Why do we have to learn algebra and how do people use it in our daily life?
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It’s used in many many different ways, but it doesn’t mean people carry an algebra textbook with them all the time.
Virtually any profession uses (mostly simple) algebra on a daily basis.
Even in your non-professional daily life you use it all the time, for example, when you do the shopping for the month, you either use statistics (last month I bought x amount and it was enough) or algebra (I use x amount per serving, I have y servings per week, a month has 4 weeks, therefore I need 4*y*x amount).
To be a better problem solver. People solve problems almost every moment. Why not do a bit of extra work and become better at it? So much of life is like this. Accept the challenge, defeat it, and move on.
Algebra is the mathematical tool for solving story problems. Math problems in real life are usually stories or situations. Say you want to buy some coffee beans. One brand costs $8 for 12 oz. The other one is $20 for 24 oz. Which is the better deal? You use algebra to turn the real life situation into a math problem to solve and then apply that answer back to real life. How much *should* 36 oz cost, may be another problem to solve.
I would offer that the answer to the first part of your question has very little to do with the second.
We learn algebra because it holds a universally understood level of difficulty. There’s no wiggle room for interpretation – you either understand algebra and can use its fundamentals to solve problems or you cannot. The point of education isn’t necessarily to give you the tools to use every day, but to teach you how to learn.
By learning algebra, you’re demonstrating that you’re able to learn things *as difficult* as algebra. It’s less about taking the quadratic formula and finding ways to use it in your daily life and more about demonstrating that you’re able to master subjects as difficult as those found in algebra.
If you want to be an engineer, an accountant, or any number of other professions, you might have to become comfortable with concepts that are as difficult or more difficult than the concepts found in algebra. By passing algebra, you’ve made a notch in a measuring stick that lets others understand your capacity to learn new things. You once didn’t know any algebra. You had to learn it. That’s demonstrative of your capacity to understand complex ideas.
**TL;DR: It’s not about using algebra in your daily life, but algebra’s known level of difficulty is useful as you learn how to learn.**
To be a better problem solver. People solve problems almost every moment. Why not do a bit of extra work and become better at it? So much of life is like this. Accept the challenge, defeat it, and move on.
I would offer that the answer to the first part of your question has very little to do with the second.
We learn algebra because it holds a universally understood level of difficulty. There’s no wiggle room for interpretation – you either understand algebra and can use its fundamentals to solve problems or you cannot. The point of education isn’t necessarily to give you the tools to use every day, but to teach you how to learn.
By learning algebra, you’re demonstrating that you’re able to learn things *as difficult* as algebra. It’s less about taking the quadratic formula and finding ways to use it in your daily life and more about demonstrating that you’re able to master subjects as difficult as those found in algebra.
If you want to be an engineer, an accountant, or any number of other professions, you might have to become comfortable with concepts that are as difficult or more difficult than the concepts found in algebra. By passing algebra, you’ve made a notch in a measuring stick that lets others understand your capacity to learn new things. You once didn’t know any algebra. You had to learn it. That’s demonstrative of your capacity to understand complex ideas.
**TL;DR: It’s not about using algebra in your daily life, but algebra’s known level of difficulty is useful as you learn how to learn.**
Anesthesia here. I use it on the daily for drug concentrations and drug calculations to make sure I don’t overdose(kill or maim) underdose (lol) people in my care.
I don’t have pharmacy or some automated system looking over my shoulder to make sure I do my calculations correct so I’d say it’s pretty important.
Anesthesia here. I use it on the daily for drug concentrations and drug calculations to make sure I don’t overdose(kill or maim) underdose (lol) people in my care.
I don’t have pharmacy or some automated system looking over my shoulder to make sure I do my calculations correct so I’d say it’s pretty important.
Every time someone alters that recipe for four people to feed two, they are using algebra. Every time someone figures out how much a half-tank of gas is going to cost them, or how much gas they can buy for $10.00, they are using algebra. Every time someone calculates how much the tip should be, they are using algebra.
BTW, the principles of algebra are identical to the principles of logic. Both can be derived from category theory.
Every time someone alters that recipe for four people to feed two, they are using algebra. Every time someone figures out how much a half-tank of gas is going to cost them, or how much gas they can buy for $10.00, they are using algebra. Every time someone calculates how much the tip should be, they are using algebra.
BTW, the principles of algebra are identical to the principles of logic. Both can be derived from category theory.
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