Applications: Fast Brakes!
Keyword(s):
Good For
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As I was about to begin a new topic on square roots in my first-year algebra class, the question we have all heard popped up: “Is this stuff going to be good for anything?” Instead of some Pythagorean examples that are likely to be of more interest to a mathematics teacher than to ninth-grade students. I wanted a more compelling and forceful reply. Little did I know that help was on its way from the local police department and that I would soon discover enough about traffic-accident investigations to provide motivational applications of mathematics for my students.