From: Craig Levin <levin@aaps.k12.mi.us>
To: Teacher2Teacher Service
Date: Feb 06, 2000 at 15:41:17
Subject: Quadratics

I am teaching a chapter on Quadratics to an Advanced Algebra class this
month and I was wondering if someone could help me with a little history of
quadratics.

I can understand how Linear equations got their name (i.e. they form lines)
but how did a name like Quadratics emerge? Maybe a squared function becomes
quadrupled and not doubled???  Why not call them Parabolic functions? This
might make a logical segue from Linear functions.

ax^2 + bx + c is a parabolic function?  a quadratic function?

What else would you call a linear function?

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