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View Full Version : Graphing....grrr....

Aluscia
10-04-2002, 05:15 PM
Why is it that they have first-year students do all this work with high-exponent equations, and then expect us to sketch their graphs instead of just printing it out from Maple? I mean, we had to plug the stupid things to see what they look like into Maple in the first place... It just seems like a waste of time to sit there and try to copy something that you already had to figure out on the screen...

Sorry non-mathies.... school blues have got me down...
Gambit
10-04-2002, 06:13 PM
Well, it would make sense if you weren't using a computer to graph them in the first place...
XMEN Ashaman DTM
10-04-2002, 07:22 PM
That is supposed to teach you how a function behaves. Doing it on a computer doesn't give you the FULL effect that doing it by hand does. You know... Put in a few numbers, get a few numbers out... connect the dots. ;)

They still make you do things by hand in higher math classes. "Plot this ellipse." "Do a surface plot of this equation." "Draw this magnetic field." etc.

Physics and math will have you do that. ;)
Ambush_Bug
10-06-2002, 12:10 AM
Asha nailed it, Laur. Same thing happens in physics, with experiments--we know the acceleromter will do X, but you have to build one ANYWAY.
Aluscia
10-06-2002, 10:21 AM
This is why I'm a music student... Math sucks :D
Gambit
10-07-2002, 05:30 AM
The funny thing about that statement is that music IS math. :lol
Aluscia
10-07-2002, 06:55 AM
Yes, but it's math I use without necessarily thinking about it.