Ask Dr. Math

High School Archive

Browse High School About Math
Stars indicate particularly interesting answers or good places to begin browsing.

Selected answers to common questions:
    Art and mathematics.
    Law and mathematics.
    Medicine and mathematics.
    Music and mathematics.
    Poetry and mathematics.
    What is mathematics?
    Was math invented or discovered?

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Do We Really Need to Learn Math? [11/19/2002]

Why do we need to know math if we can have a calculator do it?

Duotrigesimal (Base 32) Numbers [06/11/1999]

A unique and interesting use for base 32 or "duotrigesimal" numbers.

Employee Turnover Rate [09/19/2002]

What is the formula to calculate employee turnover rate?

Etymology of the Word Mathematics [12/10/2001]

Why do you call maths maths?

The Fairness of Democracy [09/16/1998]

What are some ideas to think about with regard to the fairness of democracy?

Fourier Transforms [09/17/1998]

What is a Fourier Transform and what is it used for?

Geometry for Police Officers [02/24/1997]

How is geometry ever going to help me in my career as a police officer?

Godel's Incompleteness Theorem [01/18/1999]

What does Goedel prove in his incompleteness theorem?

How Can a Set Be Empty? [09/29/2003]

Why is the empty or null set called a set when it has no elements?

How Does Math Relate to Economics? [02/20/2007]

Economics has to do with the consumption and production of goods, so how else besides simply using numbers does math relate to it?

How Do I Learn Basic Math as an Adult? [08/02/2004]

I'm an adult hoping to take a statistics course, but I haven't thought about math in 20 years and was never very good at it. How can I learn all those basic things I missed back then?

How Do Lawyers Use Math? [01/26/2001]

I have to write a two-page paper on how lawyers use math.

How Numbers Will Change in the Future [10/29/2003]

I'm asking my students to develop new number systems. I was hoping to show them what other people are speculating about future number systems, but I was unable to find anything.

How to Motivate Students to Learn Math? [03/06/2008]

Dr. Ian replies to a question about motivating students to learn about special quadrilaterals with some excellent general advice on motivation, math education, and real life application of mathematics.

The Importance of Geometry Constructions [12/29/1998]

Why are geometry constructions important? What do we learn from them? Where have they appeared in math history?

The Importance of Math [08/23/2000]

Why is math a core subject?

Impossibility of Constructing a Regular Nine-Sided Polygon [04/07/1998]

Can you construct a regular 9 sided polygon with just a compass and straightedge?

Impossible Problems [08/07/2001]

Are there prizes for finding solutions to impossible problems?

Inverse Hyperbolic Cosine in Terms of ln [05/27/2003]

What is t in the equation ln(e^0.1t + 9e^-0.1t) = ln10 ?

Is Algebra Useful in the Real World? [10/27/2002]

We are having a court trial about why we do or do not need algebra.

Is Geometry a Language? [01/28/2002]

I have to write an essay to defend or criticize the statement, "Geometry is a Language."

Is Math a Science? [03/18/2001]

Is mathematics considered a science?

I Solved It. Now What? [10/16/2003]

I can solve an equation like 12 = 5x + x + 6 to get x = 1, but I don't know what it means, or what I'm supposed to do next.

Is Zero a Perfect Square? [08/01/2001]

I have been told that zero is not considered a perfect square, yet the square root of zero is zero...

Julian to Calendar Date Conversion [02/24/2001]

Can you show me an algorithm to convert Julian date values to calendar date values? For example, Julian date 2451964 = 02/24/2001.

Larger Than and As Large As [08/01/1999]

If the percussion section has 6 people, does the expression "the brass section is three times larger than the percussion section" mean that the brass section is 3*6 = 18 people or 4*6 = 24 people?

Laws of Arithmetic [02/12/1999]

The Distributive Law, Associative Law, Identity, and Commutative Equations.

Learning Math Formulas [02/22/2001]

Why is it important to develop math formulas, and why is it important to memorize them?

Learning to Like Math [12/04/2002]

I cannot concentrate in math, no matter how hard I try. How can I pay better attention in math?

Making Math Interesting [08/15/2000]

Do you have any tips for how I can stay focused in math going into the 7th grade this coming year?

Making Math Seem Easy [3/8/1996]

How can you make math seem more easy to do?

Math and Fashion [01/27/2003]

How is math used for fashion?

Math and Music [4/10/1996]

I need information on how math is involved in music.

Math and the Bible [01/24/2002]

How can I integrate math and the Bible?

Math and the Law [11/24/1998]

Examples of how mathematics is used by lawyers to win cases.

Math and the Piano [09/27/1998]

How is math is related to the piano? What about tempo, pitch, and tuning?

The Math Behind Music: Pitches, Scales, Geometry [12/03/1997]

Connections between music, physics, and math.

Mathematical Models [07/17/2002]

What is a mathematical model, and how would it be used?

Mathematics and Philosophy [6/5/1996]

I was wondering if mathematicians viewed mathematics as being 'transcendental' of the universe.

Mathematics As Analogy [12/16/2003]

How can the ratio of a finite circumference to a finite diameter give an infinite value for pi?

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