![]() 08/25/2015 at 15:03 • Filed to: None | ![]() | ![]() |
Math starts at 2:30 pm mountain time and I suck at math and have been putting this off forever.
How do you math? specifically what tips can you give to someone who really really really sucks at math?
Have this for your troubles.
![]() 08/25/2015 at 15:10 |
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![]() 08/25/2015 at 15:10 |
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![]() 08/25/2015 at 15:11 |
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When in doubt, smack your fingers on the desk and the finger that hurts the most is the one you guess. A starting with your index finger.
And something something if there’s no calculator then the numbers should be easy to get to since professors expect the worst.
![]() 08/25/2015 at 15:14 |
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Ti-85 calculators...the only obsolete digital device not subject to price changes. It is a great investment. 20 years ago it was worth $125 and today, despite my phone being 9000x faster, it is still $125 on the shelf.
![]() 08/25/2015 at 15:15 |
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How to math:
1. Be good at math
2. Don’t be bad at math
3. Use calculator to math if you’re bad at mathing
![]() 08/25/2015 at 15:16 |
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This is a TI-89 scrub
![]() 08/25/2015 at 15:22 |
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People are constantly scared with math. I think Chemistry math is much harder. Moles!
Alright, advice from an Engineer: Learn your order of Operations. So you will do certain steps in your math formulas first. This makes the rest of the process fairly easy.
http://www.purplemath.com/modules/ordero…
Next, learn the formulas. So a2+b2=c2 as an example. This will apply to your certain math problems. What I would do before a test is memorize the formulas and when handed the test I would immediately scribble the formulas at the top of the page in case I had a blank moment. My tests would be covered in formulas before I even looked at question 1. I could always refer back to my “Legend” during my tests.
Take it slow on bigger problems. Break it into bit sized chunks. So 12x95=?. Write it out completely so you aren’t trying to rattle the numbers around in your brain and skip something. You will get in the habit of writing out the complete work and you can see your obvious mistakes and correct it.
Don’t be afraid to look at Youtube videos. There are some EXCELLENT teachers on Youtube that’ll explain tougher processes. I used a guy religiously for my chemistry tests as he made the learning easy and fun (though my teacher was excellent as well). I would go through the videos a few times and take notes.
![]() 08/25/2015 at 15:24 |
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Oooo.....look at all the shiny! Still obsolete compared to a smartphone, but still the same price it was 20 years ago.
![]() 08/25/2015 at 15:26 |
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Most math classes don’t allow graphing calculators, only scientific.
![]() 08/25/2015 at 15:26 |
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Well, it’s not going to get *more* obsolete at this point.
![]() 08/25/2015 at 15:29 |
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I bet you also don’t sneak food into the theater
![]() 08/25/2015 at 15:41 |
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Practice makes perfect. It’s the only thing that ever worked for me.
![]() 08/25/2015 at 15:42 |
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You should know that 2 + 3 can equal 2, just as 11 + 6 equals 5, and it’s actually a very simple approach to a slightly complicated math principle.
![]() 08/25/2015 at 15:44 |
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Well he probably doesn’t sneak a slab of ribs into the theatre...
![]() 08/25/2015 at 15:45 |
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Just repeat some vaguely-irrefutable macroeconomic talking points like “Math is too easily outsourced, since its the universal language.”
Or affect an Indian-British accent and call it “maths” and you’ll seen smarter than you are.
![]() 08/25/2015 at 15:45 |
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Filthy Casual
![]() 08/25/2015 at 15:47 |
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It’s defined as cheating which will cause you to lose the credit in the class and it will be marked as a failure due to cheating on you transcript. If you’re okay with being kicked out of your college AND not being able to get into a new one, then by all means.
![]() 08/25/2015 at 15:51 |
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What type of math is giving you problems, Frank?
![]() 08/25/2015 at 15:58 |
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![]() 08/25/2015 at 16:00 |
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Well, this has been a slippery slope.
![]() 08/25/2015 at 16:01 |
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The great thing about TI calculators is you can write formulas you’re supposed to remember but can’t on the inside of the cover.
![]() 08/25/2015 at 16:04 |
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I also suck at maf, but that’s a sweet Mercury.
![]() 08/25/2015 at 16:11 |
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It depends on the math class. Most algebra and some stat courses don’t allow them. But when you start getting up into Calc and Diff Eq. they become practically necessary.
![]() 08/25/2015 at 16:21 |
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yes. my grandma teacher and my mom tried to help me memorize the mutiplication tables for endless hours they all gave up. undiagnosed adhd probably didnt help
![]() 08/25/2015 at 16:32 |
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uhh... have a degree in math, didn’t use my calculator much. They allowed us to have them and use them but they’re pretty useless other than to see if you’re right or wrong.
![]() 08/25/2015 at 16:39 |
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also that: 2^(1/2)/2 + i*2^(1/2)/2 = 1*Pi/4
![]() 08/25/2015 at 16:40 |
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What kind of math... have degree, willing to help.
![]() 08/25/2015 at 16:43 |
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All great advice. It amazes me how many people in life don’t effing understand order of operations.
Some more advice I got from an engineering professor of mine, it’s more in regards to test taking, but good advice in general:
Study how you test - try to simulate the test taking environment in your study habits. Maybe go into an empty classroom to study if that’s an option. Find a study area thats quiet and free of distractions (this for me, and many, is the hardest thing to do but eventually you’ll come to appreciate it) Also, if you like to snack while studying, take a snack with you to class (if it’s allowed). Etc. The idea here is to make yourself comfortable so the test doesn’t feel as much like a test. I used to have a nip of whiskey before exams in college (I don’t recommend this to everyone), but I used to have a beer while studying, so it helped get me in the mood and calm my nerves a bit. Obviously if you’re school is dry, or your under 21, don’t do this particular thing, but hopefully you get the gist here.
Make a cheat sheet (do what Azrek said) - if you aren’t allowed to use a formula sheet on exams, first thing you should do is write out all the formulas you can remember on the margins, another sheet, etc. This is also a useful study aid - a few times a week go through your notes and make a crib sheet of all the key formulas you learned. This repetition of writing formulas down will help drill them into your brain.
Study the right stuff - As you move into advanced math, numbers become less important than formulas and concepts. The trick is learning the “how.” Many years ago schools used to teach multiplication tables (i.e. brute memorization). But when students were asked to multiply 2 numbers not on the table, they couldn’t do it because they didn’t know how. Same thing, don’t try to memorize an example problem, memorize the method of how to solve the problem. This kicked my ass a lot, and is part of the reason it took me 3 tries to pass Differential Equations. The converse to this is if you’re an outside the box thinker memorizing examples can be huge help if you’re able to recast the problems on the exam in terms of the example.
Read the exam thoroughly - As soon as you get the exam, after you write down your formulas, read every single problem, completely. Doesn’t matter how complicated or simple, just burn a couple minutes and read all the problems. Believe it or not your subconscious will start sorting out the information, recalling relevant formulas, and “solving” the problems for you... assuming you actually learned and know all the correct information.
Solve the problems / budget your time - After you’ve read everything, pause, take a deep breath, and start doing problems. My advice is always start on problem 1 and go down the list, but some people like to skip around and hit the easy ones first. Either way you need to learn to skip problems and come back. If you can’t start doing a problem after a bit (I’d say 1 minute but it depends on the time allotted, number of questions, etc.), skip to the next. If you get hung up in the middle of a problem and can’t come up with anything, skip. Learn to budget your time - if the exam is 10 questions and you have 1 hour, that’s 6 minutes per question. I highly recommend taking a watch in case the room doesn’t have a clock or something. Working this way will allow you to get easy problems done quickly and save more time for the harder ones.
Trust your gut (or don’t) - This is a tough one and takes some time to figure out, but be careful about erasing work and redoing it. I’ve been told by numerous instructors that more often than not, students will actually erase correct work and put down wrong work, because they got nervous about an answer. Likewise sometimes you do completely bomb something, erase it, and do it right. It’s like that poker song, you gotta know when to hold em, know when to fold em... etc. My point is that unless you’re absolutely sure you screwed a problem up, probably better to just leave it and work on other problems than to keep messing around with it.
Write down EVERYTHING - depending on the instructor and their thoughts on partial credit, this can be a life saver. I once got a B on an exam (after the curve, mind you) and didn’t get a single answer. I don’t mean a single right answer, I mean I wasn’t able to work a single problem on the exam to completion. But I wrote down everything that seemed applicable to each problem that I knew and even made notes in some cases about how I would solve a problem (i.e. “Well, I got this far, I know this formula is right, but I can’t remember this coefficient and.....” you get the idea). So I bombed it, but most everyone else in the class did way worse because they didn’t even try to attempt any problems. Again, this varies by professor but it generally doesn’t hurt to do if you’re not sure. I think they’d rather see you try than just leave everything blank.
Check your work - I’ve been told you should never leave an exam early. If you’re done, or you think you’re done, check your work. If you’re writing up until the very end, budget a couple minutes and check your work anyways. The thought process here is that if you’ve gotten this far and you still haven’t gotten a certain problem, you probably won’t get it in the last 3 minutes of the exam, but you might catch some stupid algebraic mistakes on other problems that you would have lost out on.
![]() 08/25/2015 at 16:49 |
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Well, sometimes knowing your wrong is important so you can fix yourself. My degree is mechanical engineering, I used mine quite a bit. Though I have the TI-89 and it can do derivatives and integrals, which was extremely helpful.
![]() 08/25/2015 at 17:20 |
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Graphs can be pretty scientific.
![]() 08/25/2015 at 20:33 |
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Well I never learned my multiplication tables well despite everyone trying and giving up and I forget how to long division and also I suck at algebra. I don’t get math I am very terrible at it. I wish there was a xbox one math game becuase I want to be better at it because it has been a major weakness. Also the ADHD might be a contributing factor.
I took a 950 class which is like pre algebra and passed with a B but I worked my butt off and I didnt really learn anything. I tested into 990 a few weeks ago but I am currently taking 920 because I feel like areas are strong but lots of weak areas and I worked so hard to get that 950 B by just doing all the work and even if I didnt understand what I was doing just kept trying to guess the right answer on online homework.
I want to read a book that teaches math for people who suck at maths. IT seems like those who got it from the beginning go on to teach it in college and cannot comprehend how I might not just pick it up and that I might learn differently than someone else.
![]() 08/26/2015 at 03:25 |
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Has anyone told you you’re a monster? They should.
![]() 08/26/2015 at 09:24 |
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There’s nothing wrong with taking an “easier” math class. The important thing is to keep trying and it sounds like you have the right attitude. I think the most important math for anyone will be percentages and some basic financial math. More than likely you will never need to do any calculus or trigonometry that can’t be done easily with a calculator or a reference table.
![]() 08/26/2015 at 10:13 |
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Probably, and worse.
Though I’m curious, what makes me a monster in this case?
![]() 08/26/2015 at 15:00 |
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Thanks man. I actually think I am in the right class a lot of the stuff I think will be easy for me but there is still stuff I need to rehash and/or learn again. Luckily I only have to go up to 1030 which is like statistics basically I think.
the whole language of math is what really throws me. I think I need to study the terms. I remember being really really young and being like “goes into” that doesn’t make any sense. And words like “carry the one” what does that mean? noone explained not to take things literally so I would get hung up on words a lot and it would confuse me what the teachers were saying because I understood language and words much better than math.
![]() 08/26/2015 at 15:03 |
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dude I have no way to repay you for the time it took to help with this awesome advice. Thank you.
![]() 08/26/2015 at 15:04 |
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luckily I know this math is incorrect!
![]() 08/26/2015 at 15:05 |
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wut.
![]() 08/26/2015 at 15:05 |
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How do I not be bad at math? If calculators are illegal.
![]() 08/26/2015 at 15:21 |
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You’re welcome. No repayment needed, I just hope this helps you do well in your math class.
Just to reinforce one thing above that I alluded to but didn’t outright say - a lot of these tips have a flip side. Like I said, “trust your gut, or don’t” or “don’t memorize examples, or totally do that if it helps you.” What I’m really driving at is that we all learn in different ways, and it can be very hard to discover what works best for you.
I was the kid who always skated by and got A’s and B’s in grade school and never studied a thing. College kicked my ass the first time because I didn’t have any study habits whatsoever. Then I went into the Navy Nuclear Power Program, where for parts of it we were forced to study. We were literally required to spend X number of hours a week (usually 10-20) studying in a quiet room, free of distractions, in a secured building. At first it was awful but it really helped me develop study habits.
What I learned from all this is that I learn best from a combination of visual/auditory teaching and working through examples, i.e. lectures. If a teacher presents a topic, explains it, and runs through about 3 sample problems, I’m golden. I can learn from reading a book, but it’s a much slower process for me. It used to be virtually impossible (first time in college), but the second time around I had at least developed some rudimentary study skills and could navigate my way through texts, pick out the data I needed, etc. It was still tedious and slow but I can now do it.
So best of luck, I’m sure you’ll do well.
![]() 08/26/2015 at 15:22 |
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In all seriousness man, practice. You need to put in the time and effort to make sure you understand the concepts being presented in class. Professor’s notes often times won’t be enough so you’ll need to seek out alternative means of learning: YouTube videos, free tutors, websites, etc. etc. Do every homework problem, every practice exam question, every study guide until you get it. I suck gigantic dicks at math but I still passed engineering-level Calc 2 with a B because I invested so much effort into it. I hated every second of it, but if you put everything you’vve got into your work you’ll get a good result out of it.
![]() 08/26/2015 at 17:15 |
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I forget what the actual principle is called but essentially the easiest example of it is how time is calculated (using 12 hour am/pm) 11+6=5. If we were to take it on a 3 hour scale, then 2+3=2. I’m no expert so someone else can probably explain it better and provide the actual principle.
![]() 08/26/2015 at 23:05 |
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I just have more questions!