February 06, 2007

Calculus Story That Actually Involved Calculus

Yes, believe it or not, some calculus actually occurs in my calculus class, I just never mention it. Today I’ve decided to mention it! Here’s what happened.

We were reviewing for a test that was coming up, specifically we were reviewing how to find the surface area of curves revolved around a certain axis. We were all settled on which curve we were going to use, but had to decide which axis to use. The following dialogue occurred:

Teacher:
Which axis should we revolve the curve around John?

John:
Um. (Doesn’t really have a preference) How about the X-axis?

Class (realizing that the x-axis requires much more work):
*Groans*

Teacher:
X-axis it is!

John (realizing his mistake):
Um, Y-axis. I meant Y-axis.

Teacher (questioning whether John decided to switch because of peer pressure or because he understood why the Y-axis was the better choice):
Why?

John (being very witty, smart, and loving a good ol’ play on words):
Exactly! Y!

Class:
*Laughs*

Teacher:
*Doesn’t get it*

I apologize, it’s kinda hard to convey the humor of the situation over the internet, but a quick explanation is that when the teacher asked “Why?”, John just pretended she said “Y”. See? Funny! No? Sorry, it was funny in class, so there!

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