Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Question of the Day

Has anyone ever explained the use of quadratic equations in daily life and why we were forced to learn them in Algebra II?

5 barks and woofs on “Question of the Day

  1. I have found them quite useful in the things I’m working on, finding the speed of high speed vehicles. The ability to match equations to reality is essential. No, I didn’t remember them from high school, but knowing that what I imagined could actually be done was vital. Then I googled the rest: much of it in the form of YouTube videos of college lectures 🙂

    • I understand their use in teaching logic and process, but maybe I’m just freaked out by the memory of Mrs. Burget asking “How many know?”

    • I realized I have ADD when I sat in Algebra I class and completely zoned out. I had to retake it to graduate from college when I went back in my 50’s. I got a cute little calculator, but it zoned out too. I don’t know how I made it with a C+, the worst grade I ever got. I loved geometry, though. Must tell you something about how my mind works. Illogically, apparently.

  2. Well,you will never do anything significant in science or engineering without that knowledge, but if you’re certain as a teenager that you don’t want to or won’t be able to contribute anything of lasting usefulness to humanity, then I agree, you shouldn’t be forced to stretch your brain. However, know that the sour-grapes attitude of people who don’t appreciate math is not very becoming. It’s a bit like asking, what use is physics in daily life? What use is Shakespeare in daily life? What use is knowing the difference between adjectives and adverbs (which few sportscasters do) in daily life?

    A college-graduation once asked me, since I work in the power-generation field, how electricity is made. In daily life, all you need to know is how to flip a light-switch, but that electricity would not be there without people who can solve quadratic equations.

  3. why did I spend two semesters reading plays in English? I like going to the theater, but reading plays cold has never been my idea of a good time. And, horror of horrors, what if Mr Henson pick me to enact a scene in front of the class?

    Kids need to be exposed to all kinds of different things. How else will you find what you love to do?

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