Axis Y and X

Full Member
Hold on you're telling me too many things like I'm skilled in math ... one by one lemme understand

what do you mean by standard ? if something is standard then allowed in math to call it whatever ?!

what's confusing me why we are allowed to call them whatever we want? who said it's allowed in math ..?

Dr.Peterson

Elite Member
You can call a pair of axes anything you want. We customarily call them x and y when there is no reason to call them something else; but graphing is a tool you can use as you wish, not a tyrant that restricts what you can do. (That's true of all of math, actually.)

Often, the horizontal axis is used to represent an independent variable (for example, time), and the vertical axis is used to represent a dependent variable (say, temperature). Have you never seen graphs representing anything like that?

In abstract problems, we tend to call the independent variable x and the dependent variable y; but in applied problems, we use the natural names appropriate to the problem.

The real question is, why would you think this is not allowed? What would be the benefit of such a restriction?

When a teacher tells you to do something, go along with it, rather than acting like you know better than the teacher! Perhaps your experience is less than his.

JeffM

Elite Member
The letters that we use to stand for variables are ARBITRARY, and what a given letter represents varies from problem to problem. I believe that you have been told this before. This is one of the reasons that you should define your terms at the beginning of every problem.

It is a conventional to use x for the independent variable, and y as the dependent variable. And it is conventional to use the vertical axis for the dependent variable, and the horizontal axis for the independent variable. But no one is obligated to abide by these conventions.

Otis

Senior Member
… lemme …
Why are you allowed to use that word? Who said it's allowed?
$\;$

Full Member
The real question is, why would you think this is not allowed? What would be the benefit of such a restriction?
to be more frankly with you, it's struggling me every time I want to think, I go along "allowed" or not "allowed" .. "who said that"? and like this abnormal things.
I don't know why am I going along these movements, but I should do something to cut off those things.

Maybe if you've an approach or something to let me follow while thinking ... it would be much appreciated. exactly if you've something to instruct me and convince me that saying "who said that" ..etc while thinking is a wrong approach and mislead my thinking to solve the question ..

I appreciate your effort to help me, and I hope you help me to how should I think ..I mean to cut off those "who said that" , "it's allowed" ... while thinking ..

thanks

Otis

Senior Member
Otis said:
Who said [lemme is] allowed?
… I don't know ! … I face that struggle [with everything] …
Ryan, my point is this: You don't need to be concerned about 'lemme' because it's common English slang. People already accept that it means 'let me' so nobody needs to struggle over its use or ask whether it's allowed. (It probably would not be allowed in a formal English writing assignment, but we don't worry about such stuff here.) Almost nobody cares where the word lemme originated or who said it first, so those questions don't need to be asked.

In other words, 'lemme' means 'let me' is given information. Once we've been told (i.e., learn it), we use it. We don't worry about it. We accept it as true because we hear it regularly and it works. I'm sure you agree; after all, you used the word lemme without any concerns. You ought to do the same with givens in math.

Here is how most math students learn given information. They participate in a structured course of study (eg: they go to class). They study many pieces of given information (eg: definitions, relationships, patterns, methods). Next, they practice remembering and recognizing the information they've been given. (Successful students practice A LOT.) They don't question given facts. They don't worry about original sources. They simply accept lessons as true because the instruction says so.

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