Authors : A.O. Fatade, A.A. Arigbabu and D.C.J. Wessels
Abstract: Teachers’ mastery of subject areas and ability to effectively impact the knowledge on the students are the major rudiments expected from an effective teacher. Conic sections in coordinate geometry are regarded by students as difficult. Conic sections is a very powerful conceptual framework for bringing algebra, geometry, history of Mathematics, applications and use in many other fields of knowledge together. It is thus, a rich point of departure for the idea of integration or interconnectedness in and around Mathematics which is making the learning of Mathematics more meaningful and further higher-order thinking skills. This study presents a problem solving approach to the teaching of identified difficult topic in Tertiary mathematics. Varied applications of Conic sections in Physical Sciences and Engineering were discussed.
A.O. Fatade, A.A. Arigbabu and D.C.J. Wessels, 2011. Teaching Conic Sections and Their Applications. Journal of Modern Mathematics and Statistics, 5: 60-65.