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

[Iwata]

Since my college experience is in International Relations, Political Science and History, I don't feel the least bit bad about not knowing the answer.

Also, even though the OP itself reeks of elitism, the discussion itself just sickens me as it goes on. Looking down on other people's academia choices is, I think, a pre-requisite for douchebaggery.

 

[Lavi]

FOIL: (x+3)^2

X^2 + 6x + 9

Easy like pi, but then again I'm in HS Calculus.

 

[John Wedge]

That would have been a lot easier if I'd known what FOIL was when I started! Expanding brackets aren't exactly difficult mind you, but only because I liked algebra when I had to study it.

Using ^2 instead of [sup]2[/sup] threw me off as well; having spent the last three years looking at PropCal and PredCal '^' means '&', but that's just the joy of notation.

As for the whole arts vs sciences thing, I straddle the ground somewhat in that I'm a philosophy PhD student, my thesis is on the ethical issues surrounding the creation and manipulation of AI. But appearently I'm a wooly arts student. I'm also a fiction writer and a performance poet, so quite how it all fits together is beyond me!

I'm also going to call you out on the 'makes me angry' thing. This is not basic real world maths; even in situations where people are making these calculations, they're not going about it in a formal manner. If they couldn't work out their change, or their daily wages, or what percentage of their overall degree a particular essay counted as then sure I can see why there would be a problem. But I have the feeling that less than 40% of students ever actually use this. Furthermore, and I know I'm just repeating what others have said, not being able to solve a mathematical problem does not make you thick.

 

[Mr. Purple]

This is Algebra I stuff. It is taught in High School!

<color=purple>Umm, I am in Algebra II and Trigonometry right now. I have heard a reference to FOILing only once or twice. I have never learned how to do this, nor needed to use it.
Seems fairly reasonable that 40% of college students don't know how to do this. ...its a bit more astonishing that a college student can't understand that statistic.

 

[SarahSyna]

I've never heard of FOIL in my life, except in Biology when doing punnet squares. That thing is just standard algebra though, I do it every day in secondary school. Either that or I'm confusing it with something very similar.

If it's what I think it is, then it's a bit weird that loads of college folks can't do it, but I suppose a lot of them don't do maths related courses and such, and you tend to forget things like that when you don;t use them for months. It's why we have revision for exams after all.

 

[xavix]

I learned this shit in eighth grade, 40%? really?

 

[JWAN]

FOIL: (x+3)^2

...foil?

Spoiler

It's x^2+6x+9, but what the hell does foil mean?

first
outside
inside
last

 

[JWAN]

Im not ashamed at all. Im a History major with multiple minors and none require maths.

For this, I am happy.

 

[JWAN]

Since my college experience is in International Relations, Political Science and History, I don't feel the least bit bad about not knowing the answer.

Also, even though the OP itself reeks of elitism, the discussion itself just sickens me as it goes on. Looking down on other people's academia choices is, I think, a pre-requisite for douchebaggery.

^ this

Some people just don't need mental masturbation.

 

[ModsDeleteThisAccountPlease]

O_O
Your joking. My Al II teacher had this drilled in our heads. By Song!

First, Outer, Inner and Last
ba-dum-dum-da
You can do multiplication fast
You can save your self from toil
If you are the Master. Of. FOIL {long and drawn out}[jazz hands!]

 

[LordWalter]

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. So Escapist, I ask you:

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

Please put your answers in spoiler tags so people can't cheat without actively looking. To do a spoiler tag you place [mathspoiler]{content}[/mathspoiler] but remove the "math" part.

Remember, 40 freakin' percent fail at this. Try not to be one of them.

The correct answer is

Spoiler

{x^2+6x+9}

/blank stare. Thanks, I signed off all non-statistics mathematics after Algebra II. pahaha.

 

[33drum33]

Spoiler

{x^2 + 6x + 9}

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

 

[Spectre39]

Been about a year since my last math course, but I think I remember that operation.

Spoiler

x^2+6x+9

Though to be honest, FOIL in caps is kind of a giveaway. Not sure I would have immediately known to do with that. I would assume that (x+3)^2 is already simplified.

 

[Clankenbeard]

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. So Escapist, I ask you:

All right math major, try to correctly spot the split infinitive in this sentence. Or tell me what an appositive phrase is. I bet an Enlish major could jump all over those. History majors could tell you who the fifth president was. Or what "54'40" or fight!" means. Literature majors can recite more than three basic lines of Shakespere. I'll be you had to read Shakespear. Can you tell me which of my two spellings for his name is the right one?

It's algebra. You don't have to take it in school. You can go through your entire life without ever needing the polynomial expansion skill. If you want to solve your equation [as in (x+3)^2=0], then expanding it only makes it more difficult. You are better off stopping in the factored form, knowing that the parabola has one solution at x=-3 (it's minimum / apex).

While math is clearly your passion (and mine), you are judging others based on your own experiences and expertise. You are expecting them to know information that they were not required to learn. That's not fair to them. My mechnical engineering degree still leaves me feeling stupid and out of place in a room full of actors or doctors or hunting enthusiasts. I don't know what the hell is going on, but that's just because I didn't go down any of those paths. I'm not stupid--just out of my element.

I would recommend that you hold your anger for those who can't do their basic multiplication tables. This is likely a much smaller percentage but a lot more enraging. Oh yeah, I got the question right, if anybody read this far.

Here's one for you. What's wrong with this?

• a = b (now multiply both sides by a)
  a^2 = ab (subtract b^2 form both sides)
  a^2 - b^2 = ab - b^2 (now factor)
  (a+b)(a-b) = b(a-b) (now remove common factors)
  (a+b) = b (now substitute in a's ffor b's since b=a (first statement))
  a+a = a (now simplify)
  2a = a (now simplify again)
  2 = 1 (now find the mistake)

 

[ObsessiveSketch]

OT: FOIL
First, Outside, Inside, Last.

 

[internetzealot1]

I guess its all those drugs floating around college, because it would take me years to forget how to do that.

 

[Zeetchmen]

Im in college and I haven't the foggiest what FOIL is

 

[Deleric]

Ugh. I'm a highschool Freshman pre-cal student. Fuck you.

 

[Simriel]

"Fake?"
FAKE?

As an art major, I work my ass off. Ask anyone in the IRC; I'm always doing working. I'm here taking a break from doing art, then going back for more.

I'm sorry, but if you seriously think that the arts aren't real majors, you obviously know nothing about it.

yeah... but did you solve a problem? did you feed anyone with it? transport them to work? sort records? order parts? fix anything? build something?

Well done, you just declared roughly 70% of western society useless. Most likely including yourself.

 

[JWAN]

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

done