Daily Archives: June 17, 2018

Week 18 – Top 5 things I’ve learned in Pre-Calc 11

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  1. Finding infinite geometric series values – The most interesting topic that I have learned so far doing math! This shows us the formula to finding the sum of endless series of numbers. It is just mind-blowing how humanity came up with a formula that helps us to find the sum of infinite series of numbers. I just can’t wait to do Pre-Calc 12 and Calc 12, which would have even interesting, and expanded formulas than those in Pre-Calc 11.
  2. Analyzing Quadratics – This is a topic where we have to find vertex, the domain, the range, and visualize what the whole graph’s going to turn out to be by solving quadratics. I find this very useful and realized that this will be helpful when improving visualizing skills.
  3. Solving Quadratics – This topic expands the factoring skill that we learned during Grade 10, and it is the most useful skills that helped me throughout the semester. Learning how to factor helped me solve problems faster, and easier. It not only helped me in Pre-Calc 11 class but in my Physics class. It also helped me think better and choose wisely as in this topic, there is not only one but many forms of factoring formulas.
  4. Solving rational equations – Calculation errors always have been a thing to me whenever it comes to test days. However, this topic taught me again to be careful with subtractions and additions. By far the most complicated topic and only topic that made me anxious on test days due to a possibility of calculation errors.
  5. Sine and Cosine law – This topic was new to me and never thought that I would encounter a topic where we dealt with non-right triangles. Dealing with angles, and dimensionally can always be useful in life, and in the future where one dreams of going into space engineering.

Blackout Poem – “Death of a Salesman”

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Don’t come back

Pushes back

awful form

then fall on the floor

start rolling around

furious and humiliated

I picture

hollow, empty

I fight them

in my frustration

“Death of a Salesman” is a tragic play written by Arthur Miller based on 1950s America. Willy Loman, a salesman who is married to Linda and has two sons, Biff, and Happy, returns home from a failed sales trip most of the nights. He always believed in American dream where people gets success from their hard work. However, in spite of  working hard day and night, he has to borrow money from Charlie, his neighbor, for insurance, fridge, house mortgage, and car. He believes he could be successful just like Ben but never turned out to be one and decides to commit suicide for the insurance money, which is a lot more than what he brings home. He sees this as a chance for his family to be rich and prosperous again. He is a symbol of a depression, lost, and miserable man. He even cheats on his wife, who cares about him the most. He does not notice that he has a developing Alzheimer. All of Willy Loman’s behaviors, the flow of the play shows this as a tragedy.

My blackout poem describes how Willy Loman tries to be successful but always gets pushed back, and falls to the bottom, which gets repeated. His lacking of money, him getting no respect from others, and getting humiliated from Howard, frustrates him, which also leaves him empty when returning home. My illustration shows Willy Loman looking up the night sky, looking at the stars, hoping that someday his perseverance leads him to reach those stars.