A thread where students can help each other with anything, mostly homework I guess.

I suppose that I shall be the first to ask for help.
Does anyone know calculus, if so, would they be willing to help me out with a weird little problem?

Well I don't really know Calculus but what's the problem? :p

"Solve for a, b, and c so that f(x)=ax^2+bx+c has a relative maximum at (5,20) and the curve passes through the point (2,10)"

I've already taken the derivative and tried to solve for all the variable but one, but when I plug them back into the original equation I get whole numbers equaling whole numbers, the variables cancel throughout.

Srry I couldn't help you FP, I have no clue how to do Calculus... Does anyone here take Alg. II? I need help with a function, but I just can't remember what to do...

I'll take a whack at the function if you'd like.

Which Function is represented by the table of values below?

x- 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
y- 18 8 2 0 2 8 18



Answer Choices:

A) y= 2(x-3)^2
B) y= 2(x+3)^2
C) y= -2(x-3)^2
D) y= -2(x+3)^2

The main reason I can't do it, is because I lost my calculator. Curse me and my irresponsibility.

Well, if you plug in the x value that gets 0 into each function you can eliminate B and D. Then plug in 6, because it is large, and you will get 18 witht he correct answer. A. y=18, C. y=-18. Therefore the answer is A.

And you really can't do exponents in your head? Its well worth the time to memorize them, and it leads to a few good party tricks.

I just can't concentrate sometimes I use my calculator a lot and yeah I should learn to memorize. But thanks, very much

A) is the right answer. Since it's multiple choice, you can just plug in the x and y values in each equation and find the one that's true. I started with (6,18), and A) was the only one that worked. You could also calculate the x- and y-intercepts to rule out incorrect choices.

EDIT: Um, yeah, guess I left this window open too long before I answered. Sorry about that. :err:

mmkay, thanks both of you.

If it's not too much to ask, could I get someone's opinion on this piece? The opinion editor asked me to write a 500 word exposition of Barack Obama's inauguration and essentially "throw the Democrats a bone." I'm not sure if I like what I came up with- it's hard for me to strike a balance between too much Obama cheerleading and too much ragging on Bush. Granted, Bush made a plethora of bad decisions, but I try to remember that some of his messes were sown by Clinton and that he might have been a good president, if not for 9/11. Anyway, be honest! I can take it .



While the feverish political passion and epic fervor of Barack Obama’s revolutionary campaign dwindle to a lull of anxious expectation, they yield to alternately both suspicious trepidation and steadfast faith. In the anxious weeks following the inauguration, fraught with numerous crises for the new administration to amend, even a blind eye could discern a fact steadily illuminating itself- that something in the ground beneath America has shifted.



Gone are the days of hemorrhaging money into senseless bloodshed in the Middle East, doggedly passing laws to prohibit the inherent freedoms of American citizens, and remaining stalwartly ignorant to the nation’s rising economic crisis, driven out to welcome a foreign entity of which America has seen scarce evidence in the new millennium- change.



Faced by an imploding economy, a futile war for which both support and enthusiasm have vanished, and a progressive likelihood of recession, one might say that Barack Obama has received the desolate inheritance of not only policies sown by George Bush, but by Bill Clinton, as well. While the obstacles challenging Obama are momentous, so is his potential. His solid, explicitly clear-cut directive and a Congress unified under Democratic majority leave him well equipped to reconcile the plentiful dilemmas bombarding America that the previous administration preferred to sit back and allow to fester.



Current events elucidate the emergent truth of the world’s disparaging perspective of America as a self-centered, wasteful nation too rooted in superficial pursuits to take part in anything of substance. The time has come to contradict this escalating perception and prove that the United States is a nation of strength and fortitude, a nation with the aptitude to repair its mistakes and from them evolve, a nation with the capacity to change.



The dire necessity of change has lingered on the horizon since the basest whispers of the election began, reflected in the bleak situation of American citizens across the country and in the aching, weary hearts of soldiers tirelessly fighting the petty battles of a distant place where the United States doesn’t belong. The election of Barack Obama has brought into the Oval Office a politician who acknowledges the need for something that Washington can no longer ignore, someone with a dependable hand and a clear mandate, someone capable of deliverance from the descent into recession and worse evils.


An incredible sense of collective purpose pervaded the awestruck silence across America as Obama took to the steps of a capitol built by slaves and America again looked to a black man to rebuild the nation. Barack Obama has proven that the United States can collectively dig itself out of its recent hole, that widespread diversity still defines the nation, and that shreds of validity still cling to the American dream.

As Obama takes the office of president, it has become clear that something in the lax, laissez-faire American public of previous elections has shifted, that history has been made, and that, even faced with insurmountable odds, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

...wow, are you really in high school? I would just suggest not using too many big words, to make it more understandable. I'm not saying that it doesn't make sense because I get the point but I had to use the online dictionary on some words. Also at the beginning, you could try something that will grasp the readers attention. But that's just my two cent so don't like bite my head off or anything lol :hmm:

That's an excellent piece, Rabid. Your tone comes across as sincere and hopeful, rather than blinded by adoration, and I particularly like the ending. Now, my writing style tends to be more simple than yours, I've noticed, so please remember that that's where I'm coming from with my comments.

There are several places where your turns of phrase seem slightly off to me. For instance, while "hemorrhaging money" is an interesting way to phrase that thought, the word seems not quite accurate to me. Hemorrhaging isn't usually something done on purpose, after all. Would something akin to "dumping" work better in that sentence? And I'm pretty sure you meant to say "mend" instead of "amend" in a different sentence. But that's pretty minor.

Another thing that occurred to me (and I'm sorry, because I really do like what you have. I tend to nitpick, is all :P) is that you don't emphasize change from the bad as much as you emphasize change in and of itself. While lack of enthusiasm for change ("traditional values" and what have you) is generally a conservative characteristic, what made Bush's presidency disastrous was not mainly lack of change, it was negative change. I don't mean the "staying the course" stuff. I mean that it was a change, and one brought about by the Bush administration, for the rest of the world to think of America as a bunch of arrogant, bloodthirsty idiots. Change from what caused that is what will make Obama a better president than Bush was, not change in and of itself.

Thanks for the input- you're not too critical at all. Being able to take it is the basis of journalism .

An incredibly twisted perspective of mine is that any piece of written work that doesn't display a prodigious vocabulary is under par. It's crazy, I know, but a strong vocabulary is something that I've always prided myself on. Despite the fact that most newspapers are written at a fourth grade level, my personal satisfaction with my work matters more to me than the amount of people who read it, so I write at my level rather than for fourth graders. I appreciate the advice and believe me, it's something that I've taken into consideration, but even in journalism, I write only to satisfy myself, not the public.

And thanks to you, too, Daisie. I see exactly what you mean... it's dangerously easy for me to get so swept up in my opinion articles that I sometimes neglect looking at the big picture or the critical details. I agree about emphasizing change from the bad and would love to include more negative emphasis on the conservative regime of Bush's administration, but I've found that I need to be somewhat gentle when I write opinion. I know, I know, journalism is about honesty, but being a bit veiled so the common reader can't pick up on the insults isn't what I consider dishonesty- just what I have to do to appease the flaming Republican opinion editor .

Okay my friend needs help with her paper, but I can't help her because i really don't know much about the topic.

her topic is Youth Rehabilitation b/c many children die in youth correctional centers, boot camps, boarding schools, etc.

the thesis is:
Due to deaths of youth in rehabilitative institutions, there needs to be adequate services for youth with mental health problems, restrictions on force and restraints, and no solitary confinement for children under the age of eighteen.

She just need an opening paragraph...

Was thinking of starting off like this:

Confinement is often out played in today's society. Adult prisoners, correctional facilities, and other rehabilitative centers and services are often capturing the media's attention.

What do you think????

That introductory paragraph sounds completely satisfactory, Dreamydre. This may be a discrepancy between your friend's style and mine, but I would advise her to flesh it out with more adjectives to create appeal.

I've been assigned to write a blues poem- the specifications are to make it something rhythmic and meaningful. I love poetry but hate writing it with a passion. Is this poem enough to at least earn a passing grade? I tried to be thoughtful, but writing poetry (and sharing it is even worse, which I'll have to do) makes me verrry uncomfortable. Here it is:

The poetry of living is intertwined, intricate and complex
Whether one devotes this life to its pursuit or realizes it in the next
The poetry of living is prolonged, aching and weary
Though its existence does not require evidence or theory
The poetry of living is pronounced, emphatic and true
With twists and obstacles and triumphs anew
There’s a meaning to life that maybe we’re not meant to know
Poetry is supposed to be inferred, so don’t’ expect it to show
Eternity is a game of pong, but we play it like it’s chess
So I’ll tell you now, to figure it out, just take a wild guess

Whatcha think?

That is me all the way As for the poem, itself it's pretty good and I think it's good enough to get a passing grade however it's kind of hard to grasp what the poem is about, (or is that just me? ) But I suck when it comes to these kind of these so I couldn't possibly tell you. Maybe...exchange a few words with more simple terms for all us Sophomores. (You're a sophomore right?).

Thanks for the advice... it's about life, I suppose, which is admittedly a very broad concept, but I find that vague poetry is the most simple to write. People are always telling me to trim the lengthy adjectives and "Yoda speak" (as my brother says) from my written work, but that's my style and it's not something that I'm willing to negotiate.

I was wondering, could someone help me with this?

I have to answer these questions for our class wikispace:
1.) What does respect mean?
2.) Who needs to be respected? Why?
3.) Should some people be respected more than others?
4.) What are some ways that we can show someone that we respect them?
5.) What can happen when a person is not shown respect?
6.) What are some ways that we can respect ourselves?
7.) What are some ways that we can show disrespect to ourselves?
8.) How would someone offend you?
9.) Are some people offended more easily than others? Why/why not?

Does this sound okay?
1) Respect is to treat others equally, to be fair, and to not swear at others or stub their toe with your favourite hammer. Respect is to treat others how you would like to be treated. Let's face facts, do you expect to be respected if you don't respect other people in return?

(off topic):If your favourite hammer needs a workout, a nail and wood is fine, just as long as it isn't used as a weapon. o_O

2)Everyone needs to be respected. It doesn't matter whether or not you know the dude or not, but it pays off to respect people in order to be respected. Obviously, the weapons I mentioned earlier are NOT to be used. You are RESPECTING people, remember?

3)Everybody deserves the same amount of respect. No more, no less. This means that you wouldn't show someone truckloads of respect, and go ahead and hit some random off the street with the weapon you made in order to work out your favourite hammer, which I had mentioned before. Sure, you might show your parents and teachers just that slight bit more of respect. That is fine, there are not problems with that. Just don't disrespect people just because they are left handed, or someone that you absolutely despise. Just bottle it up, mk?

4)People show respect in many different ways. There is no real wrong way, unless you end up attacking them for no apparent reason. To tell the truth, I have been known to hit people in the back of their heads for no apparent reason, but that doesn't mean you can't refrain yourself from showing respect in that way. Those who believe attacking people is a form of respect, show of hands?

To respect people, just paying attention and giving credit where credit is due is a fine way of showing respect. There is many other ways, but in reality, there is no wrong way unless you are showing disrespect.

5)People take disrespect in many different ways. Some tend to vent in the most inappropriate ways (that weapon I mentioned before.), and others just end up feeling down, and might become antisocial if they are really sensitive. It may not get that extreme, however. I am sure that the most that will happen is they will just show disrespect though. (Sorry for those that were looking for something gory, but I am not THAT disgusting.)

6)To respect ourselves is something that is hard to explain. Obviously, we don't attack ourselves. If you are emo, in my opinion, you are showing disrespect to yourself. This is hard to explain, so I might not say any more.

7)Well, this may sound stereotypical, but being a person who thinks self harm is cool, in my opinion, is showing disrespect to yourself. Those who disagree, please feel free to do so. However, do you honestly think that cutting yourself is respecting yourself?

8)Is this a personal question? If this is a global type of thing, I would say that you might be offended by simple things such as insults and name calling, but maybe for the under 10 age group. Things like verbal abuse may offend some people, and something that people feel are incredibly innapropriate would offend people too, but that would be around a 10+ age group.

9)People who are sensitive may be offended more easily than others, as they tend (no offence) to get over-emotional over the little things. Again, no offence intended.

Tree4me: on the whole, I'd say that's a pretty well written, and humourous article that I'm sure your class mates would enjoy reading. You could expand on no.6 (respecting yourself) by saying something about having confidence in your actions and beliefs, but maybe that's more pride-related. Obviously, you don't go overboard, but so long as you keep your dignity, and be yourself, I think that's respecting yourself.

You might also wanna re-word no.9, to mention people who 'firmly stand by their own beliefs, and strongly disagree with the beliefs of others may be more offended to a challenge to their opinions'. Whether that's a little complex, I'm not sure. Just an alternative wording, and how I would approach the question.

Okay, thanks! :D

I guess (and I really HATE to say this) I am looking forward to presenting it. :P

*facepalm*

Does anyone want to help me with some maths? I am absolutely awful when it comes to anything numerical, so I really need some help with this assignment.

"Expand the following binomial expressions."
a) (x+1)³
b) (x+1)⁴

Please help! I got an extension on the assignment, but I don't think that's going to help me understand maths any better...

In Honors English we are doing projects on the Great Gatsby. In my group, I have to write out a skit on Chapters 3&4. I pretty much have it written out, however the only problem I am having is how to do the "party scene".

In Chapter 3, the setting mostly takes place at Gatsby's estate, where he is throwing a wild party.

Our teacher has said that we can either act the skits out live or on camera. My group opted to record via camera. We can only record on school campus though, so how can I do this party scene?

Its only 5 of us in the group.

Help needed and appreciated (thanks in advance).