40% of College Students get this question wrong. AND IT MAKES ME ANGRY!

[Nigh Invulnerable]

Something that got pushed to the back of my mind. I remember learning it, but... yeah. I couldn't do it either.

Its been a few years since high school, and I'm majoring in a social science branch (criminology) so I really don't need it.

Once I saw the answer and some of the discussion I recalled how to do this operation, but I haven't taken math that required FOILing in years, so I couldn't remember what to do. I think the fact that the OP is "mad" about people not knowing this would be like if I got mad about people not knowing what the "fundamental attribution error" is. It's a psychology term that you learn in Psych 101.

 

[FolkLikePanda]

mabby this might put it into light

(x+3)(x+7)

x*x=x^2
x*7=7x
3*x=3x
3*7=21
so you get x^2+3x+7x+21=x^2+10x+21

just remember that when your doing (x+3)^2 it is (x+3)*(x+3)

(x+3)^2 = (x+3)(x+3)
= (X x X) + (3 x X) + (3 x X) + (3 x 3)
= X^2 + 3X + 3X +9
= X^2 + 6X + 9

Right I get ya now, (x+3)(x+3), then you do that thing in the shape of a beak or smiley face, well thats how we used to do it so we link all the symbols together. Tar very much

 

[Nimcoy27]

This is sad, im a sophomore in high school and I can answer this in my head instantly...

 

[ShinyMagnum]

(2/3)ix + 4x^2

But then I do computer science so this stuff is occasionally necessary.

 

[ShinyMagnum]

Those of us who:

a) have a clue
b) don't have any use for advanced maths in our occupations

simply refer to any of the THOUSANDS of applications, websites, and calculators that exist to solve these problems, in the rare case that they come up. Faster than you.

My answer? http://twitpic.com/1brqqr

BS. Took me five seconds in my head.

Yes, because you *already know* what the answer is. As did the vast majority of us. Try an equation you haven't already stored the answer for.

Here, let me help you.

Expand:

(2/3)ix + 4x^2

But then I do computer science so this stuff is occasionally necessary.

 

[Vergast]

(x+3)^2
=x(x+3)+3(x+3)
=x^2+3x+3x+9
=x^2+6x+9

We never called it foil tho.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Looks like basic quadratics...that's GCE/GCSE (16 years old) stuff here.

(x+3)^2 = (x+3)(x+3) = x^2+6x+9, surely?

I've got up to BSc Hons. though and never heard FOIL.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

this is kinda off topic but while we're on the subject of maths in America when you are being taught things like Speed and Weight do you use the Imperial system in school ie. Miles, Pounds, Stone, etc or do you use the Metric system ie Kilograms, Kilometers, etc?

All my science classes in high school used the metric system. I can't even imagine my physics class using pounds or feet... And, for the record, nobody in America uses Stone. Ever.

Ok thanks I was just wondering as I was unsure about what system was actually in use in America as they seem to use Imperial system a lot in TV shows.

 

[Zykon TheLich]

I haven't the faintest idea what the question is, let alone how to anwer it, it's been a good 15+ years since I've done anything like that.

PS I find it quite funny that my inability to answer this question causes you displeasure, thank you for brightening my day

 

[Sammi Costello]

FOIL: (x+3)^2
EDIT: FOIL also means Expand...

Spoiler: Answer

(x+3)^2 = (x+3)(x+3)
(x^2)+6x+9.

 

[Sgt. Dante]

Spoiler

(x+3)^2
(x+3)*{x+3)
x^2 + 3x + 3x + 9
x^2 + 6x + 9

Think that's pretty much as far as I go. Will check the answer in a mo.
Hey! I was right ^.^


The problem is that many courses in collage these days aren't scientific. and even in some of the ones that are maths isn't always held to be particularly important.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

Hell yeah, I got into medicine before doing Arts/Psych ..... I haven't touched an ounce of algebra for 10 freaking years so it took me awhile to remember FOIL.

But I could very well imagine what WOULD of happened if I stuck with medicine .... the HORROR....

"Doctor", they'll say, "He is STILL losing alot of blood .. I'm thinking there's been a bad laceration caused by glass from the windshield. What should take priority? His collapsing lung, or the bloodloss?"

"I do not know", I will reply, "For I cannot remember how to FOIL ... I fear I will kill the man" :]

Who the hell cares about some shit you learn in yr. 8 ...? At what point ... logically ... can you ever tell me that FOIL would be useful?

I feel more sorry for the people who RETAIN this redundant information, as opposed to feel sorry I couldn't remember it.

What really angers me is that most people don't know the difference between EAR and CPR (much less know enough how to perform either). Now that stuff is useful and there's an EXCEPTIONAL chance that it may make a monumental difference in someone's life.

 

[Flames66]

This is sad, im a sophomore in high school and I can answer this in my head instantly...

sophomore?

Also, I'm 20 and doing a Telecomms course and I got it wrong. The reason for this is that Algebra is not frequently used in real life.

 

[Coldsnap]

This frankly isn't really that surprising or shocking to me. You tend to retain knowledge that comes up with some regularity and is interesting to you.

This mathematical operation has never come up for me and I doubt for many other people since I learned it years ago and I honestly didn't really recall how it was done.

Now if you had a reliable source showing inability with basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division, that might be interesting and troublesome.

 

[Precious Pikachu]

I'm surprised that so many people got that wrong. Can you link to the study OP? Or to a reliable source that publishes that statistic (newspaper, etc)? I feel like most of us here got it right...

 

[yoyo13rom]

College is supposed to be a place of higher learning. To get into college you must also pass high school and a number of exams. Yet, based on a recent campus wide survey conducted at my school 40% of college students cannot FOIL. I am a math major and this saddens and angers me.

Dude, I'm saddened by this news. I always thought that maths, broadens the mind(or so I though), and that by acquiring a more logical mathematical apparatus, one becomes intuitively smarter.
I have a wide respect for all the other sciences and jobs, but isn't math the basis of any science? I mean if you want to demonstrate something you need math, if you want to build something complex you need math, if you want to help understand economy you need math, if you wish to discover something you need math, if you need to prove something exists or not you need math,if you wish to express a physics law or a chemistry equation you need math, and the list goes on.
I know that mathematics is just a tool(a crouch, if you wish to diminutive it), but without it we can't(and couldn't have) accomplish(ed) anything!
I just hate that people disrespect this subject now, and have the nerve to wish to solve everything empirical(if you stumble upon a general case you can't find out the exceptions and vice versa). I HATE that no one cares about maths any more

In my country(Romania), believe me or not, if you cannot foil an expression, you drop out in the 5th grade(no matter if you want to study political science, or biology, or literature or anything else; you must be able to know the basics at least, or else you're a failure, and do not deserve a higher education). How do we expect to progress if we aren't willing to know and study at least the basics of every major science/subject?!

And thus my rant ends and my grief continues: "people aren't worth a frostbitten onion without land"(in our century, money). There will someday be no more true values on this earth.

 

[lay-lanie]

Spoiler

x^2+6x+9

OH YEAH! still got it! Even though high school was about 4 years ago and I dropped out of college. xP

 

[enriquetnt]

is the fault of the calculators (the things should be banned from highschools) 20 years ago when i was in highschool here in venezuela, we were forbidden to use calculator at class, even tables where forbidden (yes that includes the periodic table for chem class, you could guess how fun it was to have to memorize the ENTIRE thing for a 15 year old whit hormones burning and lots of easy ass around)i still could do that in my mind fairly easy, (in spanish theyr called OPERACIONES POLINOMICAS or simply POLINOMIOS)