Math Is Fun Forum

timone5666

Member

Registered: 2009-03-01

Posts: 2

What is a good way to get ready for COLLEGE ALGEBRA MATH 111 ?

I am taking MATH 111 at Clark College spring quarter and was wondering what is a great way to prepare for it? I can probably find a College pre-algebra book from the library and brush up on that. What do you recommend? I want to get straight A's next quarter. Gonna take Physics, Algebra, ENGL 102, and a p.e. class. Load of hard courses huh?

Motherof8

Member

Registered: 2009-02-10

Posts: 1

Re: What is a good way to get ready for COLLEGE ALGEBRA MATH 111 ?

I don't know if this is the right place to make this post, but I couldn't find any other place to make a post.  I have a question.  How would one use quadratic equations in everyday life?  I want my children to be able to use what they learn.  I've been teaching my son about quadratic equations and find them interesting but wonder how they can be applied.  Motherof8

Jai Ganesh

Administrator

Registered: 2005-06-28

Posts: 48,026

Re: What is a good way to get ready for COLLEGE ALGEBRA MATH 111 ?

Motherof8,
Quadratic equations often appear in applications of Mathematics, and knowing to solve them is an absolute must. If you know the sum of two numbers and their product, it is possible to find the numbers by solving the quadratic equation that you get from the given facts. For example, if the sum of two numbers is 15 and their product is 56, the quadratic equation you'd get is

Using the formula

,

.
Therefore, the numbers are 7, 8.
Quadratic equations may appear in any subject in mathematics, for example, combinatorics.
For example, knowing to solve quadratic equations is essential for answering this question.

Q: In a get-together, every person present shakes hands with every other person once. If there are 91 handshakes in all, how many people attended the get-together?

A: Letthe number of people present be n. Each person shakes hand with (n-1) perons. Therefore, number of times hands are shaken are n (n-1). In a handshake, two persons are involved. Hence, the number of handshakes is \frac{n\left(n-1\right)}{2}[/math]

:- Given in the problem

This is quadratic equation, and knowing the formula, the value of n can be found to be 14. This is just an illustration. There are many more applications in all branches of Mathemtics, such as Mechanics, Calculus, Trignometry, Matrices, Vectors etc. and Physics and Chemistry too.

---

It appears to me that if one wants to make progress in mathematics, one should study the masters and not the pupils. - Niels Henrik Abel.

Nothing is better than reading and gaining more and more knowledge - Stephen William Hawking.