Posted on 12/09/2019 10:17:36 AM PST by Red Badger
A mathematician at Carnegie Mellon University has developed an easier way to solve quadratic equations.
The mathematician hopes this method will help students avoid memorizing obtuse formulas.
His secret is in generalizing two roots together instead of keeping them as separate values.
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A mathematician has derived an easier way to solve quadratic equation problems, according to MIT's Technology Review. Quadratic equations are polynomials that include an x², and teachers use them to teach students to find two solutions at once. The new process, developed by Dr. Po-Shen Loh at Carnegie Mellon University, goes around traditional methods like completing the square and turns finding roots into a simpler thing involving fewer steps that are also more intuitive. Here's Dr. Loh's explainer video.
VIDEO AT LINK
Quadratic equations fall into an interesting donut hole in education. Students learn them beginning in algebra or pre-algebra classes, but they’re spoonfed examples that work out very easily and with whole integer solutions. The same thing happens with the Pythagorean theorem, where in school, most examples end up solving out to Pythagorean triples, the small set of integer values that work cleanly into the Pythagorean theorem.
Quadratic equations are polynomials, meaning strings of math terms. An expression like “x + 4” is a polynomial. They can have one or many variables in any combination, and the magnitude of them is decided by what power the variables are taken to. So x + 4 is an expression describing a straight line, but (x + 4)² is a curve. Since a line crosses just once through any particular latitude or longitude, its solution is just one value. If you have x², that means two root values, in a shape like a circle or arc that makes two crossings.
Dr. Loh’s method, which he also shared in detail on his website, uses the idea of the two roots of every quadratic equation to make a simpler way to derive those roots. He realized he could describe the two roots of a quadratic equation this way: Combined, they average out to a certain value, then there’s a value z that shows any additional unknown value. Instead of searching for two separate, different values, we’re searching for two identical values to begin with. This simplifies the arithmetic part of multiplying the formula out.
Dr. Loh believes students can learn this method more intuitively, partly because there’s not a special, separate formula required. If students can remember some simple generalizations about roots, they can decide where to go next. It’s still complicated, but it’s less complicated, especially if Dr. Loh is right that this will smooth students’s understanding of how quadratic equations work and how they fit into math. Understanding them is key to the beginning ideas of precalculus, for example.
Outside of classroom-ready examples, the quadratic method isn't simple. Real examples and applications are messy, with ugly roots made of decimals or irrational numbers. As a student, it's hard to know you've found the right answer. Dr. Loh’s new method is for real life, but he hopes it will also help students feel they understand the quadratic formula better at the same time. Many math students struggle to move across the gulf in understanding between simple classroom examples and applying ideas themselves, and Dr. Loh wants to build them a better bridge.
Does this help in deciding if one has Winter or Summer Diesel #2?
Oh heck, I thought everyone knew this. I’ve been doing it that way for years.
We were told there would be no math.
Yes, it doesn’t seem to be a new way to solve the problem.
Common Core says you can’t do it this way.
Common Core says there’s no such thing a Quadratic Equations...............
I would think a thermometer would....................
They lied....................
I’ve already got that formula seared in my brain but thanks!
Meh. I watched the video, twice. And I don’t see how this guy’s method is that much better then the old quadratic formula method.
In fact, I like the old method better because it’s more mechanical. You just plug in the numbers and out come the solutions.
Never saw anything so racist.
Is it easier than cursive writing?
bkmk
Seared into your memory like Kerry’s trip to Cambodia!..............
“Common Core says there’s no such thing a Quadratic Equations...............”
No. Common Core says to punch the problem into a calculator.
My calculator doesn’t have a,b,and c on it...............I have another one that does, though..................
Always laughed at multiple choice tests that had you solve quadratic equations.
You always had a 1:4 chance of getting the right answer without doing the problem!...................
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