Arch at Home Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 My rising ninth grader has a fine arts/liberal arts bent. She has completed rate, work, and similar types of problems in Algebra I which have very obvious practical applications. Now she is working on the later topic of factoring, radicals, fractions, rationalizing denominators of factoral equation and the like. I am starting to get why do "I need to learn this" and what is the practical application. She currently sees this as a box checking excercise. Though she knows that she needs to know Algebra and more to score well on the ACT and get into a college of her choice, at 13 these do not seem like good enough reasons. Any help that you might be able to give me to keep the practical in advanced math would be appreciated. Sarah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Once in Algebra I or II, Mr. Firebaugh (of Math Relief) started talking about how the quadratic equation's 2 solutions can be used to identify the two points on a line that a curve will pass through -- for example a ball thrown up and coming down. It's not an awesome example, but it at least let me know that the quadratic equation (on which you spend so very much time in Algebra) has actual application and wasn't just created to torture us :) Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Lots of applications in science. You can't do physics without math, nor can you do chemistry (in order to do the really interesting stuff in physics, you need trigonometry and calculus - and algebra 1 is just a preparation for the higher math classes.) Free fall parabola is a quadratic function. Ph scale is logarithmic. Personal finance: compound interest requires power laws/logarithms. Very useful, and many people are woefully lacking in an understanding of compound interest which has direct impact on their family finances. Algebra is needed in geometry - and geometry is used by every carpenter, painter, tile installer, sailor, or any time somebody wants to build and construct something. many scientists and engineers use math. I am surrounded by people who use algebra 2, trigonometry, and calculus on a daily basis for their living. None of the electronic gadgets we and our teens are using would have been developed without people who understand and apply higher mathematics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 These are all for practical use of algebra Simple article http://suite101.com/article/children-use-algebra-everyday-to-solve-problems-a59021 Long article http://www.csub.edu/~lwildman/comappAlge1std.htm 8 page PDF http://www.garnermath.com/downloads/Usiskin_Why-is-Algebra-Important.pdf Nice news article http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-12-22/news/9312220065_1_algebra-christmas-tree-four-students Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Foerster has good word problems, but you might try to get a copy of the new edition BJU algebra 1 and take a look. Every single lesson has some kind of intriguing application, either with real world word problems or some interesting math tidbit. Just a few examples: 11.2--They give a scenario with tsunamis and wave velocity where you end up using a radical in the equation. They give a paragraph of description, include a picture, etc., very interesting. Then they give a scenario looking at skid marks, speed, and friction coefficient which uses an equation with a radical. 11.3--Here they're multiplying radicals, so the word problems or more theoretical (rectangles, blah blah). However in their extension section they explore the golden ratio, which seems like a really eccentric, odd thing to do, until you find out photographers use it (without the math, hehe). So for that, they ask you to evaluate 1/phi = 2/(1+ root5). They spend a whole page exploring this, very interesting. 11.6--They continue with golden ratios and explore golden rectangles and how they relate to photography and graphic design. They set up a scenario with web design and pixels and wanting to determine ratios of primary and secondary content on the screen using the golden rectangle (l/w=phi). 12.5--Here they're applying quadratics and they explore a landscaper planning a fountain who wants the streams of water to intersect a certain way. 12.7--They continue to explore the fountain example, this time asking the student to do a "quadratic regression" so they can find the height of the water if it's hitting at 5 feet from the head, the height of the water at various feet from the head etc. 13.1--They explore musical intervals. Apparently Pythagoras did something with them and violin strings. You set up an arithmetic mean equation and predict the length of string needed to produce a tone one octave higher, where the string should be pressed, etc. 13.5--They do problems with Doppler effect and sound waves. Actually that's in the B problems. The C problems explore the drt problems with multiple rates and demonstrating average speed for the round trip using variables. Every single lesson has real world application like that. Political polls, volcano spews, all sorts of real world applications. A lot of it is physics, obviously, but they try to get it into the real world of things kids might actually use it for someday, even if they never go into physics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arch at Home Posted May 24, 2013 Author Share Posted May 24, 2013 Foerster has good word problems, but you might try to get a copy of the new edition BJU algebra 1 and take a look. Every single lesson has some kind of intriguing application, either with real world word problems or some interesting math tidbit. The BJU sounds like what we need. Does anyone know if there is similar in the newest edition of their Geometry text? I can look at the Foerster also. Any other texts that make an effort to make the Real World connection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 The BJU Geometry 3rd edition was a copyright update and doesn't have the changes they're making in the new cycle of updates. Algebra 1 was updated this school year and is now listed on the website. The Geometry will be updating this coming school year. I'm not sure exactly when it will be available. If I could suggest though, you might be happy with them staggered. That's how I'm using them. Our TT stuff is just the basics, gets the job done, gets done every day, then I come in with BJU and kick it up a notch. I don't try to correlate them or anything. You could. I just don't. When I look at the online samples of the current edition BJU Geometry, even though it says for instance Dominion Math, it doesn't have the *pervasive* application that they added in the new edition. The new edition has that math extension stuff in every single lesson, not just once a chapter. I'm not sure you'll get what you're hoping for if you buy the *current* edition. You'd need this new update cycle. But the books (tm, text, etc.) should start to trickle out this coming year. In the meantime you could get that BJU algebra 1 and enjoy. Oh, and I use the tm with it. Saves the old brain, lol. It has every problem worked out in entirety. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate in Arabia Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Foerster has good word problems, but you might try to get a copy of the new edition BJU algebra 1 and take a look. Every single lesson has some kind of intriguing application, either with real world word problems or some interesting math tidbit. Discovering Mathematics does something similar; in each section's problem list they have a section labeled "Maths@Work" where you get word problems involving practical application of the topics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in Richmond Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Real World Algebra by Zaccaro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 I was looking at a copy of Saxon Geometry teachers guide (through googling) and there are many real world applications in the examples and problems. ETA NASA applications http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/exploringmath/algebra1/ http://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/books.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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