Mathematics offers a new way of thinking and understanding the world. In 10th grade, I was challenged with an Algebra II class that gave me the tools to solve problems in and outside of mathematics. As the world’s universal language, mathematics has allowed me to live a more enjoyable life by better equipping me to appreciate and interpret the world around me. Mathematics, especially concepts described in Algebra II, play a great role in explaining the world around us and can make even the simplest concepts incredibly beautiful.
Ocean waves rise and fall in synchrony with the moon’s revolution around the earth, creating a sinusoidal wave, as described by a graph of the trigonometric sine function. As the angle between the moon and the equator changes, the tidal height increases or decreases proportionally. The cyclic tides allow us to better predict weather, decide when to navigate waters, and offer a source of renewable energy. In this example, an understanding of the mathematics surrounding a natural phenomenon has allowed us to better respond to our environment.
As a figure skater glides seamlessly across the slippery ice rink surface, Newton’s first law of motion allows her to stay in constant motion until she chooses to apply more friction to her skating. She jumps forward, knowing that she will create a wider parabola by increasing both her horizontal and vertical displacement. As she brings her arms inward to twirl, she conserves her angular momentum and increases her rotational velocity. She spins gracefully and quickly, until she decreases her speed by increasing the difference between her axis of rotation and mass, bringing an end to her spin. Her performance can be described by an algebraic relationship between her mass, inertia of torso, and the radius of her spin.
Algebra II has shaped my education by encouraging me to enroll in more math and science classes and ultimately to pursue a STEM career. It has been a great gift to live in a place and time that encourages the pursuit of mathematics, and an even greater gift to be able to apply it as a tool. Algebra II has been my most educational class in High School, and I am grateful for its ability to communicate a new perspective of the world and the encouragement it has given me to study mathematics for the rest of my life.
