My Journey With Mathematics

mathdad

mathdad

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I have decided to post no more than 3 math questions on my days off from work. In so doing, I do not have to rush through my solution steps making silly mistakes and as a result ending up with the wrong answer. If a question has more than one part, it will be the only problem posted on that particular day. The goal is NOT TO RUSH THROUGH Michael Sullivan's College Algebra 9th Edition textbook. The goal is to learn each section well, to become very informed about what it is the chapter/section is teaching. More math next week.
 
mathdad said:
I have decided to post no more than 3 math questions on my days off from work. In so doing, I do not have to rush through my solution steps making silly mistakes and as a result ending up with the wrong answer. If a question has more than one part, it will be the only problem posted on that particular day. The goal is NOT TO RUSH THROUGH Michael Sullivan's College Algebra 9th Edition textbook. The goal is to learn each section well, to become very informed about what it is the chapter/section is teaching. More math next week.
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And.... don't forget that ....:)
 
Slow and steady is best (with short breaks every 20 minutes).

I hope we still get to see some challenge exercises, on the side.

?
 
Otis said:
Slow and steady is best (with short breaks every 20 minutes).

I hope we still get to see some challenge exercises, on the side.

?
Click to expand...

Most textbooks have a challenging questions section or a thinking questions section but often without sample problems. A few hints here and there but that's about it. The author(s) expect(s) the students to use what is taught in the chapter as a guide to answer questions that require more thinking, more planning than usual. I will post some of the more interesting questions in time as extra practice for members.
 
Math questions only on my days off....

I will post problems from the CHALLENGING/THINKING questions section per textbook when time allows.

1. The questions will be posted ONLY after trying several times to answer each one myself. Of course, my effort per question will be disclosed.

2. There may be students on this website seeking extra math practice. Why go to another site when they can find all the practice problems needed to further their math education here?

Your thoughts?

I have selected my next set of math questions to post on my days off. Most of the questions are word problems where creating an equation, a model to proceed is required. As you know, this is my biggest weakness in terms of mathematics.
 
I think it is best for me to post one question for discussion when time allows rather than wait for my days off. There is no time to waste.
 
If I do not get banned from FMH, questions will get interestingly more challenging and fun. I will not stay in the early chapters forever. In fact, I am about to start chapter 5 next week. I have also decided to review the essentials of precalculus after college algebra.
 
From now on, I post questions on Tuesday only. How many questions? I have not decided on the number of questions. I cannot do a million things at the same time. The time now is 7:18pm. After midnight tonight, I will stay away from the site. The next chapter deals with polynomial functions.
 
I am having fun with Sullivan's textbook. Interesting topics and excellent questions.
 
From now on, I will only use this site to help me with word problems, any and all word problems. Jesus! I cannot post a simple question about turning points or end behavior of polynomial functions without everyone criticizing the words of Sullivan and/or my effort at trying to solve problems learned LONG AGO. Come with me on a LONG JOURNEY into the world of word problems: algebra, geometry, trigonometry, college algebra, precalculus, and calculus. We begin with algebra word problems. Yes, I will show my effort. Good day.

Of course, applications will get harder as the weeks to by.

I will use youtube.com video clips to help me with the rest of my study of college algebra. I will use this site mainly for help with word problems.

Check out my new number problems. I will start with algebra word problems and plan to work my way up through geometry and into calculus word problems. I will continue to study all sections of my textbooks but only use this site for help mainly with word problems.

Check out my new word problems posted. This will be my area of concentration at FMH.
 
I have "playing" with math textbooks for years. I came to the following realization (because it cannot be any other way).

1. I cannot retain information for too long. I review, say, chapters 1 and 2 in any given textbook but by the time I get to chapter 3, chapters 1 and 2 slowly begin to disappear from memory.

2. No matter how many questions I answer or how much time I dedicate to review material learned long ago, I will NEVER be like MarkFL or pka or Dr. Peterson and the rest of the truly gifted mathematicians here and in other forums.

3. Posting too many questions in one day leads to more confusion and frustration. How many questions should be posted per week? One? Two? Three? How about one per day?

4. Math is a hobby for me. However, I often forget that mathematics is not going to land me a great teaching career or a scientist job at NASA, or a bridge engineer position, etc.

5. This math site and others like it has taught me humility. Before joining online math groups and sites, I actually convinced myself that mathematics was truly a God given talent and/or skill when in actuality I know less than the worst student in a public school setting.

What do you say?
 
You may or may not be gifted, the point is that you keep at it. Do you know why Dr. Peterson and MarkFL can help you the way they can? They've been at it for a long while. It takes a lot of practice and a lot of review. I get this same question a lot when I'm teaching Physics: It's not that I can do every problem in the text without error, it's that there are really only three or four types of questions, with some minor variations, for a particular concept.

Some advice you've heard before: You need to put more effort into working your problems before you ask for help. Post one type of problem at a time and then use what you've learned to do another one. I'm not saying to not ask for help but it's the struggle that will teach you best at this point.

-Dan
 
topsquark said:
You may or may not be gifted, the point is that you keep at it. Do you know why Dr. Peterson and MarkFL can help you the way they can? They've been at it for a long while. It takes a lot of practice and a lot of review. I get this same question a lot when I'm teaching Physics: It's not that I can do every problem in the text without error, it's that there are really only three or four types of questions, with some minor variations, for a particular concept.

Some advice you've heard before: You need to put more effort into working your problems before you ask for help. Post one type of problem at a time and then use what you've learned to do another one. I'm not saying to not ask for help but it's the struggle that will teach you best at this point.

-Dan
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You said:

"Some advice you've heard before: You need to put more effort into working your problems before you ask for help. Post one type of problem at a time and then use what you've learned to do another one. I'm not saying to not ask for help but it's the struggle that will teach you best at this point."

I will do that from now on.
 
I've been actively engaged with mathematics, first as a student, and then on my own just exploring topics I found interesting, and then within the online math communities, for well over 25 years. But, I don't have to look far within the online math help communities to find people far more talented and knowledgeable than I am. I would get discouraged very quickly if I tried to hold myself up to others, so I don't do that. I simply admire the insightful posts I see, and try to learn from them as I go.

Hopefully, as you journey through your textbooks, you begin to find that the topics build on themselves so that you don't forget what came before. And as you progress, you continually fortify the previous lessons learned. For example, studying trigonometry will really strengthen the concepts you learned in algebra, and calculus will fortify what you learned in trig and algebra.
 
Denis said:
I cannot run as fast as Usain Bolt....
Get my drift?
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Exactly...but if I were to start running, I would be happy that I ran a little faster today than I did yesterday. I wouldn't worry that I would never be able to run as fast as Usain. :)
 
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