[Jbroad572]

I am in college and taking college algebra (yes I know, should be real simple), but I just wanted to know from the guys it comes real easy to, how did you guys do it? Did you guys study like crazy to understand it and not just satisfied by knowing it? Im studying functions now and can easily pass with a C, this is my only troublesome class (majoring in finance by the way), but I have a hard time accepting a C and have set an A goal. I just wanted to know are there any books or any tips or suggestions you have or any online resources available? I'm thinking about hiring a tutor, but don't know if it's really worth it. We have a building which has grad students come and help with your problems, but they don't really care. They just give you a quick answer and leave.

[Chemmy]

The best way to get good at math is to start with easy problems, and work through to harder problems.

Get the basics under your control. See how the basics can do different things. Then keep tackling different problems, and don't feel like an idiot asking people for help.

[mindwaves]

My mom forced me to study a lot and I can really compute numbers in my head very easily except some easy problems escape me and for that, AlbertWu helps me...lol.

[soul searching]

For resources I say talk to your professor, visit him/her during office hours - that's what those hours are for, i.e., helping you. There are some online resources that I can dig up for you (or you can just google it yourself) but I think asking your professor for help is best.

If there's a particular concept you don't understand, such as functions, perhaps you can also ask for more specific help here. I'm sure someone would be more than willing to help you out. Some of us enjoy explaining these things .

As far as my own abilities, since I was a kid I have been better at this subject than any other. I'm by far not the best at it, but it's what I'm best at. I knew I wanted to major in it early on in high school and never looked back .

[Peter]

I was really bad at maths, so I studied and I done a 360 in maths

[Sven G]

I was rather good at mathematics because I liked it: it's interesting to understand complex things, even in their ultimate "simplicity"!

As for resources on the web, an interesting one - among others - is

MathWorld

[aktive]

Originally posted by PeterClark2002:
I was really bad at maths, so I studied and I done a 360 in maths

That is either a piece of ironic genius, or you really are that bad at maths

[iWrite]

There are three kinds of people in the world: Those who are good at math and those who aren't.



Anyway, I suggest that you take formal logic 101, predicate calculus. It will help you learn that anything can represent a sum or even a concept. Once you accept that, and learn to memorize solving using certain formulas for certain problems, it is nothing more than algorithms.

It can be a lot of fun.

My 5th grade son is studying algebra right now and it's a lot of fun for him. I have a feeling that most American students have problems because they started learning it too late. He's very fortunate that he goes to a good elementary school (he's also a public school gifted kid, though, too).

Here is a problem for you:

ABCD x 4 = DBCA

What numbers do A B C D each represent?

[Chips G]

<quote>There are three kinds of people in the world: Those who are good at math and those who aren't.</quote>

I believe that joke derived from:

"There are 10 type of people in the world. Those who get binary and those who don't"

[iWrite]

That's very funny!



Never heard it, but it's great.

[starman]

It's best to understand WHY. That's one thing the teachers never tell you. Sure, they THINK they're teaching you everything one step at a time, but there's going to be some point where something doesn't "click". If it doesn't, figure out what it is. It helps a lot.

In Calc I I couldn't figure out derivatives to save my life. The whole "f of x" thing threw me for a loop until someone said it as "in terms of x" which made it click for me. From that point on I could to integrals in my head.

Mike

[Lerkfish]

As others have suggested, if you ENJOY math, it comes easier. It sounds like you have an approach avoidance relationship with it. Its really not that bad and can be a lot of fun.
I am an artist so I used to do illustrations on my tests of the word problems...not only did it help me to visualize the problem, it made it fun to do.
you should find out what you find fun (for me, art, for you...???) and see if you can apply that to your math learning.

Also, another fun way to learn math is to set up a real life problem to actually do something that would involve the math you need to learn.

[DBursey]

My math is passable. It helps to have a master's degree in engineering.

I blame all that mozart mom played whilst I was crib-bound. She either misunderstood or ignored my droolish pleas to switch to James Gang.

Seriously, it helps to have an aptitude for the subject, but nothing beats a good instructor who animates his material with relatable real-world problems and who inspires and cultivates the student's interest in the subject.

[GoGoReggieXPowars]

Originally posted by Chris Gilpin:
I believe that joke derived from:

"There are 10 type of people in the world. Those who get binary and those who don't"

Which is a variation on:
"There are two kinds of people in the world, those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig."

Back on topic, I've always been good with math, I had a good grasp of it early on (along with reading) and enjoyed solving the problems.

[nobitacu]

Some people are really just born with the ability to do really well in math, but most of those people really suck at the english part. As for the ones who were really good with english/writing part, they suck at math. And I don't mean them just good, but a genius with those subjects. They don't even have to study for it to do well in them. It's weird how that works, but it's just how it works.

Ming

[gadster]

Originally posted by aktive:
That is either a piece of ironic genius, or you really are that bad at maths

[Richard Edgar]

Originally posted by aktive:
That is either a piece of ironic genius, or you really are that bad at maths

Particularly since it should obviously have been 2 \pi ......

[wataru]

I've never enjoyed math for math's sake; it's always been a tool for me (I'm in physics). That said, I've found that I understand it and can use it much better if I can grasp why something is. Don't memorize--understand the underlying concepts. Do this and you won't need formulas because you'll be able to derive them in your head!

And then once you're satisfied that you understand a concept thoroughly then you can go back to memorizing

[malvolio]

Algebra and geometry were very easy for me - everything seemed just logical and obvious. Then I started in on trigonometry, and it all seemed weird and illogical and arbitrary. I still managed to get decent grades, but it was a battle.
This was all in high school. By college I left the world of math behind me.

[ZackS]

I recommend this path to anyone who hates math:

7th Grade: Algebra
8th Grade: Geometry
9th Grade: Algebra (again because your high school rejected your grammar school credit)
10th Grade: Algebra 2 and Trigonometry
11th Grade: Pre Calculus
12th Grade: Calculus

The keys here are going back and relearning Algebra basics after you have a feel for them (trust me, that's the only way to go) and the double Algebra 2/Trig year. The Alg2/Trig year helps because it's not too much material to cover in one year and it at least keeps things mildly interesting. Algebra 2 on its own would end up being a class you just coast through, copying homework from solution manuals and just scraping by on tests. Add in the Trig and there's some cool stuff you learn.

I also recommend an obsession with the Ti-83 calculator. I couldn't understand factoring for the life of me until I stayed up late one night trying to make a program that did it for me. Going through nitty gritty concepts to explain something in such simple terms that even a machine can understand is probably the best learning tool I could have possibly asked for.

[Peter]

Originally posted by aktive:
That is either a piece of ironic genius, or you really are that bad at maths

both

[Patrick]

Originally posted by iWrite:
Here is a problem for you:

ABCD x 4 = DBCA

What numbers do A B C D each represent?

Too easy. One or more variables equals 0.

[wataru]

Originally posted by Patrick:
Too easy. One or more variables equals 0.

I think each letter represents one digit of a number. So if you're thinking of them as variables then it would be:

(1000*A + 100*B + 10*C + D) * 4 = 1000*D + 100*B + 10*C + A

Edit: Hmm, I wound up with B being negative. Anyone else have a solution to this problem?

[DekuDekuplex]

In my case, I used to have math phobia when I first entered college. At this stage, not only was I unsophisticated at the subject, but I also had an intense dislike of the subject matter itself.

However, I later chose computer science as my major, and discovered that it required passing a course called Design and Analysis of Algorithms to complete. That became a big problem, because that course required using some sophisticated mathematical reasoning to prove the running-time of certain algorithms.

During my leave of absence, I was fortunate to encounter a fellow undergraduate majoring in mathematics who was very passionate about spreading enthusiasm for mathematics. He offered to tutor me for free once a week for a couple hours, starting from basic set theory, albeit from a theoretical perspective, over the summer.

His enthusiasm for mathematics was extreme, and rather contagious (at least for me). For example, he referred to "the derivative" as a "creature," and called mathematics "the great equalizer" because, in his opinion, "mathematics reduces students to a common denominator of intelligence, regardless of cultural background." He once pointed out a study done in a poor minority neighborhood in which a math teacher took a class of poverty-class students who were weak in mathematics, taught them math well over a few months, and then was able to have them all ace the SAT math section. The school officials couldn't believe the test results and ordered them all to do a re-take, but they all achieved the same results the second time, too. So much for the "theory" then in place at that school that certain minority groups are "less intelligent" than the majority group.

It was this argument that started getting me fascinated with mathematics.

At the time, I was a liberal arts person who loved poetry (especially that of Wordsworth--actually, I still love poetry, especially that of Dante Alighieri) and English writing, and who enjoyed studying Japanese Language and Literature. At first, I couldn't stand what I felt was the cold, dry feeling of mathematics.

That started to change when I discovered a few books relating humor to mathematics. In particular, I came across a graduate essay in philosophy analyzing the role of logic in the humor of Lewis Carroll in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.

Pivotal was a subsequent book, Compared to What?: An Introduction to the Analysis of Algorithms, used as the main textbook for my algorithms class, illuminating algorithms with numerous illustrations and quotations from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.

The mathematics tutor started off with axiomatic set theory, � la Naive Set Theory, by Paul Richard Halmos. He then proceeded with some basic mathematical logic, geometry, and trigonometry, and some basic high school-level algebra.

I continued on with axiomatic set theory, calculus of a single variable (both derivatives and integrals), philosophical logic, meta-logic, recursive function theory, and even graduate-level [b]recursion equations[b/], in addition to discrete mathematics for computer science.

Eventually, I changed from a programmer to a theoretician, and even took advanced algorithms after completing the required algorithms course.

--DekuDekuplex

Originally posted by Jbroad572:
I am in college and taking college algebra (yes I know, should be real simple), but I just wanted to know from the guys it comes real easy to, how did you guys do it? Did you guys study like crazy to understand it and not just satisfied by knowing it? Im studying functions now and can easily pass with a C, this is my only troublesome class (majoring in finance by the way), but I have a hard time accepting a C and have set an A goal. I just wanted to know are there any books or any tips or suggestions you have or any online resources available? I'm thinking about hiring a tutor, but don't know if it's really worth it. We have a building which has grad students come and help with your problems, but they don't really care. They just give you a quick answer and leave.

[Dale Sorel]

Originally posted by Patrick:
Too easy. One or more variables equals 0.

Exactly

[benb]

Originally posted by iWrite:
ABCD x 4 = DBCA

What numbers do A B C D each represent?

You could at least write the problem correctly:

ABCD * 4 = DCBA

The answer is 2178 * 4 = 8712.

[ZackS]

Originally posted by benb:
You could at least write the problem correctly:

ABCD * 4 = DCBA

The answer is 2178 * 4 = 8712.

That bastard, that's why I couldn't solve it!