Tag: temperature

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Why High School Math? (Plus AI, Logic, & the Creator)

Does algebra even matter?

As I released my new Consumer Math course, I kept hearing how excited moms were for a high school math that was actually practical. While Consumer Math certainly is that, other high school math should be too!

In all of my math courses, I’ve striven to show students why they’re learning what they’re learning. Granted, algebra might not be something students incorporate into their daily life. However, they use technology based on it daily. For example, how fast will a metal pan heat up? We can use an algebra equation to figure that out.

formulawhere

formula

We can write formulas like the one above because of the consistent way heat transfers into pans based on their heat capacity. And why is creation so consistent? Because a faithful God governs creation in a predictable way! Algebra should be something students finish up with a deeper wow at our amazing Creator.

Now, high school math problems can get challenging and involved. Some multi-step problems can make your head spin. These problems not only prepare students for real-life math problems, but they also teach them to look at a situation where they don’t know what to do and think of different ways they could potentially approach it. That’s a skill we need with real-life non-mathematical problems too!

And then there’s logical thinking skills. If a > b and b > c, we can conclude that a must also be greater than c…but we couldn’t conclude that it’s greater than h, for instance. Why do we care? Learning how to draw logical conclusions helps us think through real-life scenarios.

I’ve put below a video Answers in Genesis recently released that shows an AI, when prompted to answer “according to strict math, logic, and mathematical probability” agreed a biblical Creator makes sense and evolution is foolish. Logic matters…and algebra and geometry help students develop it.

Looking to Help Your Students See Math’s Purpose This Year?
Check out these high school and junior high school programs, complete with optional eCourses that will walk students through the lessons. Also check out the Big Book of Math timeline, usable to add in math’s application and purpose to any curriculum. It is possible for students to see God in math while developing skills that will last a lifetime.

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Math, Our Finely Tuned Bodies, & the Creator

blood pressure

Every time we go to the doctor, the nurse takes a few key measurements: our blood pressure, weight, height (if we’re still in growing years), and temperature. Depending on our issue, they might run some blood work. They do this because our bodies God finely tuned our bodies to operate just right, and these numbers—as well as many others—can clue us in to if something is out of place.

Blood Pressure

Stop and marvel at your heart for just a moment. All without your thinking about it, it pumps blood at just the right pressure through your body, adjusting that pressure automatically based on your activity level. If it beats too high or low, your body stops functioning correctly. Ask someone who’s had that happen and they can tell you what a gift a working heart really is.

Height & Weight

Your height and weight can be used to calculate what we call a BMI (Body Mass Index). Simply divide your weight by your height to find yours. That simple ratio gives us a way to compare if we’re at a healthy weight…and to see if children are growing appropriately.

Temperature

It’s no fun when we run a fever, is it? God designed our bodies to operate within a certain range, and when our immune system has to raise the temperature higher to fight off an infection, we feel it. We don’t often stop to think, though, about how amazing it is that our bodies can control our temperature in the first place. Yet a functioning body temperature is a daily gift from God.

Blood Work

Doctors sometimes need to draw blood work. If you’ve ever looked at blood work results, you might have noticed that it’s filled with numbers of what was in the blood analyzed, as well as normal ranges for that value. If you’ve ever had anything show up abnormal on your blood work, you may know how something simple being off in our blood can cause major problems. For example, if our blood sugar is off as is the case in diabetes, we can experience major health issues.

Stop & Praise

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well” Psalm 139:13-14 (ESV)

When we use math to measure the quantities and operations in our bodies, we see that we are indeed “fearfully and wonderfully made.” We’re finely tuned on so many levels, from blood pressure to temperature to sugar levels to hormones to oxygenation—the list could go on and on and on. Our amazing bodies should cause us to praise our great Creator!

At the same time, the reality that our bodies don’t always work right should remind us that we live in a fallen world—a world gone wrong because of sin. In God’s original creation, Adam and Eve’s bodies worked just right all the time. Sin changed that. Now we’re all in the process of dying, and our bodies often don’t stay perfectly tuned. Sin is serious, and we’ve all sinned. We desperately need the Savior, Jesus Christ; through faith in Him, we can look forward to a perfect world again with new bodies that do work perfectly.

Next time you think about math, remember that it helps us explore God’s creation—including our bodies. As it does, it points us to God’s amazing design—and reminds us of the seriousness of sin. Pause and praise the God who both knit you together and chose to become a human to save you from sin and bring you to Himself and a perfect world again.