|
<<
>>
April 5 / Musical Quadratic equation
When I was in 7th grade, my algebra teacher, Mrs. Berry, taught us the quadratic equation to the tune of the Notre Dame fight song. In discussing this with other people years later (I'm a "Sit around and discuss the quadratic equation" kind of guy), I found out that this was a common practice, but that the tune to which the quadratic equation was applied would vary.
Here's where you come in. I want to know how (if?) you learned the quadratic equation. I'm hoping it was via song. The IDEAL participant will find a recording of the tune online, and record themselves singing the quadratic equation along to it. I realize that this probably won't happen, but that would be really, really great. The less ideal participant will post in the comments to this entry and tell me what song was used in their quadratic equation education. In case you have forgotten what exactly the quadratic equation is, here's a reminder:
...and as sung to the Notre Dame fight song:
X eq-uals the op-po-site of B
plus or min-us the square root of
B squared min-us four Ayy Cee-eee
All over two times Ayy (dum dum).
I did a bit of searching online and didn't come up with much besides this 19 page .pdf document called the 'Math Song Sing-a-long.' The Math Song Sing-a-long suggests that the Quadratic equation can be sung to the tune of both the Notre Dame fight song AND 'Amazing Grace.' Without hearing it, the 'Amazing Grace' version doesn't seem to work as well, but you can be the judge of that - here are the 'lyrics:'
THE QUADRATIC FORMULA
WORDS BY: JOHN A. CARTER
TUNE: "AMAZING GRACE" If you need to solve a quadratic
Equation in any form,
Set it equal to zero,
And use this formula.
You'll have the zeroes before you know. x equals the opposite of b
Plus or minus the square root
Of b squared minus 4a times c
All over two times a.
Now, you may be thinking - "This is ridiculous, it can't possibly get dorkier than this." But it CAN. The other songs in the Math Song Sing-a-long are AMAZING. Just awe-inspiring. Here's a bit from their take on the 'Cheers' theme:
CHEERS TO INTEGRATION
WORDS BY: STUDENTS IN J. CARTER'S CALCULUS AB CLASS
TUNE: "THE CHEERS THEME"
Integrating with trig identities takes everything you've got.
Anti-diff-er-en-tia-ting sure can take a lot.
Wouldn't you like to learn a way... ? ...and a bit from a mathematic interpretation of Queen's 'We Will Rock You:'
WE WILL GRAPH YOU!
WORDS BY: JOHN A. CARTER
TUNE: "WE WILL ROCK YOU!"Buddy, you're a man with a hard time graphing
All you need to do is find the m and the b.
It's not too hard you see, You put your pencil on the b.
Graphing's not as hard as you thought it might be, singing Chorus:
We will, we will graph you!
We will, we will graph you!
As you can see, it's really necessary to read the whole thing. That's it for today. Math and music. And this is only the beginning. I can feel the cool kid links already. Also - Rob, I get half of your pay for every day you use this in class.
|
Comments
joe.cwik / Monday, Apr 5 / 10:57 AM
|
We did it to the Michigan fight song...
X e-quals neg-a-tive b, plus or minus the square root of...b squared minus four a, c all over two a!!!! |
groverloaf / Monday, Apr 5 / 12:41 PM
|
i learned it to the tune of Pop! Goes the Weasel.
x e-quals neg-a-tive b
plus or minus the squaaaare root
of b squared minus fouuur a c
all over twooo a |
Valette / Monday, Apr 5 / 3:18 PM
|
Just thinking of random songs, it seems to go real well to Last Caress by the Misfits |
Mike / Monday, Apr 5 / 3:55 PM
|
Here is something I pieced together for a little extra credit in high school.
"The Even Answers Aren't in the Back", to the tune of "Walking in a Winter Wonderland"
Matricies, aren't they a hoot?
Factoring and finding the root
It's got me down on my knees:
algebra and trigonometry,
when the even answers aren't in the back.
Problem 42 is a function,
so a random number I'll select,
I pray y is defined with my assumption,
but alas I can not find the f of x
After while, I give up hope,
The stupid line, it's got no slope,
Then it goes up and down!
Now I'm dancing around,
and I didn't have to look in the back! |
Chris Sheppard / Tuesday, Apr 6 / 8:31 AM
|
i know this isn;t the same but...
twinkle twinkle little star,
circumference equals two pie are.
|
greg / Tuesday, Apr 6 / 12:36 PM
|
Adam, this is off-subject, but you might want to try making the links in the comment section open in a new window. |
joe.cwik / Tuesday, Apr 6 / 3:12 PM
|
I also learned the quadratic equation to the tune of Pop Goes the Weasel. This is particularly odd, because I haven't even been able to remember the words of Pop Goes the Weasel to the tune of Pop Goes the Weasel. |
Andy M. / Wednesday, Apr 7 / 1:38 AM
|
I took an informal survey of seven people tonight (three from Wisconsin, and one each from Illinois, Minnesota, Connecticut, and Massachusetts) and NONE of them had ever been taught the quadratic formula by song. Aren't other states weird?
Also, if I were a trig teacher, SOHCAHTOA! would be an instant classic that we would sing EVERY DAY. |
Rob / Wednesday, Apr 7 / 2:02 AM
|
My sister and I were just talking about this the other day. We started singing it together and found that her version ends differently.
"All divided by 2 times A."
Weird. I don't know which teacher taught her that. I had Mrs. Berry, just like you Adam.
And in my family, we sing this second verse to it... |
Zach N. / Wednesday, Apr 7 / 4:21 PM
|
Huh, I was taught the quadratic equation to the tune of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen."
The roots of an equation quadratically defined,
are easy to determine if you keep this tune in mind.
It's minus b then plus or minus in a square root sign
b squared minus four ca, hear what I say.
Don't forget to divide the whole thing by 2a. |
Mark / Monday, Apr 12 / 9:15 PM
|
Whoa, I thought EVERYONE learned it to the tune of "Gilligans Island." I can't even try to sing it to any other tune, because it just goes so well with the GI theme...
Negative B plus or minus
The square root of
B-squared minus 4ac
All over 2a
All over 2a
|
morgan / Saturday, Apr 24 / 3:51 PM
|
O.k....so this isn't the only thing you can do to song...it just happens to work out really well. I just went to a math teacher conference, and they had songs and music workshops all over the place. Surprisingly to some (I am sure), I never stopped in any of those rooms to find out more. Maybe I will next time. However, when I teach graphing to my extended kids, if I tried to sing it to them and get them to sing it back, they'd kick my ass. And if you don't believe me, consider that they have a hard enough time not kicking each other's ass (3 kids suspended for fighting in my class - 1 kid suspended twice). Not that I don't love them...:-) |
byrd / Saturday, May 1 / 11:27 PM
|
OK, thanks for getting me thinking and writing, especially since I have to teach this for the first time next week.
ON WISCONSIN
X is equal
Negative B
Plus or minus the
Square root of B squared
Minus 4 A C (al-most-done!)
All over the determinant
That is 2 times A
Now that you've solved your quadratic
LET'S DO IT AGAIN (yeah yeah yeah!)
And since I'm here in Southern California, two UCLA fight songs, and one USC fight song...
LOYAL SONS OF WESTWOOD
X equals negative B plus
Or minus the square root
of B minus 4 A C
all over 2 A (fight, fight, fight)
WE ARE THE MIGHTY BRUINS
X equals negative B
Plus or minus the
Square root of B minus
4 times A times C
Divide it all by 2 A
That's the determinant!
And you will have
the roots of
a formula quadratic!
FIGHT ON
X is
Negative B
Plus or Minus
The square root of
B minus 4
A C
All over
2 A!
X is
Negative B
Plus or Minus
The square root of
B minus 4
A C
All over
2 A!
(Mind you, as a UCLA alum, I HATE that last one!)
:o) |
PJ / Friday, Jul 16 / 1:59 PM
Wilfred / Tuesday, Jul 27 / 3:27 PM
|
|
