Quadratic Functions

Quadratic Functions are very important to mathematics and can be used and represented in many different ways. To express functions mathematicians have developed many different forms in which it is easy to distinguish the vertex and axis of symmetry. One of these forms include vertex form or standard form is y=a(x-h)^2+k. This is very helpful when dealing with quadratic equations and parabolas because (h,k) shows the vertex and a is the axis of symmetry. You can also use the descending form as well as the factored form when you are representing a function.When using quadratic equations the vertex form makes plotting points on the Cartesian plane much simpler. When you plot the points that you have gotten from a quadratic equation it will result in a parabola. These parabolas are very interesting because each side of the parabola mirrors the other making the points on the plot symmetrical.  Overall Quadratic functions make up a very important part of math and can be used to do a variety of different things.

Tessellations

For this blog i will be exploring the idea of why there are only three regular polygons that tessellate. Tessellations are patterns of repeating shapes which fit perfectly together without leaving any gaps or spaces between them. These are very interesting because very few shapes can comply with this set of terms. Only regular squares, triangles and hexagons can make tessellations because these shapes have interior angles that measure up to a number divisible by 360 degrees. This is true because when the interior angle measure divided into 360 degrees you know that the angles will fit together without leaving any space between them therefore forming a tessellation. 

Pascals Triangle

Pascal's triangle is very interesting as well as a very important math concept. The pascal triangle was named after Blaise Pascal a Frenchman, after he came up with a lot of information about this unique configuration of numbers. This triangle helps to expand equations that have higher exponents and make solving those problems much easier. This concept was not first invented by Pascal, even though the name of this triangle makes it seem like he did. Years before pascal came up with the expanded ideas of the pascal triangle, the Chinese had already been using it for a very long time. Though, Pascal did evolve the understanding of the triangle by coming up with more uses and a deeper understanding of it, earning him the title. Pascal's triangle has many different number uses, other than just helping to solve the binomials. When the rows of this triangle are added together they make the numbers 1,2,4,8,16 and 32. When written in this ascending order we can clearly see that each number is multiplied by two. For example, 1(2)=2, 2(2)=4, 4(2)=8 and so on. 

Math Jokes

    Here are some great math jokes and puns. Some of them are very cheesy like the " radius= z and the thickness= a therefore the volume of a pizza is pizza" joke and all are very funny! Hope you enjoy these math jokes!
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The Human Calculator

I have chosen option two for this post, and have decided to write about Scott Flansburg who absolutely deserves the title of "Human Calculator". Scott was born on December 28, 1963 and has grown up to be one of the quickest people at mental math of all time. Scott Flansburg now holds the Guinness World Record for fastest time recorded when adding. He is now one of the quickest mathematicians around, and frequently does performances to show his great talent to multiply, add, subtract, divide and much more.

Many of Scott's ideas tie into what we talk about in math class. One example of this was a topic of one of our previous blogs pertaining to the use of technology. He believes that things such as calculators, and possibly computers, should not be used so widely and that if we try we won't need to be so dependent on them. Because of these opinions and extraordinary talents he rightfully deserves the nickname of the human calculator which helps everyone to recognize him for his intelligence and talent.

Sources: http://scottflansburg.com/
             http://www.yesiknowthat.com/scott-flansburg-the-human-calculator/

Geometry is beautiful

I thought that Tom Zhang's interview about his proof of the "Twin Primes" was very humbling, as well as interesting. This very intelligent man does math for the pure reason of, it's what he enjoys doing. From this interview we can see that Mr. Zhang believes that as long as you are dedicated and persistent, you can achieve anything. Throughout his answers he displays the idea of committing yourself to something that makes you happy. He didn't let anything get in his way of solving this problem and is a great example of a person who has found what makes him happy and has put it to good use. Tom Zhang is an excellent example of how much of an impact a single person can have on the world. The Twin Primes problem had been unsolved for hundreds of years, but after committing himself to it with an immense interest, he succeeded in what many others could not. This view on life inspires me to try my best in what I enjoy doing and to try to make a difference in the world.

I use the math that I have learned over the years a lot in my day to day life. Though, the knowledge that I posses after so many years of math class has particularly helped in one specific field, shopping. Whenever I go to any sort of store I always think back to learning about the percentages of different numbers. This helps me to figure out what the actual price is that I will be paying for a certain item. Most of the time I keep my quick math a secret, though sometimes I do it openly and help out my family and friends when they are trying to figure out a price. When things are on sale at strange percentiles, I find that it is helpful to be able to do the math in my head, this is greatly needed with my limited budget. Overall being able to relate math into my everyday life has been very useful., and the extra practice that I get from doing this mental math has greatly helped me sharpen my math skills for further use.