Jericho923 Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 cool to see so many math people back in the day were Catholics! def. not one of them! :hammer: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 [quote name='immaculata' date='Mar 20 2004, 11:44 PM'] GAAAHHH!!! NUMBERS!!! RUN AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [/quote] *runs with immaculata far away from the numbers* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rachael Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 does anyone know about the one .999=1? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobk2000 Posted March 21, 2004 Author Share Posted March 21, 2004 [quote name='jrndveritatis' date='Mar 21 2004, 12:03 AM'] WOW. I can't see what's wrong and I stared at it for ten minutes. It all makes sense to me (besides the conclusion). I feel really stupid because I am an engineering student and I can't see what is wrong. It has to wrong, or math has some serious problems and you will be extremely famous. Please post again when you find out. Ask your professor, I am really interested. [/quote] I've already asked three math teachers at my school, and none of them could figure it out. I'm gonna have to ask the calculus teacher if one of them can't figure out what's wrong with it. Its a strange problem tho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
track2004 Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 [quote]does anyone know about the one .999=1? [/quote] ya i can get that one. .9999.... = a [i]mulitply each side by ten[/i] 10 * .9999.... = 10a [i]so [/i] 9.9999.... = 10a [i]subtract the two equations from each other[/i] 9.9999.... - .9999.... = 10a - a [i]which leaves you with[/i] 9 = 9a [i]boom (ohh ahh)[/i] 1=a; a = .9999.... [i]finally (trumpets please)[/i] 1=.9999.... but i like that proof because it makes calculus nicer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prov31girl Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 Ummmmm...yeah, I have no clue. I need to get my friend Mary on here, she's a math major. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
track2004 Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 [quote name='tobk2000' date='Mar 20 2004, 10:28 PM']i= imaginary number, -1^.5 k= any integer i^(4k+2) = i^4k * i^2 = (i^4)^k * i^2 = 1^k *-1 = 1*-1 = -1 reasonable answer, yes? heres the strange one i^(4k+2) = (i^4)^(k + 2/4) = 1^(k+1/2) = 1^k * 1^ 1/2 = 1*1 = 1[/quote] ok so i'm not entirely sure about this but i may have found a way to save math when you (not the equation, but you) take the square root of a number you have to realize that there is a positive and negative square root. so when taking the i^(4k+2) to (i^4)^(k+.5) you yourself inserted a square root. so when you take 1^.5 later you have to consider that can equal 1 or -1. but thats all i can think of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobk2000 Posted March 22, 2004 Author Share Posted March 22, 2004 well unfortunately that was the first thing i thought of, and brought it to my math teacher and he said no its only positive 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morostheos Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 A German mathematician has come up with a theorem about things such as this. In 1931, Kurt Godel came up with a theorem now know as Godel's Incompleteness Theorem. Godel showed that in any mathematical system complex enough to include the addition and multiplication of whole numbers, there must exist mathematical statements whose truth can't be decided from within the system. This shows that there could be any number of inconsistencies in mathematics, but there is no way to systematically find them. Confused yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jericho923 Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 always! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BullnaChinaShop Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 [quote name='tobk2000' date='Mar 21 2004, 08:22 PM']well unfortunately that was the first thing i thought of, and brought it to my math teacher and he said no its only positive 1[/quote] track2004 and your first guess are correct and your math teacher is not. The square root of a number can either be positive or negative. sqrt(1)=-1 or +1 -1*-1=1 1*1=1 This means the answer to your second problem: [quote]i^(4k+2) = (i^4)^(k + 2/4) = 1^(k+1/2) = 1^k * 1^ 1/2 = 1*1 = 1[/quote] actually equals 1 or -1 For the two ways of solving the problem to be equal sqrt(1)=-1 in this case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Huether Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 [quote name='BullnaChinaShop' date='Mar 22 2004, 08:19 AM'] track2004 and your first guess are correct and your math teacher is not. The square root of a number can either be positive or negative. sqrt(1)=-1 or +1 -1*-1=1 1*1=1 This means the answer to your second problem: actually equals 1 or -1 For the two ways of solving the problem to be equal sqrt(1)=-1 in this case [/quote] I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobk2000 Posted March 22, 2004 Author Share Posted March 22, 2004 ok but it still could be = 1 which is really annoying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Red Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 wow. seriously i think this is the most confusing thread in the history of phatmass! and the crazy girls have come up with some doozies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BullnaChinaShop Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 [quote name='tobk2000' date='Mar 22 2004, 01:07 PM']ok but it still could be = 1 which is really annoying[/quote] It could be 1 by the definition of a square root but in order to get the same result it has to be -1 in this case. That means it is -1 and not 1 because 1 doesn't give you a valid answer. Sometimes both the positive and negative are valid answers to the square root and sometimes only one of them are depending on your problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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