Math for the rest of us. :)

[fitnessgurl]

How I see math word problems:

If you have 4 pencils and I have seven apples, how many pancakes will fit on the roof? Purple because aliens don't wear hats.

[fitnessgurl]

On a more serious note, I truly want to improve in this area. I can't afford classes, so I would welcome any free resources that you could post here. I need help with the basics; but feel free to post other resources as well.

Thanks in advance.

[insanity]

On a more serious note, I truly want to improve in this area. I can't afford classes, so I would welcome any free resources that you could post here. I need help with the basics; but feel free to post other resources as well.

Thanks in advance.

https://www.khanacademy.org/

 

You don't have to sign up, just go up to "subjects" and have a look around. Each one is a video explaining the topic, it's saved my ass in Calculus.

[fitnessgurl]

https://www.khanacademy.org/

 

You don't have to sign up, just go up to "subjects" and have a look around. Each one is a video explaining the topic, it's saved my ass in Calculus.

Yay! Thanks a bunch!

[Estrix]

Damn, Insanity beat me to it. I second khanacademy, especially as mathematics was its original base and the founders core subject. I used it to relearn algebra and it was really good (all bar one very specific video/exercise combo). But it's blend of videos for theory interspersed with practice sessions and then timed "mastery" challenges actually makes for a pretty high retention rate for all the information you cover.

[fitnessgurl]

Damn, Insanity beat me to it. I second khanacademy, especially as mathematics was its original base and the founders core subject. I used it to relearn algebra and it was really good (all bar one very specific video/exercise combo). But it's blend of videos for theory interspersed with practice sessions and then timed "mastery" challenges actually makes for a pretty high retention rate for all the information you cover.

Thanks!

[Raincloak]

Story problems are just thinly disguised equations. No biggie.

(However if you really hate them, you should probably stay far away from the LSAT)

[fitnessgurl]

Story problems are just thinly disguised equations. No biggie.

(However if you really hate them, you should probably stay far away from the LSAT)

My problem is translation of said word problems into a workable equation.

[Shen]

So, I have some subversive ideas about mathematics. When you say you want to learn math, what does that mean? What do you actually want to learn/do? What do you understand mathematics to be?

 

For the longest time, I thought I was 'not mathematical' and 'didn't think that way'. By the end of college, I was going through Newton's principia and Leibniz' papers studying the calculus, and going through Einstein's theorems and non-Euclidean geometry. A lot of the time, when people say 'math' what they mean is 'performing operations'. In reality, math is like art in more ways than one. You can be as expressive, exact, creative, logical, traditional, or innovative as you want to be.

 

So, what is it that you want to accomplish with your studies?

[insanity]

So, I have some subversive ideas about mathematics. When you say you want to learn math, what does that mean? What do you actually want to learn/do? What do you understand mathematics to be?

 

For the longest time, I thought I was 'not mathematical' and 'didn't think that way'. By the end of college, I was going through Newton's principia and Leibniz' papers studying the calculus, and going through Einstein's theorems and non-Euclidean geometry. A lot of the time, when people say 'math' what they mean is 'performing operations'. In reality, math is like art in more ways than one. You can be as expressive, exact, creative, logical, traditional, or innovative as you want to be.

 

So, what is it that you want to accomplish with your studies?

I was taught that math is basically another language. First learn the letters, then the words, then sentences, then start building and translating your own sentences. This made much more sense in my head, just wish I didn't learn that thought in college.

For me, success is reading, speaking and writing the "language"

[fitnessgurl]

So, I have some subversive ideas about mathematics. When you say you want to learn math, what does that mean? What do you actually want to learn/do? What do you understand mathematics to be?

 

For the longest time, I thought I was 'not mathematical' and 'didn't think that way'. By the end of college, I was going through Newton's principia and Leibniz' papers studying the calculus, and going through Einstein's theorems and non-Euclidean geometry. A lot of the time, when people say 'math' what they mean is 'performing operations'. In reality, math is like art in more ways than one. You can be as expressive, exact, creative, logical, traditional, or innovative as you want to be.

 

So, what is it that you want to accomplish with your studies?

Well, I definitely want to be able to "perform operations" as you put it; but I also need to understand the "why" of it. I mean, some of that is evident (your basic addition, subtraction, etc.); but a lot of the other stuff I just don't get. Part of it may be gaps in my education, I suppose, but I feel like I'm missing out on something huge. I like to be able to see connections between things...

[Girl-Meet-World]

Our school always used mymaths for everything, but I have no idea if that requires a school account .....

But yeah, if you're trying to go from foundation up, you should probably stick to school work, and going over those basics. However, if you ever find yourself losing motivation or the what not, then going to local lectures can be inspiring, or reading books on the areas of maths that you enjoy (I do this for physics instead).

[fitnessgurl]

Our school always used mymaths for everything, but I have no idea if that requires a school account .....

But yeah, if you're trying to go from foundation up, you should probably stick to school work, and going over those basics. However, if you ever find yourself losing motivation or the what not, then going to local lectures can be inspiring, or reading books on the areas of maths that you enjoy (I do this for physics instead).

Thanks!

[donsty]

Oh, I been there. All the answers to my math problems were: Instructions unclear. I ate the hamburger.

[Jakkals]

There is a book on how to learn math, A Mind For Numbers, by Barbara Oakley.

[fitnessgurl]

Oh, I been there. All the answers to my math problems were: Instructions unclear. I ate the hamburger.

Rofl! Yes!

[fitnessgurl]

There is a book on how to learn math, A Mind For Numbers, by Barbara Oakley.

Thank you!

[Smaug The Fierce]

For my math and stuff like it I tend to watch really interesting channels on youtube that explain to me all of the cool things without boring me. I reccomend minutephysics a channel dedicated to explaining everyday phenomena in a minute or so. It involves a lot of math and if you go down the rabbit hole you will find other interesting channels like vsauce. I love the videos as they are highly entertaining and educational without boring you to rigormortus (I hopefully spelled that right. I think that is the first time I have ever had to spell that word).

[fitnessgurl]

For my math and stuff like it I tend to watch really interesting channels on youtube that explain to me all of the cool things without boring me. I reccomend minutephysics a channel dedicated to explaining everyday phenomena in a minute or so. It involves a lot of math and if you go down the rabbit hole you will find other interesting channels like vsauce. I love the videos as they are highly entertaining and educational without boring you to rigormortus (I hopefully spelled that right. I think that is the first time I have ever had to spell that word).

Thanks.

[phrazzer]

Better Explained is a hidden gem on the internet. Instead of memorizing equations, it'll explain why they work. He's using what he calls the ADEPT (analogy, diagram, example, plain English, technical definition) method for learning and it's great.

 

http://betterexplained.com/cheatsheet/

[phrazzer]

There is a book on how to learn math, A Mind For Numbers, by Barbara Oakley.

 

I read Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning before I read A Mind For Numbers.

 

In my opinion, A Mind For Numbers is a shorter and condensed version of Make It Stick + a chapter about procrastination. Make It Stick is also more general.

 

Anyway, these books changed the way I learn and I'm planning on rereading them every year.

[mike_hasarms]

If you just need to win arguments saying "Do the maths" if often enough, even if you haven't done the maths yourself.

 

I've also heard good things about the Mind for Numbers book Jakkals recommended.

[Burnet Bramblerose]

I'm a college math tutor and I would love to hear people's experiences with word problems. I'm not sure how to teach the skill of looking at a paragraph of words and turning it into math, other than the idea that math IS in fact a language and you just have to translate.

 

The steps I would take to solve a word problem are:

 

1) Define the problem. It isn't telling you "solve for x", so you need to identify what number you're trying to solve for.

2) Recognize the mathematically relevant bits of information in the text.

2) Write those things down, one at a time, in math language.

4) Formulate math sentences (i.e. equations) that you can solve.

 

When I look at a word problem I see it like this:

 

Maria wants a new dress and shoes to wear to her cousin's wedding. If she shops at Alice's Attic she can get the dress she wants for $120, while if she goes to Beautiful Bertha's, whose ads boast that they always have the best price on dresses, the same dress costs $20 less. However, the shoes, which are regularly $90 at either store, are 30% off at Alice's with the purchase of any dress. If Maria only has time to go to one store, which will be the better deal?

 

The mathy bits of it jump out at me because I have experience solving word problems, so I know what I'm looking for.

 

What is the answer that we're trying to find? It's the cost of the outfit at either store. The last sentence asks which store has the better deal, which means we need to figure out the total cost of the outfit at Alice's and also at Bertha's, and choose the cheaper one.

 

Here is the information we're given:

 

Cost of dress at Alice's: $120

Cost of dress at Bertha's: $120 - $20 = $100 (We are told that it costs $20 less at Bertha's than it does at Alice's)

Cost of shoes at Bertha's: $90

Cost of shoes at Alice's: 30% cheaper than at Bertha's (and note that "with purchase of dress" isn't relevant, because we know she's buying the dress)

There are two ways to write this one:

- figure out what 30% of $90 is and subtract it from $90, like this: $90 - 0.3 x $90 = $90 - $27 = $63

- recognize that if it's 30% less it must be 70% of the original cost: 0.7 x $90 = $63

 

Now we have all the information we need: the cost of shoes at either store, and the cost of the dress at either store.

 

At Alice's, the dress costs $120 and the shoes cost $63, so the total cost of the outfit is $120 + 63 = $183

At Bertha's, the dress costs $100 and the shoes cost $90, so the total cost of the outfit is $100 + 90 = $190

 

The outfit is cheaper at Alice's, so if Maria can only go to one store, that's where she should go.

 

I have no idea if this is helpful or makes sense, or if it's a more or less complex problem than the kind of thing you want to be able to do. It's a real-world-esque problem and it's the level that a lot of the kids I tutor are working with in beginning college math courses.

 

I love Khan Academy, I used it to teach myself a bunch of statistics math that students kept coming in and asking about but that not all the tutors in the math centre were able to help with. Over the summer I'll probably try to refresh my calculus.

[Mitchilich]

How I see math word problems:

If you have 4 pencils and I have seven apples, how many pancakes will fit on the roof? Purple because aliens don't wear hats.

 

This is golden.  I do plan to steal this... for illustrative purposes at work when someone gets a little too wordy and stops making sense.