If you had a dollar for every time algebra and calculus helped you in life would you have n dollars?

Simple math plays a part in everyones daily life.
Algebra and calculus would depend if your occupation requires them.

The only time that I’m aware of using algebra in my every day life is when I’m trying to compare prices on something per unit, for example, produce. “3 oranges for $2.50 vs 5 oranges for $4.” “2 12 packs of soda for $7 vs. 3 6 packs for $6.”

I feel like I use algebra all of the time. I move equations around either side of the equal sign to find answers to solve for x. Some people might not call that algebra, and just call it math.

For instance, if someone purchased a widget for $48.15 and you had to figure out the before tax price of the item knowing it’s 7% tax in that county. Would that be algebra or just math? I think of it as algebra.

Or, if you had to figure the percent increase if this year’s sales are 36,897 vs. last year’s sales of 33,450. Is that algebra?

Zero

i7 3 Negative cube root $. All imaginary numbers.

I used to wonder at the time whether any of the math I had to learn in high school would ever be useful. I regularly use math now, and trig/geometry are especially practical for making stuff, like wood projects, or helping my friend install a fence with 90 corners. Even calculus comes in handy occasionally. The least useful concept I had to learn was imaginary numbers, followed closely by systems of equations. I’ve never had a practical application for those come up.

I would have m dollars where m = A, my age minus about 5, x 365.25 days x n, the average number of times I use it in a day . x P, the interest rate formula for daily payment at compounded interest rate.
I use it a lot.
I agree with @gorillapaws. imaginary numbers were not so useful outside of work.
And speaking of not so useful math .. my masters thesis used Quaternions: a + bi + cj + dk ( where i, j, and k are orthogonal imaginary numbers), to visualize 4 bar mechanisms in free space.

Now an then I will use simple algebra to calculate relationships of measurements.

This reminds me of when I was in 5th grade and had arithmetic assignments where I had to add and subtract various fractions. I asked my step-dad (an electrical engineer) how I would use this when I grow up. He said that he had no idea. HA!

I find myself using fractions, percents, proportions, and basic arithmetic, but not really anything beyond that.

Algebra sometimes; twenty years ago my wife had to take statistics for a Masters degree, I was helping her on her homework. I took two undergrad and one grad course of statistics fifteen years before that. She was amazed so was I.

Yes, that’s exactly how many I would have.

How much use do people make of anything they learned in high school – English, history, art or science? Should we just replace high schools with job training programs?

@LostInParadise I would trade imaginary numbers and all of those trig function substitutions for formal critical thinking, and logical fallacies that you would learn in a philosophy 101 course. Your point is well taken though.

I use my math, English, literature, science, history, other subjects, and my education as a whole, constantly.

Those of you who don’t think you do, have been missing out, big time…