Advertising for slide rules, from 1940

Algebra II, Engagement, History, Precalculus 1 Minute

I’m about to begin a series of posts concerning how previous generations did complex mathematical calculations without the aid of scientific calculators.

Courtesy of Slide Rule Universe, here’s an advertisement for slide rules from 1940. This is a favorite engagement activity of mine when teaching precalculus (as an application of logarithms) as well as my capstone class for future high school math teachers. I have shown this to hundreds of college students over the years (usually reading out loud the advertising through page 5 and then skimming through the remaining pictures), and this always gets a great laugh. Enjoy.

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Published by John Quintanilla

I'm a Professor of Mathematics and a University Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of North Texas. For eight years, I was co-director of Teach North Texas, UNT's program for preparing secondary teachers of mathematics and science.

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