How does Math Put the Action in Your Passion - Essay Example

Running Head: How does MATH put the action in your passion? Mathematics has always been the most uninteresting and unappreciated among students. It is a topic that does not elicit the attention and the eagerness of the students to discover the mysteries of numbers. Oftentimes it is the duty of the Teacher to catch the attention of its learners by linking math principles to their desires and interests; giving situations such as how measurements are needed to bake the perfect chocolate chip cookies, or equating rate to distance over time to calculate how fast one is in skateboarding. Being able to put math to one’s passion paves the way for greater appreciation. Mathematics is a way of life. We go through the daily routine using numbers in all facets – from measuring, counting, computing, and even problem solving. On a sunny day, when we sell lemonade in a make shift booth we start to estimate the possible profits of X glasses of fruit juice less the expenses. That is math. Math can also help us shop wisely like when we go to a grocery store attempting to budget our money to buy the right amount of stocks at the cheapest possible price. That is math. It comes in handy in computing what time we need to leave the house for work to avoid the hectic traffic jam and still manage to drop the kids in school. That is math. Like one writer said, “If we are well-versed in this language of numbers, it can help us make important decisions and perform everyday tasks.”1 The “major disciplines within mathematics first arose out of the need to do calculations in commerce, to understand the relationships between numbers, to measure land, and to predict astronomical events.”2 As part of the educational requirement, it is a fundamental study of all possible degrees. It has been included in all stages of learning including the time one is taught how to count one to ten. No one can go up the didactic ladder without passing Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry and Calculus. It is even made a major for courses such as Accountancy, Bachelor of Science Major in Math, Engineering, and all other related studies. With this being said, Mathematics is “the academic discipline, and its supporting body of knowledge, that involves the study of such concepts as quantity, structure, space and change.”3 Looking at the usual profile of students in a Math class, most fall under the just-barely-making-it-to-pass benchmark. A few seems to show advancement in the subject, and hardly any turns out to be a genius. This is the common set-up that takes place, and everyday is a challenging day to keep the class alert the whole time. Like one would say, “just the sight of a complicated math equation, laden with exponents and square root signs and algebraic letters, inspires the same sort of revulsion as an antennae-waving critter scurrying along a baseboard.”4 To create variety in learning, educators incorporate math games, quizzes, board exercises, group activities, and other similar events but the goal to perk up the attentiveness is still far from achieved. No matter what the experience, students go out of the classroom with the usual blank stares which say that the lesson is long forgotten. Discovering one’s interest is an easy task. I’d say unearthing your desires is an easy task. What motivates you? What makes you spend more time into doing something? To an onlooker, observe the things that one excels in. It may be through actions or manifestations, or a simple spark in the eyes that would give away an idea of what it is, like looking at a child beaming with glee when he sees kites flying overhead. Oftentimes, this starts with having a hobby. Hobbies are leisure activities practiced with “interest and enjoyment.”5 While some of these activities seem insignificant and unimportant to most people, for others they have found something “compelling and entertaining about them,”6 which, when mastered and perfected, might later on be a profession and a good source of income. The usual types of hobbies are collection of selected items of interest, games, outdoor recreation, performing arts such as music and dance, creative hobbies, scale modeling, cooking, gardening - such as indoor and water gardening, and reading. If we incorporate what we love to do with a complex element such as Mathematics then we will be able to put some action into our passion. Drawing geometric shapes and putting the proper measurements on its length and width may soon lead to knowing how to compute for the perimeter, area, or even volume. This may interest one to pursue future hobby on scale modeling, which may be a very good foundation for engineering or architecture. Piecing together visual shapes through the quadrilateral game will not just result to figure formation but it will also give one’s recognition to visual shapes using a puzzle assembling format which is very useful in spatial skill development and creative thinking. In addition to linking math with hobbies; cooking is already loved by both sexes. Putting the right ingredient with the precise amount will make a happy palate. Surprisingly, math is part of the process. Measuring ingredients, calculating the speed of every stroke example battering eggs, blending vegetables together in a food processor with the right pace, or setting the appropriate temperature in the oven, is math! So no matter what hobby we are involved in, we cannot do away with the principles of numbers. “Mathematics is the only language shared by all human beings regardless of culture, religion, or gender.”7 Like math, “music is also a universal language,” said Madison Principal Martha Baker. “Music is just a series of equations that have to be pieced together precisely to make the work successful.”8 Linking math to one’s hobby such as playing the piano would help one understand the principles of mathematics. Similarly, making mathematical equations to put pieces of notes together will give one a systematic way of expressing harmony. For instance, certain notes have their corresponding frequency and wavelength which can be expressed in this equation: fn = fo * (a)n; where fn is the frequency of the note n half steps away, fo the frequency of one fixed note which must be defined. A common choice is setting the A above middle C (A4) at f0 = 440 Hz; n is the number of half steps away from the fixed note one is at. If one is at a higher note, n is positive. If one is at a lower note, n is negative; a = (2)1/12 = the twelfth root of 2 is equal to the number which when multiplied by itself 12 times equals 2 = 1.059463094359…” 9 The “equal tempered scale" is a compromise tuning scheme and was developed for keyboard instruments, such as the piano, so that they could be played equally well or poorly in any key.” Sometimes, frequency is presented through ratio and one should know how to compute for the frequency of the other notes if only one frequency is given. This is vital since our ear “can easily hear a difference of less than 1 Hz for sustained notes, differences of several Hz can be quite significant!”10 Relating math to simple scenarios; the way to budget one’s allowance to pay for a piano tutor also involves calculations. There are also online piano lessons paid per session, by the hour, per semester and the like, and therefore sometimes one is faced with the predicament of choosing the best service for one’s money and math can help make wise decisions. Also, there are a lot going on in one day, starting with preparing for school, attending classes, then when one comes home one needs to do the homework. Where does one squeeze in the piano lessons or rehearsals? Time management also involves math. One may not turn out to be an expert musician but the same holds true for math that when diversity in learning is made like listening to musical pieces, going to concerts, having a teaching lab with music appreciation software, a library of books, and so forth, the teacher is able to provide the students with the keys to cultural enrichment in addition to the lessons. Like playing good music, sports “have many affinities with art.”11 “The closeness of art and sports in these times was revealed by the nature of the Olympic Games which, as we have seen, were celebrations of both sporting and artistic achievements, poetry, sculpture and architecture.” 12 Further, sports have been an outlet for individuals to show their dexterity in physical activities and performing them with precision, organization, and competitiveness all for sportsmanship and fair play. Comparable to involving mathematics to music, the same concept may apply to sports. One of the most favored sports is tennis. Tennis is a physical sport which is also a good way of releasing stress and a form of relaxation. It is also a type of cardio exercise which involves a lot of running and toning, mostly of the arm muscles. Some people religiously involve themselves in sports; others find sports as an occasional leisure activity. Since we say math is almost present on all aspects, its theories may apply to this sport. Calculations such as one’s angle to one’s opponent, how far one is to the net, the speed with which one will hit the ball, are vital considerations to winning a game. In addition to, if one pays for the time one plays on the court, math helps one wisely budget the money for the payments and choose the appropriate schemes suited to one’s needs. Here is a concrete example; “The coastline Raquel club has two payment plans for its members. Plan A has a monthly fee of $20 plus $8 per hour while Plan B has court rental time of $16.25 per hour. If court time is rented in 1 hour intervals, how many hours would one have to play per month so that Plan A becomes better by Plan B?”13 No matter what we do, math will always be a part of our lives. It is up to us how we accept it, which will make us recognize its value. In its complex and intricate appearance, math can help us solve everyday problems. Assimilating this to our passion may it be a sport or a hobby will truly bring out its beauty, and it can motivate us more than memorizing the theories and using it to equations that have no significance to us. Math truly puts action to our passion because it we are able to solve, analyze, and apply theories to simple life’s experiences. References: (1) (2) (3) (4) Six Kids Vie for Glory at the World’s toughest Math Competition by Steve Olson. Houghton Mifflin 244 p. 16 Nov 2008. Washingtonpost.com http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25703-2004May13.html (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) These notes initially arose after a short summer program in 1998 and are placed here for the convenience of anyone who cares to read them. The author is B. H. Suits, Physics Department, Michigan Technological University, (copyright 1998-2008). Please refer to these pages using a link rather than by making a copy so that corrections will automatically be included. (10) These notes initially arose after a short summer program in 1998 and are placed here for the convenience of anyone who cares to read them. The author is B. H. Suits, Physics Department, Michigan Technological University, (copyright 1998-2008). Please refer to these pages using a link rather than by making a copy so that corrections will automatically be included. (11) Read More