The "standard" quadratic formula at the top of the article is just as quick and painless to solve the equation he uses as an example. And its easier for many other versions (basically any time B/A or C/A are not integers).
Plus, this isn't new: I was taught to do exactly this IF it simplified the whole equation. That was in 2000 in London in a pretty standard secondary school.
(Also, what's with taking "z^2 = 3" at font 10, treating it as an image and then displaying it 20 times the original size?! Is it meant to look more maths-ey?)
I am excited to reveal something though: I recently discovered a whole new way to make a percentages! Instead of multiplying the number by 100, you just multiply it by 10 twice! So much better :)
The focus is not on getting students to be able to solve quadratics (if it were, then the quadratic formula is a great choice!), but rather to understand how solving a quadratic works. That is, how to derive the quadratic formula for themselves. Generally this is done by completing the square. This is another method which some students may find more intuitive.
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I must be missing something here...
The "standard" quadratic formula at the top of the article is just as quick and painless to solve the equation he uses as an example. And its easier for many other versions (basically any time B/A or C/A are not integers).
Plus, this isn't new: I was taught to do exactly this IF it simplified the whole equation. That was in 2000 in London in a pretty standard secondary school.
(Also, what's with taking "z^2 = 3" at font 10, treating it as an image and then displaying it 20 times the original size?! Is it meant to look more maths-ey?)
I am excited to reveal something though: I recently discovered a whole new way to make a percentages! Instead of multiplying the number by 100, you just multiply it by 10 twice! So much better :)
The focus is not on getting students to be able to solve quadratics (if it were, then the quadratic formula is a great choice!), but rather to understand how solving a quadratic works. That is, how to derive the quadratic formula for themselves. Generally this is done by completing the square. This is another method which some students may find more intuitive.