[Guardsman]

Hey all,

Another question regarding math, engineering, school, etc.

What kind of math would I be doing in engineering school, and using day-to-day?

I've been trying to figure the whole algebra thing out, and a guy's example for his elementary school-aged son has been the best help so far (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/blink.gif) -

http://www.osteele.com/archives/2004/12/gr...grounded-proofs

The algebra itself is stupidly simple - one problem I'm having is deciphering the intent of the problem.

In any case, I'm seeing that there is a "theoretical math", where guys who apparently have nothing better to do discover that there was some number that we didn't really know about yet (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif)

Then there's the math that normal people actually use to accomplish things.

I'm going to take the College Math CLEP test for the math requirement for my Associates.

That has the "what is the square root of i?", and other similar philosophical math questions, and, as I understand it, a lot of statistics.

So, do I just need to learn enough to pass the CLEP, and then concentrate on the higher math, or is the "square root of i" going to come into play in electronics engineering?

Thanks again guys.

John

[Guardsman]

I actually love doing math, and algebra....I use it in the course of my work as an electronics technician. The algebra, once I figure what it is that I'm doing, is easy for me. The problem that I have is something like 00 Trans Ram's.

The best way that I can think of to describe it is trying to read the instructions on how to change brake pads, but the instructions are written in Chinese (Bob???). Once I've deciphered the instructions, doing it is easy.

Also, I'm not trying to find the easiest way through, math-wise, but I want to concentrate more on what I'll actually be using. That's where I was talking about the theoretical math, etc.

I want to get into Electronics Engineering, specifically Electronic Warfare. From what I have found, there's a whole lot of off the wall math there....stuff like MM3D - Methods of Moment in 3 Dimensions? It's used for modeling radar scatter off of surfaces, and was used in the design of the F-117 Stealth Fighter.

So, that's the level of math that's ahead of me, and I look forward to it.

An EE I spoke with yesterday told me that a lot of the algebra will make sense, and that I'll actually learn it, once I get into Calculus. Anybody else notice that?

Pimpmaro, good luck tomorrow (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/thumbup.gif)

If anybody has any ideas, I'm open to hearing them. Thanks again.

John