[TimCraig]

I suspect the underlying problem is that the students don't understand the size implications of the different variable types and what happens when you invoke arithmetic operations where the result exceeds that size. Or just how easy it is to exceed the size. Simply adding two quantities can produce an overflow. Also, with integer arithmetic the order the operations are specified can how a profound impact on the result. Understanding these topics is required to understand why most of the casting that is needed to program the FIRST RC is necessary.