OK, last question about math (no problems)!!!!! Ten points for best answer!!!!!?

Question

OK, my uncle and I have had these weird debates of why algebra is important...he says it is useless and just waists our time in school...he says its not nescesary at all in life, he thinks it should be banished from being taught. I think on the contrary.

So why are the below topics important...what can they be used for...because it would be useless if u couldn't apply it to anything in life (making equations etc)

inequalities

functions

linear equations (elimination, substitution methods and Cramers Rule)
Completing the Square
Quadratic formula and quadratic functions
exponents
(basically all the topics covered in my Algebra II class-there was more)

haha, no Clemenza 222...I'm an honors english student so I'm pretty sure that my grammar and spelling is good...besides, it's the internet, we're not preparing to write an essay or novel.

PS...U forgot to capitalize the M at the beginning of your sentence.

oh, nad iM sroryr

Answer 1

inequalities:
You have $10. Milk costs $4.95 per gallon, bread costs $1.09 per loaf, and lunch meat costs $2.00 per pound. If you have to buy some of each of those three items, what is the maximum number of loaves of bread you can buy?
$4.95 + $2.00 + x*$1.09 <= $10

Functions are just another way of expression equations. You use equations everywhere. (See the inequality example - equations are used the same way.)

Completing the square - granted you may never use that in everyday life, but if you go into ANY industry that requires some math knowledge (which is a LOT of them), you will need to know how to do this.

Quadratic formula & functions - quadratics are useful in carpentry, for example. Pythagorean theorem is used to make sure you have right angles.

Exponents - without exponents, you couldn't figure out interest (like how much you earn in a savings account, or how much extra you are paying by financing that car instead of paying cash for it).

Algebra is used pretty much every day in one way or another.
Even theater majors will probably need it - how much should they charge for tickets in order to cover the costs of running the theater and make a profit?
Businesses need to calculate how much they can afford to pay people and how much they need to charge for a product.
You use it to figure out if the job you are working is going to pay enough to cover the bills, or if you'll need to get a second job to cover the rest. Or you want to save for a big purchase (house, trip), so you need to figure out how much to put away each month in order to reach your goal by a certain date.

Most importantly, math classes teach you to think logically and problem-solve. That should help you every day of your life - whether it's math related or not.

Answer 2

In upper level math, probably only 10% of what you learn is applicable to "real life". So, the latter topics you presented, Cramer's Rule, completing the square, quadratic equations, likely belong to that view. You normally won't use those topics in real life, but they assist you in attaining more math in the future that can be used in real life.

For instance, knowing how to work with quadratic equations will help you determine "real life" volumes of truly odd shaped objects which is a purpose of calculus, a math you will learn in the future. So, the quadratic formula itself isn't used in "real life", but knowing about it helps in finding a volume of an object.

Additionally, knowing how to work quadratic functions permits you to utilize formulas that make use of them. Some such formulas is calculating car payments, house payments, or loan repayments.

For the other topics, I'll try to give some insights.

Inequalities: You use these all the time already. You are younger than (<) your uncle. In 10 years, your age will still be younger than your uncle's. An inequality showing this could be: You + 10 < Uncle + 10.

A function is simply an expression. Sample expressions are x + 5, 7x - 9, 2x^2 + 3x + 5, or even just 10. You can see that we used an expression on each side of the inequality presented in the paragraph above when we wrote You + 10 and then Uncle + 10. We use functions/expressions everyday.

Answer 3

Your uncle was right, but only for your uncle. Most high school students and many college students don't know exactly what their career will be and how important algebra (and other higher mathematics) will be. If algebra is not 'mastered' in high school, it may be necessary to take it again in prep school to enter certain scientific disciplines. Algebra is a foundation to organizing much mathematical thought and logic. If a doctor must use algebra to determine the dose of medicine based on your uncle's weight (etc.) it will not be a complete waste even to your uncle. Electrical circuits can be calculated by assigning resistors values of R1, R2 and R3, etc. even before any particular value is known. But there are many walks of life where algebraic calculations are little required.

Answer 4

Your uncle sounds very narrow-minded.

If he were to decide which topic is worth teaching and which one is utterly worthless, The US (I am assuming you are an American) population would be so specialized in such a narrow field of knowledge that it would become a third world country within a couple generations.

The fact that your uncle does not use algebra does not mean it is useless. It is very useful in engineering. If engineers did not learn algebra, you would never:
-Drive a car
-Take a plane
-Use a computer
-Walk on a bridge
-Use any kind of electric appliance

The list is endless: you get the idea

Answer 5

How are those things useful in my life? I doing research in Physical Chemistry. I use those skills all the time. Everything you listed, including linear equations. Whether calculating pKas, specific heats, molecular orbital densities, or energies, you can' get around algebra and more math besides. If your uncle was successful, science would come to a screeching halt. Just because HE doesn't need them, doesn't mean no one else does.

But it is more than that. There are some basic skill that should be learned, even if they have no relevance in life. Most people do not need to read at anything higher than a sixth grade level, but that doesn't mean we should abolish high school English. Most people don't need to learn history either. And in fact, there are a lot more people who need algebra, than those who need to learn everything else in high school. We teach these subjects, because we expect someone who goes to high school to be somewhat knowledgeable about the way the world works and to be relatively cultured. That means learning English. It means learning a foreign language. It means learning history. And it means learning algebra.

Your uncle probably thinks that no one should learn algebra, because he sucks at it. But it has as much value as anything else we teach, and it probably even has more.

Answer 6

It all depends on what you want to do when you get older. Most of the quadratic stuff is used for people like engineers and stuff like that. If your just going to go into something else like........the police department (just an example) then yeah it's useless unless your going to figure out in your head the path of your bullet trajectory or the hyperbola of your jump if you start at one point, running at 4.5mph, reach a height of 12 feet and land at the second point.

So in all reality both you and your uncle are right in general. But it fully depends on what your going to do in life that will really decide who is right.

Answer 7

First off let me start by saying I HATE MATH!

I agree with your uncle that algebra is a waste of time...I mean I'm sure there is some job out there (besides a math teacher0 where it is used, but if you are majoring in Mass Communication like I did or something like theater then it is all a waste of time...Im sure its used somewhere in Engineering and Science but other than that, I would have much rather skipped Algebra and went for a nice walk or took a second theater class in hs.

Answer 8

I agree with your Uncle, UNLESS you are a student who shows aptitude towards mathematical fields, and you want to aim for something like NASA. Then go for it! Otherwise, algebra should be considered an elective.

In all seriousness, I've rarely, if ever, seen any practical application of Algebra in daily life. Even more regrettable was the high school semester spent earning a D studying chemistry. Oh now there was a practical course. Sheesh...

Answer 9

inequalities and functions are definitely useful for computer programming.

some of that other algebra stuff might be used by the engineers that have to get our parts within tolerances.

I don't know what the quadratic formula is anymore. So it hasn't been useful to me.

Answer 10

inequalities can be used in sharing money, ...
functions can be used to find area of your garden, volume, ...
cramer rule is a method to calculate easily
completing square to make your brain function
quadratic formula is used for determining two unknown values
exponent to write things in short