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2006-06-29 08:38:03 · 23 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics Mathematics

23 answers

All the time. You just don't realize it. Like when you calculate a tip. Sometimes you know how much tip you'll give but you don't know what % that is. So people will calculate. Algebra is just finding a variable, even if the variable is the answer. Like 2/$3.00, what's the tax on that @ 6%. you just did algebra.

2006-06-29 08:42:22 · answer #1 · answered by Mickey S 2 · 0 0

Actually, if you get really good in algebra, you can use that skill to do arithmetic better in the real world. You can do things in your head instead of on paper.

Here's a really simple example: let's say that you want to buy three of something that costs $18. Off the top of your head, you don't know what 3 x 18 is. BUT! Algebra tells you that multiplication is associative. So if you think of 18 as 2x9, then you can think:

3 x 18 = 3 x (2 x 9)
= (3 x 2) x 9 (that's the associative part)
= 6 x 9
and then you remember from your multiplication tables that 6 x 9 is 54. So you'll pay $54.

Here's a more complicated example: You're traveling for 5.5 hours at 65 miles per hour, and want to know how much distance you'll cover (distance = speed x time).

Well, first, 65 x 5.5 = 65 x (55 / 10) = (65 x 55) / 10. But now, how do you multiply 65 x 55 in your head? Well, if you've learned about factoring in your algebra class, you can reason based on the "difference of two squares":

(a+b)(a-b)=a² - b²

65 x 55 = (60 + 5)(60 - 5)
= 60² - 5² (there's the difference of two squares factoring coming into play)
= 3600 - 25 (60 and 5 are easy to square in your head)
= 3575 (also easy)

So 65 x 5.5 = 3575 / 10 = 357.5 miles! And the point is that, with the algebra knowledge, you can do a lot of this in your head -- I wrote it all out for you to read, but you don't have to!

2006-06-29 10:11:26 · answer #2 · answered by Jay H 5 · 0 0

Business, engineering, science, etc.

If you don't like living pay-check to pay-check, barely scraping by until pay-day, you need to go to college, and in college, you need to know algebra or you'll not pass anything.

Algebra is actually so easy. At 19, I could teach a high school algebra II class if I wanted to. What's hard is the higher level mathematics that are built upon an base of knowledge with algebra.

2006-06-29 08:44:45 · answer #3 · answered by trancevanbuuren 3 · 0 0

Nope.....not unless your an air-traffic controller. Its crazy. Ive been in the medical field for a long time and I have never used an algebraic equation to solve a problem........go figure. Of course you use the basics every single day, but algebra is overrated.

2006-06-29 08:42:41 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

From center college on to my sophmore 3 hundred and sixty 5 days in college, I made all my acquaintances at a church, then we determined they're too controlling. now and again i'm tempted to call them a cult, yet I loved the persons there a lot, i'm able to't call them one. besides, my husband and that i left, and now i have not were given any genuine acquaintances anymore in genuine existence, so yeah, i'd say people on line see me more advantageous. it really is confusing to commence over after highschool, or maybe extra sturdy attempting to satisfy people in college once you're already married, b/c i do not social gathering like anybody else my age. note to unmarried college scholars: only b/c we are married and favor to be abode through 2 in the morning does no longer mean we do not favor to have interesting too!

2016-11-15 10:35:11 · answer #5 · answered by nader 4 · 0 0

You know, I was thinking of improving cruise control by having the device use two beams and constantly calculating the slope of the road ahead to determine if it needs to acclerate NOW in order to meet the demand of the road 2 seconds from now. But that's calculus, not algebra.

You're right. Algebra is useless.


eyes_on_kane:
A man weighs 200 lbs. He needs a shot of nitroglycerine to keep his heart pumping. How much in the shot?

2006-06-29 08:42:21 · answer #6 · answered by bequalming 5 · 0 0

Algebra, physics, and calculus are like the scaffolding of a building. You need it in order to build it, it looks ugly, and when it's finished you don't find a trace of it still there. But you couldn't have built the building without it.

But we need more engineers, because as dependent as we are on our technology, someone needs to know how the magic works.

2006-06-29 09:34:36 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Yes.

You have 20 bucks. You need gas. Gas costs $2.79 how much gas will that get you? How far can you go on that much gas? How many days will that last you?

That is algebra.

You're drunk. It's 2:30 AM and you're at Taco Bell. You have $2.93 in your pocket. How many bean burritos can you get?

That's algebra too.

2006-06-29 08:42:32 · answer #8 · answered by cirestan 6 · 0 0

Yes. Most people use Algebra without realizing it. We don't actually think about abstract formulas (like 2x+6=0), so most people don't actually realize that they are using Algebra.

2006-06-29 09:50:04 · answer #9 · answered by Loren J 2 · 0 0

absolutely... if you have a recipe to feed 4 people and you have 12 coming to dinner... what do you do? you triple the ingredients...

how do you figure out your gas mileage on your car?

many of the methods of solving algebraic problems are used in everyday life to solve problems of different kinds.. but you learn it in algebra class

2006-06-29 08:42:49 · answer #10 · answered by ♥Tom♥ 6 · 0 0

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