>A while ago it was asked why a quadratic equation is called a quadratic when a
>cubic means 3 (correct) , a quartic means four (much better) and a quintic
>(again better) means five....there were some very interesting
>responses....would you please post some of the answers.
>thanks
>Craig
It's called quadratic because a square has four sides, and its area is x^2.
It's called a cubic because the volume of a cube is x^3 (x being a side in
both cases).
My favorite, of course, is the equation having an x^7, the septic equation;
but students often like the x^6 name better for some reason...
mark snyder
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