Factoring Trinomials: When Am I Going to Use That?

Anyone (teacher or student) who has ever been in a math class has heard the question (or even asked it), "When am I going to use that?"

One of the math classes that I teach recently finished a unit on factoring. For those of you scratching your heads right now, let me refresh your memory. A trinomial is an algebraic expression made up of three terms, such as: x^2+4x-12. The factors are (x+6)(x-2). Most students find this kind of work tedious and pointless. Inevitably, the "question" is always asked. My response is that I use it frequently, mostly in teaching though.

The real reason is that we need to learn problems solving skills. Math is logic. Logic helps us solves problems. (See, those couple sentences are logical, and I couldn't said them if I didn't know how to factor.) We will probably never be called on in our life to factor a trinomial outside of math class, but we will encounter problems on a daily basis. If we can attack those problems, perhaps we can solve some of them.

It also teaches perseverance. Like I said, factoring isn't the easiest thing. I get frustrated with students that give up because they say (in a whiny voice), "It's toooooo hard." Most problems don't have an easy solution. Is there an easy solution to the immigration issue? Is there an easy to solution to terrorism? Life is full of complex issues. We need perseverance if we are going to address them.

So the next time you wonder, "Where will I use that in real life?" you will use, but perhaps not in the form you are seeing it.