Studying for finals, and murderous logs.

by Simon 14. June 2010 00:50

Been studying for my Math 131 final. It's kind of hellish, especially since our professor is insisting on teaching us new material right up until we take the final exam, which we take the very last day of the semester. We're currently working on inequalities. But, that's why I've been quiet. 

More of a post will follow but in the mean time, look at the below word problem, and see if you can figure it out. I'll be posting the answer after my final. 

"I have 400 grams of Kryptonite. Kryptonite decays continuously at a rate of 4.5%. Fortunately, it only takes 50 grams to kill Superman. But I need a lot of time to plan my fiendish plot. How much time do I have before the Kryptonite reaches the minimum dose? 

Hint: The mathematic constant e measures continuous growth or decay at exponential rates. So, you want a formula that looks like this: where K is the amount of Kryptonite, t is the time, and r is the rate of decay.

Tags:

Applied maths | Functions | Logarithms

Boats traveling negative speeds

by Simon 28. May 2010 00:25

My math professor loves to give us word problems. Applications of mathematical concepts to real-life, every day scenarios. And that's great! Learning how to apply math that you learn to the real world is important - it's why math was created in the first place.

Trouble is, he likes boats that go up and down stream. And every time I see one now, I flinch. More...

Tags: , ,

Maths | Quadratics | Applied maths

About the author

A 23 year old back in school. I thought I was finished with maths when I left high school. I was wrong. This is my journey of how I have to relearn all that I've forgotten, and the road ahead from introductory algebra, all the way to, well, wherever college math ends, I suppose!

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    Disclaimer

    I'm learning. I may get my math wrong. Be nice to me. The views expressed are my own, and in no way represent my teachers, classmates, future employers, or others connected to me.