Re: [Mid] Math bashing

From: Alan Terlep <atterlep_at_oakland.edu>
Date: Tue 21 Dec 1999 01:26:16 PM EST
Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.4.20.9912211312520.30323-100000@saturn4.acs.oakland.edu>

On Tue, 21 Dec 1999, Melanie Johnson wrote:

}Here is exactly what I have NEVER understood-variables-three is three...

Let me give it a shot. I'm not a math person at all.

A "variable" is just a number that you don't know. The most simple example
is the answer to a problem:

4+3=X

This is an equation! It has two sides that are equal to each other. You
can probably figure out what X is here...

All algebra consists of tricks that you use to figure out the value of these
unknown numbers. So take another example:

4+X=7

Again, it's not too hard to figure out what X is here.

Or how about this one?

2*X=8

These are all algebra equations that you can solve without thinking about
it.

Fairfax

From: Alan Terlep <atterlep@oakland.edu>
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Received on Tue Dec 21 13:26:00 1999

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