Why is algebra important in High School to College?
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Because it’s the math you will use in real life situations and most jobs will require some of it
Because it’s the math you will use in real life situations and most jobs will require some of it
Frankly IMO everyone should learn college level linear algebra, calculus and statistical analysis. It’s such important tools for so many things, pretty much regardless of what you plan on studying.
Frankly IMO everyone should learn college level linear algebra, calculus and statistical analysis. It’s such important tools for so many things, pretty much regardless of what you plan on studying.
A lot of people here have excellent points about how algebraic concepts are used in lots of modern professions, but I do want to point out that learning is about stretching your muscles, so to speak.
When you want to run a 5k, do you train just for a 5k? No, you work on running 10k. You lift weights in the gym when you are practicing for a football game even though you won’t be lifting on the field.
You may never need more than basic arithmetic in your adult life, but if you’ve practiced with higher concepts, the lower-level stuff is easier for you.
A lot of people here have excellent points about how algebraic concepts are used in lots of modern professions, but I do want to point out that learning is about stretching your muscles, so to speak.
When you want to run a 5k, do you train just for a 5k? No, you work on running 10k. You lift weights in the gym when you are practicing for a football game even though you won’t be lifting on the field.
You may never need more than basic arithmetic in your adult life, but if you’ve practiced with higher concepts, the lower-level stuff is easier for you.
So much of the “useless” stuff we learn in grade school and high school is exercise that primes our brains for different modes of thinking.
We know that kids who grow up in musical households have a better ear for music when they’re adults. We know that if kids don’t learn language before they’re five or six years old (as has been observed in cases of severe neglect and in feral children) their brains are much less able to learn language later on.
Even if you’re not going into a technical career where you have to be “doing math” on a daily basis, it’s still good for your brain to be exposed to it. Even if you aren’t good at it on a test, it’s good for your mental development to think about it and play with it. Later in life if you do find that you have to “do math” you’ll be better able to get your head around the basics than if you’d never been exposed to it when young.
Unfortunately institutionalized schooling focuses on test results and university admissions, so we think anyone who gets less than 70% on a math test is a failure, but they were still exercising their brains. Being able to run a mile in ten minutes is great, but being able to run a mile at all is still better than nothing.
So much of the “useless” stuff we learn in grade school and high school is exercise that primes our brains for different modes of thinking.
We know that kids who grow up in musical households have a better ear for music when they’re adults. We know that if kids don’t learn language before they’re five or six years old (as has been observed in cases of severe neglect and in feral children) their brains are much less able to learn language later on.
Even if you’re not going into a technical career where you have to be “doing math” on a daily basis, it’s still good for your brain to be exposed to it. Even if you aren’t good at it on a test, it’s good for your mental development to think about it and play with it. Later in life if you do find that you have to “do math” you’ll be better able to get your head around the basics than if you’d never been exposed to it when young.
Unfortunately institutionalized schooling focuses on test results and university admissions, so we think anyone who gets less than 70% on a math test is a failure, but they were still exercising their brains. Being able to run a mile in ten minutes is great, but being able to run a mile at all is still better than nothing.
A lot of good answers have been given here.
I’ll just add that a big part of algebra is simplification. You start with a mix of known and unknown numbers which are related to each other in different ways. This relationship is described in writing using symbols which, by the time you’re in algebra class, you’re already quite familiar with; it’s just one level more complex. By following certain rules, you learn to make that descriptive “sentence” slightly simpler, and then even simpler, in steps, until you arrive at the values for the unknowns, thus solving what seemed like an unsolvable problem. Each sentence you made was still expressing essentially the same thing; you just followed a process to break it down and express it in a new way each time, leading to a solution.
Teachers have already done this for you many times in school, breaking down complex topics into simpler chunks and repeating the same information in different ways. Algebra gives you a very structured way to practice building that problem-solving skill, yourself. It also is a very necessary foundation for all the higher levels of math.
Also, there are similarities between algebra, human language, and computer programming languages. You may find you improve your language and computer skills if you work on math skills at the same time, and vice-versa.
After algebra, you might ask what’s geometry for… and one answer is that in that class, as you visualize how numbers are related and learn about “proofs”, you also learn formal logic, which is the next level of problem-solving skills you’ll be really glad to have a solid foundation with, instead of whatever analysis skills you’ve cobbled together on your own so far. Algebra gets you started with that, but geometry really solidifies it.
A lot of good answers have been given here.
I’ll just add that a big part of algebra is simplification. You start with a mix of known and unknown numbers which are related to each other in different ways. This relationship is described in writing using symbols which, by the time you’re in algebra class, you’re already quite familiar with; it’s just one level more complex. By following certain rules, you learn to make that descriptive “sentence” slightly simpler, and then even simpler, in steps, until you arrive at the values for the unknowns, thus solving what seemed like an unsolvable problem. Each sentence you made was still expressing essentially the same thing; you just followed a process to break it down and express it in a new way each time, leading to a solution.
Teachers have already done this for you many times in school, breaking down complex topics into simpler chunks and repeating the same information in different ways. Algebra gives you a very structured way to practice building that problem-solving skill, yourself. It also is a very necessary foundation for all the higher levels of math.
Also, there are similarities between algebra, human language, and computer programming languages. You may find you improve your language and computer skills if you work on math skills at the same time, and vice-versa.
After algebra, you might ask what’s geometry for… and one answer is that in that class, as you visualize how numbers are related and learn about “proofs”, you also learn formal logic, which is the next level of problem-solving skills you’ll be really glad to have a solid foundation with, instead of whatever analysis skills you’ve cobbled together on your own so far. Algebra gets you started with that, but geometry really solidifies it.
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