When will I ever use this?

A question that occurs daily in math classrooms across the country is, "When will I ever uses this?" There are so many retorts both nuanced and cliched that the scholars on Mayhew hear from me, and yet I still worry that I never fully point the way to all the actual career paths that are available to them. I found a great website that answers not only when and where math is used, but WHO uses mathematics.

Click: When Will I Use Math?

An even more telling set of information is the ranking of "Best and Worst Jobs 2010" recently posted on the Wall Street Journal's online website. Of the top 20 jobs listed 13 out of the 20 require a great deal of math. You can also find salary information next to the entries listed. If your doing math your getting paid . . . well.

Click: BEST JOBS of 2010

Here is a snapshot of the #1 job for 2010

Actuary
Pros: Great work environment, few tight deadlines, low stress.
Cons: Moderate unemployment (expected to rapidly improve).

How do you get that job?
Besides skill at math, becoming an Actuary requires passing several exams and taking courses from the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) or the Society of Actuaries. However, many companies will employ prospective Actuaries while they are still training for the exams.

Starting salary $49,000
Midlevel salary $85,000
Top level salary $161,000

Easiest "hard" problem on the final

No matter what math class a student was in all students were required to do this problem. It requires knowledge strictly from your typical Algebra I class, but it requires a thoughtful, reasoned response in order to correctly answer the question. It proved, somewhat unexpectedly, to be a difficult one today.

Here it is for anyone to try. I welcome any questions or comments on this question.

Write an equation for line l.

Reference Sheet

Please find the link to the reference sheet that will be available for the final this coming Wednesday below. Please take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with it.

Click on Algebra Cheat Sheet

Summer Packets

Greetings scholars.
Please find the 2010 Summer Packet embedded here for you to print and complete.
Remember that this packet is due the first day back and is worth two homework grades. You will be tested on it your first day back. If you have any questions, please email me.
Have a great summer.