Unit 5 sec 1.1
proving mathematical facts
15 December 2015
23:31
What is the point of
learning algebra? Why is it useful? In this section will see some answers to
these questions.
In activities 1 and
2, you probably found that with both your starting numbers you obtained the
number 5 in the third last step (the last step involving mathematical
calculations), and so each time you obtain the letter E.
The idea behind the
trade is that the number 5 is obtained in the last mathematical step, no matter
what the starting number is. But how can you be sure that the trick works for
every possible starting number?
There’s a way to
check this - using algebra. In this unit you will learn that algebraic
techniques that are needed and you will see how to use them to check that the
trek always works.
As you saw earlier
in the module, a demonstration that a piece of mathematics always works is called a proof.
Proofs of mathematical and needing in all sorts of contexts, and algebra is
usually the way to construct them.
No comments:
Post a Comment