Ask Dr. Math

Middle School Archive

Browse Middle 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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Integers in Daily Life [05/31/2002]

How are integers (especially negative integers) used in daily life?

Investigating Numbers is Illogical [10/15/2001]

Why do we have to be interested in maths and numbers so much?

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 a Sheet of Paper a 2D or 3D Object? [05/17/2008]

Our teacher said that a piece of paper is a two-dimensional object that has no height, but some of my classmates and I disagree. We think a piece of paper still has a height, even if it is very, very, small, and that it is therefore a three-dimensional object. Who's right?

Is Full Equal to Empty? [06/15/1999]

1/2 full = 1/2 empty, so when we multiply both sides of the equation by 1/2, won't we get full = empty?

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.

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?

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 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?

Math Anxiety [04/04/1997]

Do you have any information about math anxiety?

Mathematical Models [07/17/2002]

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

Mathematics As Analogy [12/16/2003]

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

Mathematics, Logic, and Intuition [05/27/2003]

How is math related to logic and intuition?

Math in Dance [09/30/2001]

Can you explain possible ways that math and dance could be related?

Math in Everyday Life [09/22/2000]

I need to write a story about all the ways in which math relates to everyday life over the course of one day. Could you help me with some examples?

Math in Everyday Life [10/17/2002]

How do you use math in your everyday life?

Math in the Real World [2/19/1996]

I would like to know some examples of mathematical applications in the real world.

Math is Power? [03/13/2003]

What do people mean when they say that 'math is power'?

The Math of Time [05/15/1997]

What is the connection between math and time?

Math Used Every Day [11/20/2001]

What type of math do I use every day?

Meaning of the Phrase: Divide by Zero. [01/02/1998]

I want to use 'divide by zero' to indicate a physically impossible task. What does the phrase actually mean?

Mod Function and Negative Numbers [04/28/2000]

What is the correct value for the function MOD(-340,60)? Microsoft Excel returns the value 20, while Lotus 1-2-3 returns the value -40. Can you explain the difference?

Multiple Solutions [02/08/2002]

Why is there more than one way of doing one type of math problem?

Multiplying by 1 [09/01/1998]

Why doesn't a number change when you multiply it by 1?

The New Math [07/05/2000]

What is the "New Math?"

Non-terminating Decimal Representations of Fractions [11/10/1997]

Why when you take a finite, limited quantity like one-third and turn it into a decimal do you get .333... on into infinity?

Order of Operations Dispute [09/26/2000]

The problem reads: N divided by (division sign)ml where n=12, m=6, and l=3. I believe the correct answer should be .6666, as 12 divided by 18 equals this...

Patterns in the Perpetual Calendar [03/17/2000]

Why do years that have the same calendar repeat in a pattern of 6 years, 11 years, 11 years, 6, 11, 11, etc.? And why do leap years with the same calendar occur 28 years apart?

Plural and Derivation of 'Hypotenuse' [5/16/1996]

What's the plural of hypotenuse?

Point and Line [04/07/2001]

How does something without dimension create something with dimension?

Precedence of Unary Operators [09/01/99]

The PEMDAS rule for order of operations ignores unary operators. Can you explain the proper precedence for them, and give an example showing how not knowing the rule can cause an incorrect result?

Questions About Math [07/31/1999]

Why was the Cartesian plane invented? Were the more abstract branches of math developed just for fun? What is chaos theory? Why isn't Einstein's equation e = mc^3?

Ratios and Proportions in Everyday Life [05/13/2002]

How are ratios and proportions used in everyday life?

Representing a Number [10/29/2001]

How can you represent the number three without using any letters or variables or the digits 1 through 9?

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