About Pre-Calculus - Beginning Pre-Calculus for Game Developers - page 9

created. The serrations of a leaf or the path of a ball when you toss it are patterns
that you find. On the other hand, at times you fidget with math and find a
pattern, and then go looking for something in nature you can use to illustrate the
pattern.
Algebra in part deals with patterns you can explore using linear and nonlinear
relations between sets of numbers. You find one set of numbers, for example, and
then map this set of numbers to another set. The map is an equation.
Trigonometry extends the ways that you can map one set of numbers to another.
It begins with explorations of triangles. A triangle allows you to bring three values
into different relations with each other. These relations constitute the trigono-
metric ratios.
The ratios of trigonometry allow you to extend the notion of patterns to
encompass the different ways that patterns can behave. Among other things,
patterns can be periodic. One period pattern is known as the sine wave. Another
is known as a cosine wave. From cosines and sines you can continue on to
tangents, cotangents, secants, and cosecants.
Algebra and trigonometry together provide a foundation for the study of cal-
culus. They allow you to explore relationships between sets of numbers and to
generate graphical representations of these relationships in a multitude of ways.
They are usually viewed as fundamental mathematics, although there are dis-
ciplines of mathematics in which trigonometry and algebra are studied on
advanced levels. As it is, in the context provided here, the objective remains one
of inviting you to explore math in a conversational way. Everyone can learn
something. Each act of learning is an act of confirmation. Each act of learning
becomes a way to make what is strange familiar. Each act of learning is a way to
extend what you know into new places.
Additional Reading
Hardy, G. H. A Mathematician's Apology . Forward by C. P. Snow. New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Herbert, Frank. Dune . Radnor, PA: Chilton Book Company, 1990.