What is the point in half the Algebra we Study in school?

[vskid]

Take AP classes in high school, then you can get high school and college credit.

[teraflop122]

Trig.... Well that, I know nothing about. But I am going to be taking a class for it next term. Unfortunately I still don't see what it has to do with computer science

Trig in its simplest form allows you to calculate the lengths of the sides of a triangle and the angles between then at each corner, given incomplete information. The most obvious use in computer programming would be to find the distance between two objects which aren't directly in line with each other.

Equations for simulating gravity in video games involve trig. You can use Trig to find the direction and speed of an object both falling and moving forwards at any given time, knowing only the acceleration due to gravity and the initial horizontal velocity (assuming, say, you're measuring a car that drove straight off a cliff).

If I ever use the lessons I learned in Physics, it will be for video games High school physics involves almost nothing but algebra and the kind of trig you can do with a few calculator key presses.

[Black Six]

what does any kind of math have to do with computer programming?

answer: directly - nothing! you can program without math

but then comes the day that your teacher asks you to write a program that calculates integrals or something. and then the answer is "everything"

in my university computer classes, they quite often ask us to create programs to calculate the answer to some complicated math problem, because thats what computers are best at. Im in ECE, not software, but they still make me learn programming - cause computers are the new slide rules. universal math problem solvers.

Last time I checked, conditionals (if, then, else, and, or) were all art of Boolean Algebra. And last time I checked, Algebra is math. It's this thing called set theory, very cool (to me at least) and very much intrinsic to computer programming.

and algebra? well like everyone keeps mentioning, calculus is a real big thing. calculus is used to calculate hundreds of thousands of things, from the transient response of a second order circuit to the volume of a sphere.

now im sure most of you know the volume of a sphere because it was given to you, but does anyone know how to calculate it from first principles?

its a triple integral

thats calculus. which is algebra.

If I recall, you can do it with a double integral using something similar to Greene's Theorem (I can't remember the name offhand).

[Life of Brian]

God, I always hated trigonometric equations. I bypassed trig entirely and went straight to Precalc, then on to Calc as a high school senior, and missing Trig never held me back.

Honestly, I felt that Trig was harder than Calc 1.

I pretty much didn't use my calculator at all in my calculus 2 class. Why? Because everything was done using algebra. In a class where just about every problem takes an entire sheet of paper, you're bound to have answers that have more letters in them than numbers.

Man that class was hard work, but I'll tell you one thing: my algebra skills are better than ever because of it. I would have had a lot easier time if I had my basics down better.

[vskid]

I would have had a lot easier time if I had my basics down better.

I agree, pay extra attention in lower math classes, if you miss something there, you're screwed.