and it was the general opinion of
persons interested that both sides needed organizing.
Still “a house is not a factory,” and there were not wanting
friends of the women worker to point out that domestic service must
necessarily remain to some extent individual and unstandardized.
I am profoundly sceptical as to the various
“industrialised” suggestions put forward—the
introduction of shifts, etc. How could a household
worker strictly on a shift system deal with the
irregular incursion of visitors, children home for the
holidays, measles, influenza, spring cleaning and
other ills to which mortal flesh is heir?...
From the maid’s point of view, I take it the main
disadvantages of domestic service are twofold; the
question of free evenings and the uncertainty as to
the type of household. Time off in the afternoon is
naturally of less value than time off at night.
Similarly a maid may find herself on taking a new
situation in a comfortable home or very much the
reverse.
In a house organized on proper lines, domestic
service has compensations as well as drawbacks. A
just mistress will arrange for adequate time off,
even if the home can not be laid down each week
with mathematical exactness. She will see that her
maids are properly housed, that their food is
 adequate and properly cooked, that their work is
organized on sensible lines and gives as much scope
as possible for individual responsibility. In a
household which lives literally as a family and is
inspired with mutual consideration and good will
“that servant problem” simply does not exist. When
mutual consideration and good will are lacking
neither corps, caps, correspondence nor
conferences will create the cement by which a
contented household is held together.[277]
It is difficult to tell how far these new schemes will change the
conditions of housekeeping and lessen unemployment by attracting
women to domestic service. But the fact that they were put forward
is an interesting sign of the extent of the movement for
reconstructing the national life on better lines.

Dilution and Equal Pay

The other two chief problems of the women workers in the
reconstruction period, that of the “dilutees,” who had taken up men’s
work during the war, and that of “equal pay for equal work” and an
adequate standard of wages for women workers generally, were
closely related to each other. Much of the opposition of the men
workers to the entrance of women into new occupations was based
on the fact that women’s wage standards were lower than those of
men. In most cases, it will be remembered, dilution had taken place
under promises that it would last only during the war. Parliament, by
the Munitions Act, had given the government’s pledge that
departures from prewar practices should be merely temporary in the
establishments covered.[278] Similar clauses, often even more
explicit, were found in practically all the substitution agreements
made by private employers with labor organizations.[279] Meanwhile
the fixing of women’s wages by law had been widely extended, and,
in the opinion of close students of labor problems, “a removal of the
statutory regulations might well be followed by a serious and
immediate fall in wages.”[280]
The government in several instances took action on matters
connected with women’s wages and occupations after the war, but it
is not too harsh to say that a disposition to tide over difficulties
temporarily rather than to define any very clear line of policy was
evident. Two laws were passed affecting the after war wages of
women. The Trade Boards (minimum wage) Act was extended in
1918, before the close of the war, as a measure of preparedness for
peace. “There is reason to fear that the after war dislocation of
industry will make the problem of adequate wages for unskilled and
unorganized workers, especially women, very acute,” said an official
explanation of the changes in the act.[281] “Eight years’ satisfactory
results of Trade Boards pointed to these as the best way of meeting
the situation.” The new law provided that boards might be formed
wherever wages were unduly low, instead of exceptionally low as in
the original law. The general wage level for women workers was so
low before the war that it had often been difficult to prove an
“exceptional” condition. Provisions were also made to have minimum
wage awards come into force more quickly. By the spring of 1919
new Trade Boards had been formed in eight industries.[282] They
apparently fixed wages for women on the basis of the necessary
cost of living for a single woman—28s. ($6.72) for a forty-eight hour
week in laundries, for example.
But the Trade Boards covered only a fraction of the industries of
the country, and further measures were considered necessary to
prevent a dislocation of wages. Following the advice of a committee
appointed by the Ministry of Reconstruction, the Wages (Temporary
Regulation) Bill was passed November 21, 1918. This act required
employers to pay the “prescribed” or “substituted” rate which
prevailed at the time of the armistice for a period of six months. In
May, 1919, the provisions of the act were extended for another six
months. Under this law an Interim Court of arbitration was set up
which handled the arbitration of disputed wage cases. During the
year of its existence it made 932 awards and advised on several
others. On November 20, 1919, this Interim Court was displaced by
the Industrial Courts Act, which in addition to its function of
voluntary arbitration, extended certain parts of the Wages
Temporary Regulation Act until September 30, 1920.[283] At the
close of the war the greatest number of women were substituting for
men on semi-skilled and repetition processes, and it was therefore
semi-skilled men who were menaced most immediately by the
danger of undercutting by the women. But in the rapid extension of
specialized work during the war lay an evident threat to the position
of the skilled worker. A right solution of the two questions, in which
the interests of all the groups concerned would be safeguarded,
would apparently involve a modification of prewar conditions, rather
than a return to them.
Three points of view were evident in English opinion about
women’s work and wages after the armistice. The first point of view
was, briefly, that women workers would and should return to their
prewar occupations. But little attention was given to the question of
their wage level. Whether such a return was possible or just to the
women themselves, or whether they might not be excluded for a
time but remain potential competitors with low wage standards, thus
bringing about the very danger they were trying to avoid—all this
was seemingly not considered. Though relatively seldom expressed
in print it was a viewpoint held widely and tenaciously. Government
officials, visiting America in November, 1917, for instance, said that
marriage, the return of married women to their homes and the
revival of the luxury trades and domestic service, would relieve the
situation. Many old line trade unionists also believed that women
should not be allowed to remain in most of their new lines of work,
and demanded the literal fulfilment of all pledges to that effect. The
general secretary of the Postal and Telegraph Clerks’ Association, at
a conference of “Working Class Associations” said as to the basis of
suitable occupations:
 My own view, for what it is worth, is that this
problem could be solved with very little trouble. I
think a careful study of the census returns for the
last thirty years would help to solve the problem of
the basis of suitability. We could safely conclude
that the occupations which, according to the
census, show a steady and persistent increase in
the number of women employed are suitable
occupations for the extension of women’s labour. I
think we must face it ... that, as far as we can see
at present, the prewar standard for fixing wages as
between men and women is likely to remain.
A second point of view, which might be termed the “moderate”
one, compromising between prewar and war conditions, advocated
the retention of women in all “suitable” occupations, together with
an extension of protective labor legislation, protection of the wage
level by minimum wage fixing, and “equal pay for equal work” where
men and women remained in the same occupations. This opinion
was evident in the two chief official reports on women’s work which
have been issued since the armistice, that of the Home Office on
“Substitution of Women in Nonmunition Factories during the War”
and that of the “War Cabinet Committee on Women in Industry.” The
former described a fairly large range of new employments as
“suitable” for women, including positions in scientific laboratory
work, supervision and management, as well as factory processes.
Even with all unsuitable occupations set aside, there remained “a
body of industries and operations offering a hopeful field of fresh
employment to women, where their war experience can be turned to
account, and should prove a national asset of great value.” Among
the approved trades were light leather tanning, fancy leather
manufacture, box and packing case making, furniture, scientific
instrument making, flint glass cutting and engraving, and cutlery,
except scissors manufacture. The factors causing an occupation to
be disapproved were the heaviness of the work, the use of
dangerous machinery or poisonous substances, the presence of
exceptional heat, wet or dirt and the necessity for night work or
solitary employment.[284] Basing its conclusions on considerations of
“efficiency” and relative output, the War Cabinet Committee decided
that women would probably not remain in heavy manual labor and
out door work. There had not been time during the war to judge of
their effectiveness in skilled work, but in routine and repetition
processes, into which the war had hastened their “normal”
movement, they had been successful and were likely to stay
permanently. Repetition work in the metal trades, light work in
chemical plants, certain processes in printing, woodworking and
manufacture, agriculture, commerce and government positions, and
many of the new administrative and professional openings for
educated women, were mentioned by the War Cabinet Committee as
providing possibilities for the continued work of women.[285] But
both reports recognized that many other factors besides suitability,
notably the attitude of the trade unions, would play an important
part in determining the position of the woman worker.
The chief purpose of the investigations of the War Cabinet
Committee was to decide on the proper relation between the wages
of men and of women. The majority of the committee concluded
that when men and women did radically different work, it was “not
possible to lay down a relation between their wages.” However, for
the protection of women workers they urged a universal minimum
wage for adult women, sufficient to cover the necessary cost of
living for a single woman. The extension and strengthening of
protective labor laws was also endorsed, and the possibility of such
regulation through international action was welcomed. But when the
two sexes had entered the same occupations, the committee
subscribed to the principle of equal pay for equal work, “in the sense
that pay should be in proportion to efficient output.” The committee
believed that piece rates should be equal and time rates should be
fixed by trade union negotiation. In the frequent case in which a
woman was doing part of a man’s job, the total rate should be
unchanged, and the different workers should be paid in proportion
to the value of their contribution. Where processes were simplified
on the introduction of women, the women should be paid the
unskilled men’s rate, unless it could be proved that their work was of
less value.
The third position regarding women’s wages and women on
men’s jobs was clear cut and uncompromising and was perhaps
typified in a minority report to the War Cabinet Committee by Mrs.
Sidney Webb. In this report Mrs. Webb expressed the belief that
existing relations between men’s and women’s employment were
harmful to individuals and to the nation. All occupations should be
opened to qualified persons regardless of sex, at the same standard
rates and under the same working conditions. “Equal pay for equal
work” was an ambiguous and easily evaded phrase. A national legal
minimum wage should also be fixed, in which “there should be no
sex inequality.” As a corollary to the proposals Mrs. Webb believed
that some form of public provision for the needs of maternity and
childhood should be established. “There seems no alternative—
assuming that the nation wants children—to some form of state
provision, entirely apart from wages.”[286]
Eighteen months after the signing of the armistice it was still
hardly possible to know definitely what the after war wages and
occupations of the woman worker would be. After war industrial
conditions in themselves naturally stimulated some return of women
to their former occupations. Many of the women substitutes were
found in munition making which was immediately curtailed, while the
luxury, the needle and other “women’s” trades, depressed during the
war may be expected to revive in time. The reluctance of women to
enter these trades under the prevailing wage standards was very
pronounced, however. Another important factor in forcing women
back to prewar lines of work was the carrying out of certain war time
substitution agreements. For example, the newly formed industrial
council of the wool textile industry, representing employers and
employes, adopted on February 3, 1919, the substitution agreement
made between employers and work people of the West Riding of
Yorkshire three years before. By the terms of this agreement, the
returning soldiers were to get their places back when fit for
employment. Women were not to be employed on men’s work if
men were available and were to be the first discharged if there was
a shortage of work. As long as women substitutes remained in the
industry they were to be paid on a basis equivalent to that of men
workers.
But in other cases, even though similar agreements exist, it
appears probable that they will be modified to allow women to keep
at least some of their new jobs. Although the Amalgamated Society
of Engineers had the legal sanction of the Munitions Acts for
excluding women from engineering at the end of the war, at a
conference between employers and the union for drafting an after
war trade agreement their president expressed his willingness to
allow women to remain in semi-skilled repetition work. According to
this official much of this kind of work would be carried on in
munition plants converted into factories for the manufacture of
articles formerly imported. Officials expect the so-called “Whitley”
industrial councils of employers and employes to make many similar
adjustments, but it has been noted that the council in the woolen
industry merely reverted to prewar conditions and arranged to shut
out the women. Moreover, in many new occupations, notably clerical
and commercial work, which women entered without conditions, and
where their efficiency has been demonstrated, it seems almost
certain that they will remain. The awakened spirit among women
workers and the growth of labor organizations among them, which
will give voice to their demands, must also not be forgotten in
judging whether women will not continue to occupy at least a part of
their new field of work. The radical point of view, that there should
be no barriers against their continuing all their new occupations has
attracted much attention from its logical presentation and the new
note that it strikes.
The position of the government on “dilution” is not wholly clear.
During the Parliamentary campaign of December, 1918, Lloyd
George, in answer to questions from Lady Rhondda of the Women’s
Industrial League, stated that he intended to carry out the terms of
the Treasury Agreement of 1915, which promised to restore prewar
practices. But “the government had never agreed that new industries
come under the Treasury Agreement.” Women could find
employment in these, which were already extensive, and in their
prewar occupations. The Prime Minister also stated that he was “a
supporter of the principle of equal pay for equal output. To permit
women to be the catspaw for reducing the level of wages is
unthinkable.” In his stand at this time, Lloyd George appeared to
approach the middle-of-the-road compromising position of the
majority of the War Cabinet Committee on Women in Industry.
A somewhat similar stand was taken in the “Restoration of
Prewar Practices Act” of August 15, 1919, which arranged for the
fulfilment of pledges made in the Treasury Agreement. It required
the owners of the establishments covered—mainly those engaged in
munitions work—to restore or permit the restoration of prewar trade
rules and customs, and to allow such prewar practices to be
continued for a year.
Rules laid down by the Ministry of Labour are quoted, however,
which would turn out all the “dilutees,” both male and female, and
give back to the skilled men their former monopoly. The rules state
that wherever a part of the force must be discharged, the “dilutees”
must go first and that if a skilled man applies for work, a “dilutee”
must be discharged if necessary.[287] It is probable that these rules
apply only to establishments covered by the Munition Acts, but, as
far as they go, they leave the women nothing of their war time
gains.
On the other hand, in assenting to the recommendations of the
national Industrial Conference, the government agreed with those
who argued for the same protective legislation for both sexes along
with state maternity provisions. This national industrial conference,
representing employers and employes was called in the spring of
1919 during great labor unrest. It urged legislation for a forty-eight
hour week and a universal minimum wage for both sexes, and such
bills were pending in Parliament in September, 1919.
 The conference also proposed that public provision for maternity
care be extended and centralized under the Ministry of Health to
whose creation the government was pledged. Maternity protection
will undoubtedly hold a prominent place in legislation during the
next few years. The successful strike of the women bus workers for
equal pay, supported as they were by their male coworkers and by
the public, gave hope for the coming of industrial equality between
men and women. Such equality immediately raises the question of
pay for the services which married women render to the state. The
rearing of healthy children is of vital national importance and the
endowment of motherhood, provision of milk and proper food for
pregnant and nursing mothers and the extension of maternity
centers and hospitals with medical and nursing care, are already
under consideration by the newly created Ministry of Health.

Child Workers After the War

On the needs of children there was much more general
agreement. The most pressing problem was prevention of
unemployment during the readjustment from war to peace time
production. The larger issue lay in greater public control over the
first years of working life, to the end that the young workers might
grow into better citizens. Both problems were undoubtedly made
more difficult by the harm done to boys and girls in body and
character by the war. But at the same time the war had roused a
greater appreciation of the value of these future citizens and a
greater determination to improve their chances.
Alarming forecasts were made as to the probable extent of
unemployment among boys and girls at the end of the war by a
committee of enquiry appointed by the Ministry of Labour at the
suggestion of the Ministry of Reconstruction.[288] A number of
munition firms which were canvassed said that they intended to
discharge nearly half their boys and three quarters of their girls
when peace was declared. It was estimated that 60,000 out of the
200,000 working boys and girls in London would be thrown out of a
job. Acute unemployment was predicted in occupations that had
engaged more than three-tenths of all working girls—the metal,
woodworking and chemical trades, government establishments,
transport and perhaps commerce.
It was likewise anticipated that it would be particularly difficult
for boys and girls dismissed at the end of the war to find new
places. Not only would openings be few and the numbers of adults
seeking work be large, but the high wages children had received for
repetition work on munitions would make them unwilling to learn
trades or to accept lower pay. When a number of boys were
discharged from munition plants in 1916-1917, although labor at
that time was very scarce, great difficulty was found in getting them
new places because of their unwillingness to accept ordinary wages.
To meet the crisis the Ministry of Reconstruction committee
suggested a comprehensive program for unemployment prevention.
The discharge of war workers should be regulated and placement
centered in the employment exchanges, whose juvenile employment
committees were to be strengthened. Government establishments
should hold back dismissals until notified that places were open. A
canvass for possible openings and for probable dismissals should be
made in advance of the end of the war.
The second point in the committee’s plan was keeping
newcomers out of industry. The exemptions allowing children under
fourteen to leave school should be abolished, scholarships provided
for many capable children at secondary schools, and the working
weeks for all under eighteen reduced to forty-eight hours. For those
still uncared for, training during unemployment should be provided.
Training centers should be opened in all towns of over 20,000
population and allowances made to parents whose children
attended. For the boys most demoralized by war work it might even
be necessary to open residential training camps where they could
remain at least six or eight weeks.
 The third main point in the program was the improvement of
working conditions, including for all occupations a week of forty-
eight hours for work and continuation school together, the abolition
of night work, and a searching physical examination before entering
industry. A novel recommendation was that it should be made a legal
offence to employ young persons under conditions “impeding their
training.”
But as was the case with the women workers, the comprehensive
plans worked out under the Ministry of Reconstruction had not been
adopted when the armistice was signed, and juvenile workers were
helped through the unemployment crisis only by the incomplete
makeshifts hastily adopted in the first few days after November 11.
Chief among these was the provision of unemployment donations,
the payment of which was conditional on attendance at a training
center wherever one was available. The donations were payable for
the same period as those for adults, that is, for thirteen weeks
during the first six months of peace, later extended for a second six
months, but were less in amount, being 14s. 6d. ($5.48) weekly for
boys and 12s. 6d. ($3.00) for girls. During the first few months of
1919, about 50,000 young persons received the donations.
The number receiving donations steadily declined until on
November 21, 1919, when civilian donations ceased, there were
8,000 boys and 2,287 girls on the Labor Exchange donation lists.
[289] By February of that year 116 training centers had been opened,
providing nearly sufficient in London, and a smaller number
elsewhere. More were opening daily, but it was hard to find teachers
and rooms. The centers were managed by the Board of Education, in
close cooperation with the employment exchanges. About 13,500
boys and girls were in attendance daily.[290]
The Fisher Education Law is, to date, the chief constructive
measure looking toward a permanent improvement in the condition
of juvenile workers. This measure was the result of proposals made
by 1917 by an official committee on “Juvenile Education in Relation
to Employment after the War,” which were strikingly like those put
forward by a number of workers’ organizations. All exceptions
allowing children to leave school before the age of fourteen were
abolished. Any gainful employment by children under twelve was
forbidden, and children between twelve and fourteen might work
only on Saturdays and for a few hours after school. Attendance at
continuation schools by all young workers was required, and the age
limit will be eighteen years when the law goes into full effect. Eight
hours a week and two hundred and eighty hours a year must be
given to continuation school, the time for attendance being taken
out of working hours. Unfortunately, those who in some ways most
need the protection of the law, namely, the boys and girls who left
school for work prematurely during the war, do not come under its
provisions. Two special sections exempted those who had already
left school from returning, and those fourteen years old or more
when the law was passed, from attendance at continuation classes.
Nevertheless by the enactment of this law the final effect of the war
on English child labor standards should be to lift them to a higher
level than ever before.
Even at this time of writing it is difficult to measure the final
effects of the war upon the economic conditions of the women and
children. Too many unfinished plans and unfulfilled pledges still
remain for action by the government. Far reaching changes are,
however, in prospect and some of them actually under way.
Foremost among these is the aroused spirit among the workers, who
are demanding and peacefully securing a real share in the
management of industry. In this awakening the woman worker has
fully participated. The disadvantages of war work, in long hours,
overstrain, the disruption of home life, may pass as industrial
conditions return to normal. The gains in the way of better working
conditions, higher wages and a wider range of occupations seem
likely to be more permanent. Most important of all is the fact that
because of her broader and more confident outlook on life, the
woman worker is able consciously to hold to the improved economic
position to which the fortunes of war have brought her.
 APPENDICES
Appendix A
The following table, from a “Report to the Board of Trade on the State of Employment in the United
Kingdom,” of February, 1915, compares the number of males and females on full time, on overtime, on
short time, and unemployed, between September, 1914, and February, 1915.

STATE OF EMPLOYMENT IN SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER

AND DECEMBER, 1914, AND FEBRUARY, 1915
(Numbers Employed in July = 100 per cent.)
September, 1914 October, 1914 December, 1914 February, 1915
M F M F M F M F
60.2 53.5 66.8 61.9 65.8 66.6 68.4 75.0
Full time
3,913,000 1,337,500 4,342,000 1,547,500 4,277,000 1,665,000 4,446,000 1,875,000
3.6 2.1 5.2 5.9 12.8 10.8 13.8 10.9
Overtime
234,000 52,500 338,000 147,500 832,000 270,000 897,000 272,500
26.0 36.0 17.3 26.0 10.5 19.4 6.6 12.6
Short time
1,690,000 900,000 1,124,500 650,000 682,500 485,000 390,000 15,000
Contraction in 10.2 8.4 10.7 6.2 10.9 3.2 11.8 1.5
Nos. employed 663,000 210,000 695,000 155,000 708,500 80,000 767,000 37,500
8.8 ... 10.6 ... 13.3 ... 15.4 ...
Enlisted
572,000 ... 689,000 ... 864,500 ... 1,010,000 ...
Net displacement (-) -1.4 -8.4 -0.1 -6.2 +2.4 -3.2 +3.6 -1.5
or replacement (+) -91,000 -210,000 -6,500 -155,000 +156,000 -80,000 +243,000 37,500

Appendix B
The following table indicates some of the processes formerly reserved for men on which the factory
inspectors found women employed by the end of 1915:
INDUSTRY PROCESSES
Linoleum Attending cork grinding and embossing machines,
machine printing, attending stove, trimming
and packing.
Woodworking—
Brush making Fibre dressers, brush makers and on boring
machinery.
Furniture Light upholstery, cramping, dowelling,
glueing, fret-work, carving by hand or
machine, staining and polishing.
Saw mills On planing, moulding, sand-papering, boring,
mortising, dovetailing, tenoning, turning and
nailing machines. Taking off from circular
saws; box making, printing and painting.
Cooperage Barrel making machines.
 INDUSTRY PROCESSES
Paper mills In rag grinding and attending to beating and
breaking machines, and to coating machines,
calenders and in certain preparations and
finishing and warehouse processes.
Printing Machine feeding (on platen machines and
on guillotines) and as linotype operators.
Wire rope On stranding and spinning machines.
Chemical works Attending at crystallising tanks and for
yard work.
Soap As soap millers and in general work.
Paint At roller mills, filling tins and kegs,
labeling and packing.
Oil and cake mills Trucking, feeding and drawing off from chutes,
attending to presses.
Flour mills Trucking.
Bread and biscuits Attending to dough-breaks, biscuit machines,
and at the ovens assisting bakers.
Tobacco Leaf cutting, cigarette making, soldering,
trucking and warehouse work.
Rubber At washing machines, grinding mills, dough
rolls, solutioning, motor tube making.
Malting Spreading and general work.
Breweries Cask washing, tun-room work, beer bottling
and bottle washing.
Distilleries In the mill and yeast houses.
Cement Attending weighing machines, trucking.
Foundries Core making, moulding.
Tanning and currying At the pits, in finishing and drying, and in
oiling, setting up, buffing and staining.
Woolen mills Beaming and overlooking, attending drying
machines, carding, pattern weaving.
Jute mills On softening machines, dressing yarn,
calendering.
Cotton mills In blowing room on spinning mules, beaming,
twisting and drawing, and in warehouse.
Hosiery Folding and warehouse work.
Lace Threading.
Print, bleach and Beetling, assisting printers at machines,
dye works warehouse processes.

Appendix C
The following tables from the second report of the British Association for
the Advancement of Science bring out in detail, first, the gradual
disappearance of unemployment and short time and the increase of women’s
numbers in industry from September, 1914, to April, 1916; second, the
changes in numbers of women in the various occupations, both industrial and
nonindustrial in December, 1915, and April, 1916, compared with July, 1914,
and, third, similar details as to the number of women who were undertaking
“men’s work.”
STATE OF EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AT VARIOUS DATES
SINCE THE OUTBREAK OF WAR, COMPARED WITH STATE
OF EMPLOYMENT IN JULY, 1914
(“Industrial” employment only.
Numbers employed July, 1914 = 100 per cent.)
Sept., Oct., Dec., Feb., Oct., Dec., Feb., April,
1914 1914 1914 1915 1915 1915 1916 1916
Contraction (-)
or expansion (+) in -8.4 -6.2 -3.2 -1.5 +7.4 +9.2 +10.9 +13.2
numbers employed
Employed on overtime 2.1 5.9 10.8 10.9 13.9 14.5 12.8 ...
Employed on short time 36.0 26.0 19.4 12.6 5.6 6.1 4.6 ...

EXTENSION OF THE EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN

IN DECEMBER, 1915 AND APRIL, 1916
Estimated Increase (+) or
Industrial Decrease (-)
Occupations Group Population. of Females in
July, 1914,
Dec., 1915 April, 1916
Females
Building 7,000 + 3,600 + 6,400
Mines and Quarries 9,000 + 800 + 2,300
Metal Trades 144,000 + 71,700 +126,900
Chemical Trades 40,000 + 19,400 + 33,600
Textile Trades 851,000 + 29,700 + 27,800
Clothing Trades 654,000 + 6,700 + 11,700
Food Trades 170,000 + 31,700 + 30,900
Paper and Printing Trades 169,000 ... - 900
Wood Trades 39,000 + 7,400 + 13,200
Other Trades 96,000 + 25,400 + 35,700
All “Industrial” Occupations 2,180,000 +196,500 +287,500
Commercial 474,500 ... +181,000
Professional 68,500 ... + 13,000
Banking and Finance 9,500 ... + 23,000
Public Entertainment 172,000 ... + 14,000
Agriculture ... ... ...
Transport 9,500 ... + 16,000
Civil Service 63,000 ... + 29,000
Arsenals, Dockyards, etc. 2,000 ... + 13,000
Local Government (incl. Teachers) 184,000 ... + 21,000
Domestic Service ... ... ...
Total for “Nonindustrial” Occupations 983,000 ... +310,000
Total for all Occupations 3,163,000 ... +597,500

EXTENT OF SUBSTITUTION OF FEMALE FOR MALE

WORKERS IN DECEMBER, 1915, AND APRIL, 1916.
 Estimated number of Females on work
Occupations Group in substitution of Males’ work
December, 1915 April, 1916
Building 6,100 8,800
Mines and Quarries 2,700 4,400
Metal Trades 70,300 117,400
Chemical Trades 9,600 16,200
Textile Trades 57,600 73,400
Clothing Trades 30,400 42,300
Food Trades 29,500 35,000
Paper and Printing Trades 22,500 23,600
Wood Trades 11,400 17,400
Other Trades 27,000 37,400
All “Industrial” Occupations 267,100 375,900
Commercial ... 189,000
Professional ... 16,000
Banking and Finance ... 25,000
Public Entertainment ... 32,000
Agriculture ... ...
Transport ... 18,000
Civil Service ... 31,000
Arsenals, Dockyards, etc. ... 13,000
Local Government (incl. Teachers) ... 37,000
Domestic Service ... ...
Total for “Nonindustrial” Occupations ... 361,000
Total for all Occupations ... 736,900

Appendix D
The following table, compiled from the quarterly reports in the Labour
Gazette and a special report of the Board of Trade, gives the increase in the
employment of women between April, 1916, and July, 1918, for the most of
the important occupational groups. It can not be compared directly with the
similar tables, previously given, prepared by the British Association for the
Advancement of Science, because of slight differences in the estimates of the
numbers employed in July, 1914.

EXTENSION OF THE EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN THE

UNITED KINGDOM, APRIL, 1916-JULY, 1918
(Classified by employers’ position, not by nature of work.)
Estimated Estimated increase since July, 1914
No. Empl
July, April, July, Oct., Jan., April,
1914 1916 1916 1916 1917 1917
Industrial Occupations[291] 2,176,000 275,000 361,000 393,000 423,000 453,000
Government Establishments[292] 2,000 25,000 79,000 117,000 147,000 198,000
Commercial 496,000 166,000 240,000 268,000 274,000 307,000
Professional (mainly clerks) 50,500 13,000 14,000 15,000 18,000 21,000
Banking, Finance (mainly clerks) 9,500 23,000 32,000 37,000 43,000 50,000
 Estimated Estimated increase since July, 1914
No. Empl
July, April, July, Oct., Jan., April,
1914 1916 1916 1916 1917 1917
Hotels, Theaters 181,000 12,000 20,000 16,000 10,000 13,000
Agriculture (perm. labor Gt. Britain) 80,000 -14,000 20,000 500 -14,000 ...
Transport (not municipal) 17,000 23,000 35,000 41,000 51,000 62,000
Civil Service 66,000 39,000 58,000 67,000 76,000 89,000
Local Government [293] 198,000 21,000 30,000 34,000 44,000 47,000
Other ... ... ... ... ...
Total 3,276,000 583,000 889,000 988,500 1,072,000 1,240,000

Estimated increase since July, 1914 Per cen

increa
July, Oct., Jan., April, July, July, 19
1917 1917 1918 1918 191 July, 19
Industrial Occupations[294] 518,000 529,000 533,000 537,000 565,000 2
Government Establishments [295] 202,000 211,000 207,500 197,000 223,000 11,20
Commercial 324,000 333,000 343,000 354,000 364,000 7
Professional (mainly clerks) 20,000 50,000 50,000 57,000 ...
Banking, Finance (mainly clerks) 54,000 59,000 61,000 63,000 65,000 68
Hotels, Theaters 22,000 28,000 26,000 25,000 39,000 2
Agriculture (perm. labor Gt. Britain) 23,000 7,000 -6,000 9,000 33,000 4
Transport (not municipal) 72,000 77,000 76,000 78,000 ... ..
Civil Service 98,000 116,500 124,000 159,000 168,000 25
Local Government[296] 49,000 51,500 51,500 53,000 52,000 2
Other ... ... ... ... 150,000 ..
Total 1,382,000 1,462,000 1,466,000 1,532,000 1,659,000 5

Appendix E
The following table, compiled from the Labour Gazette, and a special report
of the Board of Trade, gives a quarterly estimate of the number of women
replacing men for the period between April, 1916, and April, 1918.

NUMBER OF FEMALES SUBSTITUTED FOR MALE WORKERS

IN THE UNITED KINGDOM IN CERTAIN OCCUPATIONS,
BY QUARTERS, APRIL, 1916-APRIL, 1918
April, July, Oct., Jan., April,
1916 1916 1916 1917 1917
Industrial Occupations[297] 213,000 264,000 314,000 376,000 438,000
Government Establishments [298] 13,000 79,000 117,000 139,000 187,000
Commercial 152,000 226,000 264,000 278,000 308,000
Professional (mainly clerks) 12,000 15,000 15,000 17,000 20,000
Banking, Finance (mainly clerks) 21,000 31,000 37,000 42,000 48,000
Hotels, Theaters 27,000 31,000 30,000 31,000 35,000
Agriculture (perm. labor, Gt. Britain) 37,000 35,000 20,000 23,000 32,000
Transport (not municipal) 24,000 35,000 41,000 52,000 64,000
 April, July, Oct., Jan., April,
1916 1916 1916 1917 1917
Civil Service 30,000 41,000 64,000 73,000 83,000
Local Government[299] 18,000 26,000 31,000 40,000 41,000
Total 547,000 783,000 933,000 1,071,000 1,256,000

July, Oct., Jan., April,

1917 1917 1918 1918 (A)
Occupations[300]
Industrial 464,000 490,000 503,000 531,000 24.4
Government Establishments[301] 191,000 202,000 197,000 187,000 9,350.0
Commercial 328,000 337,000 342,000 352,000 70.9
Professional (mainly clerks) 21,000 22,000 22,000 22,500 44.5
Banking, Finance (mainly clerks) 53,000 55,000 57,000 59,500 626.3
Hotels, Theaters 38,000 44,500 45,000 44,500 24.5
Agriculture (perm. labor, Gt. Britain)43,000 33,000 31,000 40,000 50.0
Transport (not municipal) 74,000 78,500 78,000 79,500 21.3
Civil Service 99,000 107,000 123,000 153,000 231.8
Local Government[302] 43,000 44,000 44,000 47,000 23.7
Total 1,354,000 1,413,000 1,442,000 1,516,000 46.2

(A) = Per cent No. of substitutes in April, 1918, is of total No. employed in July, 1914

Appendix F

ESTIMATED NUMBER OF FEMALES DIRECTLY

REPLACING MALES IN VARIOUS BRANCHES
OF INDUSTRY IN JANUARY, 1918.
(Compiled from the Report of the War Cabinet Committee
on Women in Industry.)

Trade
Metal 195,000
Chemical 35,000
Textile 64,000
Clothing 43,000
Food, Drink and Tobacco 60,000
Paper and Printing 21,000
Wood, China and Earthenware, Leather 23,000
Other 62,000
Government Establishments 197,000
Total 700,000

ESTIMATED NUMBER OF FEMALES DIRECTLY

REPLACING MALES IN VARIOUS BRANCHES
OF COMMERCE IN APRIL, 1918.
 (Compiled from the Report of the Board of Trade
on the Employment of Women in April, 1918.)
Wholesale and Retail Drapers, Haberdashers, Clothiers, 41,000
Wholesale and Retail Grocers, Bakers, Confectioners 92,000
Wholesale and Retail Stationers and Booksellers 16,000
Wholesale and Retail Butchers, Fishmongers, Dairymen 30,000
Retail Chemists 12,000
Retail Boot and Shoe Dealers 8,000
Total (including some not specified above) 352,000

Appendix G

ESTIMATE BY THE BRITISH WAR CABINET COMMITTEE ON

WOMEN IN INDUSTRY ON AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS
OF WOMEN IN VARIOUS OCCUPATIONS AT
THE END OF THE WAR.
Earnings under 25s. weekly:
Dressmakers, milliners (first five years), laundry workers, pottery
workers (most grades), knife girls and kitchen hands in refreshment
houses.
Earning between 25s. and 30s. weekly:
Cutlery workers, soap and candle makers (unskilled), corner tenters
(cotton), woolen and worsted weavers, backwashers (Scotch
Tweed), dyers and cleaners, biscuit makers, cigarette makers,
pottery workers (certain grades), waitresses in refreshment depots.
Earning between 30s. and 35s. weekly:
Ammunition makers (women’s work), chainmakers, salt packers, fine
chemical workers, soap makers (most operations), card-room
operatives (cotton), clothing machinists, workers in grain milling
and brewing, cigar makers, shop assistants (co-operative).
Earning between 35s. and 40s. weekly:
Workers in the light casting trade, chemical laborers, big tenters and
ring-spiners (cotton), wool combers, tailoring fitters and cutters,
boot operatives, bakery workers, jigger women in potteries,
tanners, shop assistants (large stores).
Earning between 40s. and 45s. weekly:
Workers in engineering, chemicals (shift work) and explosives; textile
dyers, tobacco machinists, motor drivers (for shop), railway
carriage cleaners, telephonists, railway clerks.
Earning between 45s. and 50s. weekly:
Cloth lookers (cotton), hosiery machinists, web dyers, gas index
readers and lamp-lighters, railway porters, ticket collectors,
telegraphists.
Earning between 50s. and 60s. weekly:
 Ledger clerks, Civil Service clerks (Class I).
Earning over 60s.:
Women on skilled men’s work in engineering omnibus conductors
(London), gas workers (heavy work for South Metropolitan Gas
Co.).

Appendix H

NUMBER OF ORDERS MODIFYING THE LABOR LAWS, ISSUED

FROM AUGUST 4, 1914, TO FEBRUARY 19, 1915
(Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops for 1914, p. 56.)
Textile: Clothing:
Wool 748 Uniforms 514
Hosiery 231 Fur coats 9
Cotton 159 Boots 245
Flax 28 Caps 28
Hemp and jute 29 Shirts 73
Silk 8 Bedding 33
Dyeing and finishing 37 Surgical dressings 21
Leather and leather equipment 105 Tobacco 10
Canvas equipment 137 Food 37
Munitions 151 Tin boxes 37
Shipbuilding 15 Camp equipment 52
Electrical supply 35 Wire and wire netting 34
Metal accessories 141 Wagons, etc. 34
Machinery 57 Rubber 16
Wood 44 Miscellaneous 73
Total 3,141

Appendix I
The following list of modifications of the hour laws in 1915 was compiled from
the Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops for 1915.
Industry Persons Affected Latitude
Munitions. Women. As in 1914.
Boys over 14.
Girls over 16.
Woolen and worsted Women and young persons. 6 hours weekly overtime,
(from May). in 2-hour shifts on
3 days or 1½ hours on
4 days. No overtime
on Saturday.
Weaving (July-Nov.). Women and young 8 hours weekly overtime
persons over 16. in 2-hour shifts on 4 days.
 Industry Persons Affected Latitude
Hosiery. Protected persons. 1½ hours overtime on 4
days, or 1 hour on
5 days, but not on
Saturday or Sunday.
Cotton. Protected persons. 6 hours overtime weekly.
Margarine. Not stated. Not stated.
Window shades. Not stated. Not stated.
Flax. Not stated. Not stated.
Rope walks. Not stated. 6 hours overtime weekly.
Bleach and dye works Not stated. 6 hours overtime weekly.
(surgical dressings;
raising and finishing
flannelette).
Tanning and currying. Women. 4 hours overtime weekly.
Boys over 14.
Canvas equipment. Not stated. 5 hours overtime weekly.
Shipbuilding. Boys over 14. (a) Overtime, 5 hours a
week for boys under
16; 7½ hours for
those over 16.
(b) Eight hour shifts.
(c) Day and night shifts.
Bread baking. (a) Boys 17. (a) Night shift (not
exceeding 9 hours).
(b) Boys 15 and over. (b) Any period of 9 hours
between 4 a.m. and
8 p.m.
Pastry baking (a) Women and boys (a) Night shift (not
(Scotland). of 17. exceeding 9 hours).
(b) Boys 15 and over. (b) Any period of 9 hours
between 4 a.m. and
8 p.m.
Chocolate.[303] Women. When necessary, on account
of hot weather, between
6 a.m. and 10 p.m. for
for two spells of 4 hours
each, one in the morning
and one in the afternoon.
Leather equipment.[304] Women and young Overtime 1½ hours per day.
persons over 16.
Aerated waters.[305] Women. Extension of overtime
allowed by S. 49.
Glass. Boys over 13 Extension of S. 55.
(educationally qualified).
Oil and cake mills. Women and boys 8-hour shifts, or day
over 16. and night shifts.
Flour mills. Women and boys 8-hour shifts, or day
over 16 and night shifts.
Toys and games.[306] Women. Overtime as allowed by S.49
and night shifts during
the Christmas season.
 Industry Persons Affected Latitude
Dairies. Women and young 5 hours on Sundays, with
persons. weekly limit of 60 hours.
No other overtime during
the week.
Paper mills. Women. 8-hour shifts, or day
and night shifts.
Pottery. Not stated. Suspension of certain
regulations.
Sandbags.[307] Women and young Overtime, 3 hours
persons. per week.
Cement (Essex and Kent). Women. Night shift.
Waterproof capes Women and young (1) Overtime, 4½ hours
(War Office persons over 16. per week.
contracts).[308] (2) Permission for Christians
to work on Saturday
and Jews on Sunday.
Manchester warehouses. Women and boys Overtime, 2 hours on not
over 16. more than 4 days a week
and on not more than 12
days in any 4 weeks.
Lace and patent net Women, (1) Different periods
factories (processes girls over 16; of employment for
of threading, brass boys over 14. different workers.
bobbin winding, (2) Where (1) is impractic-
jacking off able overtime 1½ hours
and stripping). per day, but with a
weekly limit of 60
hours exclusive of
meal times.
Non-textile works Women, Rearrangement of the
engaged on work for girls over 16; statutory hours but
the Crown, or on boys over 14. period of employment
work required in not to exceed 14 hours
the national on any one day, or 60
interest.[309] hours (exclusive of
meal times) in any week.

Appendix J

GENERAL ORDER REGULATING OVERTIME

ISSUED BY THE HOME OFFICE
SEPTEMBER 9, 1916.
The following is the full text of the
parts of the order applying to women:

Scheme A. (Three Shifts.)

This scheme applies to women and female young persons of 16 years of
age and over, and male young persons of 14 years of age and over. Three
shifts, none of which may be longer than 10 hours, may be worked in each
period of 24 hours, subject to the following conditions:
(1) Each worker shall have one break of 24 hours or more in every week,
or of 32 hours or more in every alternate week, or of 40 hours or more in
every third week.
(2) Each worker shall have an interval of two unemployed shifts between
each two shifts of employment.
(3) An interval of not less than half an hour shall be allowed if the shift is 8
hours or less, and an interval of not less than one hour if the shift is more than
8 hours.
Provided that the superintending inspector of factories may authorize,
subject to compliance with condition (1) and to such other conditions as he
may impose, different arrangements as regards hours of work and breaks at
the week end for the purpose of changing over the shifts.

Scheme B. (Two Shifts.)

This scheme applies to women and female persons of 16 years of age and
over and male young persons of 14 years of age and over, provided that the
employment in the night shift of girls under 18 or boys under 16 years of age
shall be subject in each case to the approval of the superintending inspector of
factories. Two shifts of 12 hours each may be worked, subject to the following
conditions:
(1) No person shall be employed more than 6 turns by day or more than 6
turns by night in any week.
(2) Unless otherwise sanctioned by the superintending inspector no person
shall be employed on Sunday except in a night shift commencing on Sunday
evening or ending on Sunday morning.
(3) The total hours worked per week (exclusive of meal times) shall not
exceed 60 provided that in the case of male young persons 16 years of age
and over the total hours worked per week (exclusive of meal times) may be
63.
(4) Intervals for meals amounting to not less than 1½ hours shall be
allowed in the course of each shift, of which in the case of the night shift one-
fourth of an hour or more shall be allowed as a break within 4 hours of the end
of the shift.
(5) Each worker shall have an interval of one unemployed shift between
each two shifts of employment.
Providing that the superintending inspector may authorize, subject to such
conditions as he may impose, a system of one long shift, not exceeding 13
hours with a corresponding reduction in the other shift, so that the average
weekly total of hours shall not exceed the limits specified above in paragraph
(3).

Scheme C. (Rearrangement of Statutory Hours.)

This scheme applies to women and female young persons of 16 years of
age and over, and male young persons of 14 years of age and over.
 In the case of such women and young persons the hours of work and
intervals for meals allowed by the (factory and workshop) act may be
arranged, subject to the following conditions:
(a) The total hours worked per week (exclusive of intervals for meals) shall
not exceed 60.
(b) The daily period of employment (including overtime and intervals for
meals)—
(1) Shall not commence earlier than 6 a.m. or end later than 10 p.m.
(2) Shall not exceed 14 hours.
(c) Intervals for meals amounting to not less than 1½ hours shall be
allowed during the period of employment, with an additional half an hour if the
period of employment is more than 13½ hours.
(d) No overtime shall be worked on Saturday.

Naval Ship Repairing Work.

In cases of special emergency women, female young persons of 16 years of
age and over, and male young persons of 14 years of age and over, employed
on repair work for His Majesty’s ships may be employed for special hours on
any day of the week on the express instructions of the senior naval officer in
charge and subject to such conditions as he may lay down as regards intervals
for meals and rest, provided that in any case—
(1) No male young person over 16 years of age shall be employed for more
than 67½ hours in the week (exclusive of intervals for meals and rest).
(2) No other young person or woman shall be employed for more than 65
hours in the week (exclusive of intervals for meals and rest).

Miscellaneous Provisions.
No woman or young person shall be employed continuously at any time for
more than five hours without an interval of at least half an hour, except that
where not less than one hour is allowed for dinner, an afternoon spell of six
hours may be worked, with an interval of quarter of an hour only for tea, if the
factory inspector is satisfied that adequate provision is made for the worker to
obtain tea in the works and for tea to be actually ready for them as soon as
they stop work.
If work commences before 8 a.m. and no interval is allowed for breakfast,
an opportunity shall be given to take refreshment during the morning.
A woman or young person shall not be allowed to lift, carry, or move
anything so heavy as to be likely to cause injury to the woman or young
person.
Different schemes of employment may be adopted and different intervals
for meals fixed for different sets of workers.
Employment on night shifts shall be subject to the provision, to the
satisfaction of the factory inspector, of proper facilities for taking and cooking
meals, and in the case of female workers, for their supervision by a welfare
worker or a responsible forewoman.
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