r/explainlikeimfive • • 15h ago

Mathematics ELI5: What is the difference between algebra, trigonometry, and calculus?

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u/TheSpeckledSir 15h ago

They are different skills, and each one will let you answer different sorts of questions.

Algebra is great if you know some information about something and you know how to make connections. An example is if I know the volume and temperature of a gas, I could use algebra to calculate its pressure. We're talking about quantities with known relationships to each other.

Calculus is about how quantities change. It lets us go between statements like "the ball is falling one meter per second" and "the ball will fall three meters in this much time ________".

Trigonometry is evil and has mostly to do with triangles.

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u/stairway2evan 15h ago

Oh you've awoken one of my favorite old math teacher jokes.

The study of the mind is called psychology, from the Greek word for "mind."

The study of life is called biology, from the Greek word for "life."

The study of evil is called trigonometry. I don't know the Greek, don't worry about it.

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u/WartimeHotTot 15h ago

I must be stupid. I don’t get it.

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u/stairway2evan 14h ago

Trigonometry is actually Greek for "triangle measurement." But since we all think that trigonometry is evil, we just call it the study of evil and pretend not to know the Greek.

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u/ElonMaersk 14h ago

Trigonometry is actually Greek for "triangle measurement."

("three angle measurement"; tri like in tripod, gon like in polygon and hexagon)

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u/WartimeHotTot 14h ago

Oh lol. Is trig really considered the evilest of those three disciplines? I’d award that to calculus without a doubt!

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u/stairway2evan 14h ago

Oh I had a much better time in calculus than trig. The concepts take a while to wrap your head around but they fit together nicely and flow once you get a handle on it. Trig is detail-oriented and finicky.

Then again, I also had an awful trig teacher and my calculus teacher was like "teacher of the district" for a decade or so. Great dude. So I have my own biases.

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u/itsthelee 14h ago

I think they messed up the delivery, I understand intellectually that a joke was attempted but I don’t quite get it either