ForumsThe TavernMath Thread

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daleks
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daleks
3,766 posts
Chamberlain

This thread is just what the title says it is. It is all about Math. You can post math jokes(the jokes don't have to be good), math questions, what you like about Math, or even why you hate Math.

My math joke: Resistance is not futile. It is voltage divided by amps.

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daleks
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daleks
3,766 posts
Chamberlain

There are 10 types of people in the world: those who know binary, and those who don't.

Lol. I like it.

I am doing the unit circle in PreCalc right now. Really easy but I make dumb mistakes which piss me off.
aknerd
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aknerd
1,416 posts
Peasant

One easy way to remember the unit circle is to memorize the pattern in one quadrant, then use symmetry. So, sine goes 0/2, '1/2, '2/2, '3/2, '4/2 (where 'x is the square root of x) for 0, pi/6, pi/4, pi/3, pi/2 respectively. Of course, '1/2 is just 1/2, and '4/2 is just 1. I'm using the unsimplified version to make the pattern clear. And cos is just the opposite: it goes 4 3 2 1 0 (counterclockwise). Then, you can use sum/difference angle laws to fill in for whatever else you need. The other three quadrants are symmetrical, with sign changes as needed. So, you really only have to remember five things: the four "base" angles, and the fact that you divide the sine and cos by 2. Sorry if this is a bit messy, I'm typing it on my phone.

The unit circle keeps coming back, so it is definitely worth learning well.

daleks
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daleks
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Chamberlain

I have already memorized the unit circle. It is really easy to remember. Plus I learned it last year which helps.

Orlemens
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Orlemens
17 posts
Nomad

once when i was young i loved math but now it is like:
Omg noooooo Math so i said Well this is useless

phycticpotato
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phycticpotato
132 posts
Nomad

Most people think math is useless (I used to), and it is to some degree. However, depending on your career path, your going to need to know a little more than 2+2=4. Right?

LucasDaLegend
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LucasDaLegend
1,066 posts
Nomad

Mathematicians are like Frenchmen: whatever you say to them, they translate it into their own language, and forthwith it means something entirely different.

cmb2kool
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cmb2kool
378 posts
Nomad

Oh math gives me nightmares....

DairyHick
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DairyHick
134 posts
Nomad

OMG I LOVE MATH!!!! I don't know what I would do without it :'(

daleks
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daleks
3,766 posts
Chamberlain

However, depending on your career path, your going to need to know a little more than 2+2=4. Right?

You need to know basic math to get by. If you are not going into a math related field the highest math you would probably need is Algebra I.
alexstargazer
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alexstargazer
347 posts
Nomad

You need to know basic math to get by. If you are not going into a math related field the highest math you would probably need is Algebra I.


I think most careers involve some sort of specific math course. For example, Business: accounting. Psychology: Stats. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that the course will be too difficult.
daleks
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daleks
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Chamberlain

Psychology: Stats.

You need Stats for Psychology? Why?

But ya I agree that most careers need a specific course in math.
aknerd
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aknerd
1,416 posts
Peasant

You need Stats for Psychology? Why?

Well, Psychology, as compared to psychiatry is a (more or less) scientific discipline. Psychologists typically deal with "sample groups", and in order to apply their results to a larger population, statistics are utilized. Really, most studies done with a sample group (psychology or otherwise) will use some statistical test to determine if their results are significant or not. The chi-squared test is one of the more used ones (though it is often misused).

Psychiatry probably doesn't use statistics as much (though maybe, since Psychiatrists still need to be able to understand research papers), since it mostly deals with the treatment of mental disorders, not the study of them.


You need to know basic math to get by. If you are not going into a math related field the highest math you would probably need is Algebra I.


I agree with this. Algebra 1 teaches you how to deal with multiple equations and variables, something that can be applied to everyday situations. It makes it easier to think about things like "If I bought 17 apples and paid 20 dollars and got back 50 cents, how much did each apple cost?". Everything after that can be useful, but in most cases isn't really necessary (on an everyday basis). It has more to do with specific careers.

But, I think the same could be said about other subjects. Like, how will reading Shakespeare help us in our daily lives? The reason we continue to learn these subjects at such a young age is a) knowledge for knowledge's sake isn't such a bad thing and b) we don't really know what career we go into yet.
daleks
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daleks
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how will reading Shakespeare help us in our daily lives?

Impressing people with your knowledge of his works. I know that I am not going into any form of English so I don't see why I have to read books and analyze them.

Back to the math, want to teach me chi squared? That way I will be ahead in Stats.
aknerd
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aknerd
1,416 posts
Peasant

Okay, so the actual formula for the chi-squared test is pretty hard to write in AG, because it involves a lot a subscripts and special symbols. So, here is an image:
http://www.geography-site.co.uk/pages/skills/fieldwork/statimage/chisqu.gif

This gives you the chi squared value, which you then plug into a table based on the degrees of freedom, which depends on your sample.

This is the chart:
http://faculty.southwest.tn.edu/jiwilliams/probab2.gif

So, lets say you had a coin, and you wanted to know if it was a fair coin or not. You flip it 200 times, and get 120 heads and 80 tails. Not exactly 50-50, but could it be within the range of expected values?

Step one: pick the null hypothesis: in this case, that the coin IS fair. So we Expect there to be 100 heads and 100 tails.

Step two: determine the degrees of freedom: in this case there is ONE degree of freedom. The only variable is the number of either heads or tails, since if we know one, we can subtract from 200 to get the other.

Step three: plug everything in:
(120-100)^2/100 + (80-100)^2/100 = 8 (I did this in my head, it might be a little off)

When we plug that into the table, we find that the p value* is
between .01 and .001, so we REJECT the null hypothesis. This means that the coin is NOT fair. In the table, this is listed as "significant".

*The P value is the likelihood of rejecting a true null-hypothesis. So, it is less than 1 percent likely that this is a fair coin, which isn't very likely at all.

Problem: what if I rolled a die 90 times, and got no ones, twenty 2s, fifteen 3s, ten 4s, twenty-five 5s, and twenty 6s? Should we consider this die to be fair?

(hint-you should have to do very little calculating)

daleks
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daleks
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Chamberlain

So, lets say you had a coin, and you wanted to know if it was a fair coin or not. You flip it 200 times, and get 120 heads and 80 tails. Not exactly 50-50, but could it be within the range of expected values?

Couldn't you just use a 1 variable Z Proportion Test?

H0: p=.5
Ha: p>.5

yadayada. You probably know how to do this. If you don't I can show you.
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