EXCEL IN MATH

A variety of "mathworlds" can be created in Excel with relative ease. On this page I illustrate some of the "worksheets" I have made. Each is an Excel file that I will send you by e-mail on request.

A colourful and simple-to-use graphing program.

By adjusting the x values you can zero in on the X axis to determine solutions. Here x = 2.152 +/-

Solving equations using the quadrtic formula is a frequent exercise. Students can check their work with this worksheets. Just enter the coefficients in the yellow boxes and all the calculations are done and the graph updated.

The numerical solutions can be verified by looking at the graph.

Using matrices to solve "simultaneous equations". Row operations are always a frustrating experience for students partly because the process is so error-prone and their work is usually so intidy that they can't see where they have been or where they are goiung!. Here is a worksheet with a clear layout that allows student to experiment without making arithmetic mistakes. This is the " 2 x 3" version. The "3 x 4" and the "4 x 5" versions arealso included.

Simultaneous equations can be be solved by "row operations"; but also by B * A^(-1), and also by Cramer's Rule. The trouble with these is that calculating the inverse and/or the determinent is also a very error-prone process. Time consuming and boring too. This worksheet does all this automatically. Versions for 2, 4 and 5 equations also included.

Got any other ideas? Let mer know, and if I have time I'll add them here.