Notes

According to Sullivan (2001), pre-calculus mathematics is math that provides the background for the mathematical concepts, problems, issues, and techniques that confront the student of calculus. But this definition makes it sound as if the only importance of pre-calculus math is to lay a foundation for a mathematics that is important to the real world. This could not be farther from the truth. The fact is that pre-calculus mathematics is vital and important to multiple and diverse tasks in everyday life. The purpose of this paper is to discuss various ways in which pre-calculus is applied in everyday life.

Cohen (1996) notes that logarithms and exponential functions, important elements of pre-calculus, are used everyday by scientists for the purposes of computing such things as radioactive decay, and carbon-14 dating (which allows people to know how old a given object is). Also the logarithmic/exponential functions of pre-calculus can be related to pH scales (which measure acidity/alkalinity) and are used by people working in diverse fields. Further, these functions are associated with seismic scales used to assess the strength of earthquakes.

It is also noted by Cohen (1996) that inequalities, another element of pre-calculus, are often applied to many important tasks in everyday life, especially those involving money or any other significant resource. For example, businesses determine their number of goods needed in order to gain a maximum profit. Still another business use for pre-calculus is when a manufacturer uses it to determine how much product (e.g., dry food, shoes, etc.) will fit into boxes of a given size.

Cohen (1996) further states that trigonomic functions, which of course are part of pre-calculus, are applied in many occupations and professions. Some examples include survey work, and work on boats or in a harbor where people would use these functions to do such thin...