Why Is Algebra Important

The essay begins with the creation of Algebra in 1545 by doctor Giordano Cardan. It was created to be this way of simplifying problems and Cardan believed it to be an art form that would never go out of style or lose usefulness over time. For the most part he was correct as nearly 500 years later it is still in use, yet for many people it does not simplify anything at all. Cardan was a man of numbers, he gambled and clearly had a great understanding of mathematics, so algebra made sense in his mind but this is not the case for everyone. Math is puzzle that people need to work through to understand, explains Baker, and many people enjoy this aspect of it much like Cardan. Baker himself was a dedicated student who put in week to learn material for a math exam and got a score of 93 for his efforts. Other students, however do not feel as though they can accomplish this. Not all students see the world in numbers and the material they are forced to study is confusing and only gets harder as the course goes on. Fr many student’s algebra

Humans possess a wide range of attributes and characteristics, of which one of the most funda- mental features is that of curiosity. This curiosity has led man to wonder, ponder and then learn. The curious nature of humans drives them to always try to find solutions to the puzzling mysteries behind their ideas and thereby ending up inventing and innovating, extending the boundaries of science and technology. Babylonians and Egyptians used arithmetic, algebra and geometry for taxation and other financial calculations, for building and construction, and for astronomy. To deal with the new dynamics that had arisen from the work of Sir Issac Newton and Galileo Galilei the creation and development of calculus was required. All of them made use of the fundamental tools and items at their disposal to achieve this, but would not have been successful without the one crucial tool - knowledge of mathematics. Mathematics is a language - the language of science and it comes as no surprise that mathematics is vitally important when explaining any phenomenon or scientific theory or proving scientific laws.

Algebra is a critical aspect of mathematics which provides the means to calculate unknown values. According to Bednarz, Kieran and Lee (as cited in Chick & Harris, 2007), there are three basic concepts of simple algebra: the generalisation of patterns, the understanding of numerical laws and functional situations. The understanding of these concepts by children will have an enormous bearing on their future mathematical capacity. However, conveying these algebraic concepts to children can be difficult due to the abstract symbolic nature of the math that will initially be foreign to the children. Furthermore, each child’s ability to recall learned numerical laws is vital to their proficiency in problem solving and mathematical confidence. It is obvious that teaching algebra is not a simple task. Therefore, the importance of quality early exposure to fundamental algebraic concepts is of significant importance to allow all

The general belief around the country (or perhaps even the world) is that math classes will be beneficial to a well rounded student. In some cases, such as the author argued, this might be true as a recent high school graduate who hasn't had the life experiences that someone later in their life might have. The author continues to explain that in their line of previous work and general experience, they already have the general math knowledge that their degree will need.

The article I choose to defend here today is the “IS Algebra Necessary Article.” In this article he talks about how he feels that algebra really isn’t a necessary course we shouldn’t have to learn it and if we must learn it then It should be taught a unique way. I tend to agree with them because of these three examples, “six million high school students and two million college freshman student struggles with algebra”, “making mathematics mandatory prevents us from discovering and developing young talent”, “most educators I’ve talked with cite algebra as the major academic reasoning for why students fail or drop out of high school.” In the first place, while reading the article about, Is Algebra Necessary

The infographic looks at the Common Core State Standards’ stance on algebra, which is taught in the eighth grade. According to the Common Core, students who take algebra can become familiar with more complex math courses as they progress through school, and will have more knowledge when they enter college. However, the infographic points out that childhood brain development tends to plateau in the eighth

The “Accelerated Algebra Issue” has been leaving educators and parents over some difficult questions. When should formal algebra be taught? Who should be taking Accelerated Algebra 1/Geometry or any accelerated mathematics course in middle school or in high school? How should algebra be presented and in what form? How should student placement be determined?

While taking algebra, students are exposed to abstract thinking by making decisions based on given information. When they apply for a job or participate in a work setting, the employers will look for these abstract thinking skills. In the article, “Should Algebra Required” which appeared in the New York Times, Hacker states that algebra as a requisite is an obstacle for many students to graduate from college. Hacker indicates that algebra should be considered prudent because it “develops student’s problem solving skills, which involve step-by-step analysis” (2012). Based on that, this step-by-step analysis skill is important in several career settings, including but not limited to the following fields: law, medical, and mathematics. However, further research shows that even occupations such as electricians, upholsters, and plumbers that do not require a college degree must have some type of background in mathematical and reading skills. If as a society we consider to lower academic standards, then we will face the consequences in our nation, especially with the immense competition in the new global economy. As a citizen, scientist, or simply a human being, one must prepare our mental abilities to be able to understand abstract thinking in different disciplines in order to make the proper connections between problems and solutions.

You would need to create saving plans, understand and make smart investments, compound interest (interest on interest), making a budget and knowing the difference between a credit and debit card. Two additional examples of mathematics in the real world are student loans, you must create a plan to pay back a specific amount each month and determine when you will be out of debt. An additional example that remains under the category of the basics of banking, for profitable stock trading you must ensure that the average gain of winning trades are larger than the average loss of losing

A question that sometimes is mentioned is how can algebra make our lives easier? Some people assume that our need for math is basic. This is saying that we should be fine as long as we can add, subtract, multiply, and divide. What these people do not realize is that algebra is used in our lives more than they think. For students, determining your grade-point-average (GPA) and understanding what is your class grade takes a bit of algebra to understand. For example, if a high school student wants to determine what their GPA for admission to a university, they have to know what numbers represent the letter grades. Traditionally,

Geometry and Algebra are so crucial to the development of the world it is taught to every public high school in the United States, around 14.8 million teenagers each year (National Center for Education Statistics). Mathematics is the engine powering our world; our stocks, economy, technology, and science are all based off from math. Math is our universal and definite language “I was especially delighted with the mathematics, on account of the certitude and evidence of their reasonings.” (Rene Descartes, 1637).

Remember being taught something new in a mathematics class and thinking to yourself, “when am I ever going to use this in life?” Sure, not every mathematical theory taught in class will be used in your career, but from my experience, many of the skills learned in mathematics are frequently utilized each day. While mathematics may not be everyone’s favorite subject, I found it to be not only the subject I use the most outside of school, but the one that I enjoy the most, which is why mathematics is my favorite subject.

It is often said that math and science are two subjects that go hand in hand. Much of the work that scientists do, is conduct experiments to produce data. In most cases, the data involves numbers. Whether it involves weight, speed, time, temperature, etc., that data is mostly quantifiable. In order to solve problems, scientists, as well as students striving to be scientists must use the basic forms of algebra to accurately solve their calculations. Being a chemistry major, I have found that as a student progresses to higher level chemistry, the courses become more math intensive, this being a challenge for those who did not succeed in the following college algebra topics.

Most students in my algebra II class, in high school, disliked math substantially. Math was only required to be taken for two years and if you were going to attend college, Algebra II was a requirement. When their two years were up, I could say that about half the students did not continue math. Many students in my Pre-Cal class always had a thing about asking the teacher when they were ever going to solve a problem like that in the “real world”. I noticed that the ones who had lower standards for example, they were set on going to the junior college or going straight to working, did not continue math after two years in high school. The students who were set on going to a four year university continued on with math. The students with lower standards did not care to go above and beyond. This had me thinking. If some students felt that math was useless in the “real world”, why are we required to take it? In my opinion I feel that students should be required to take a math class as a GE requirement, but it should be math that is applied to the “real world”. Those who need math in their career can continue their math studies even further.

Mathematics, like every creation of man, have evolved without really knowing how far you can get with them: the scope of the computer, physics, chemistry, algebra, all are evidence of this. Every aspect of our culture is based in some way or another in Mathematics: language, music, dance, art, sculpture, architecture, biology, daily life. All these areas of measurements and calculations are accurate. Even in nature, everything follows a precise pattern and a precise order: a flower, a shell, a butterfly, day and night, the seasons. All this makes mathematics essential for human life and they can not be limited only to a matter within the school curriculum; here lies the importance of teaching math in a pleasure, enjoyable and understandable way. Mathematics is an aid to the development of the child and should be seen as an aid to life and not as an obstacle in their lifes.