Comments on: Math http://cafe2400.org Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:29:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Michael D. Davis http://cafe2400.org/math/#comment-30 Michael D. Davis Sun, 23 Mar 2008 03:41:12 +0000 http://cafe2400.wordpress.com/math/#comment-30 Tell you what, Bobo. I'm going to have you look this one up yourself. When you find it, report back to me what you learned. We'll then discuss it and make sure that you understand. I think the best way to learn something is to learn it on your own. A good tutor will show his/her students what the students are capable of doing on their own. As to your observation that there doesn't seem to be any reason for them, I suppose you could say that about a great portion of the SAT. This is not practical information we're dealing with here. The test is trying to see if you can use your mind, your reasoning abilities, to figure things out. Sure, you'll probably never need to find the median or mode of something, but it certainly won't cause you any harm either. It's a way of exercising the brain. It doesn't have to have a purpose in order to be worth knowing. Ok!!?? To ALL of you prospective SAT test takers: I want you to stop complaining about this stuff not having any purpose (read this with a gentle, loving, avuncular tone of voice) . It's a waste of time and energy and it diverts your focus from the test itself. Just getting good at doing the test is purpose enough. The option is to lead a revolution against all the colleges and universities that look at your scores on this test as part of the admissions process. Looking forward to seeing the results of your research, Bobo! MDD Tell you what, Bobo. I’m going to have you look this one up yourself. When you find it, report back to me what you learned. We’ll then discuss it and make sure that you understand. I think the best way to learn something is to learn it on your own. A good tutor will show his/her students what the students are capable of doing on their own.

As to your observation that there doesn’t seem to be any reason for them, I suppose you could say that about a great portion of the SAT. This is not practical information we’re dealing with here. The test is trying to see if you can use your mind, your reasoning abilities, to figure things out. Sure, you’ll probably never need to find the median or mode of something, but it certainly won’t cause you any harm either. It’s a way of exercising the brain. It doesn’t have to have a purpose in order to be worth knowing. Ok!!??

To ALL of you prospective SAT test takers: I want you to stop complaining about this stuff not having any purpose (read this with a gentle, loving, avuncular tone of voice) . It’s a waste of time and energy and it diverts your focus from the test itself. Just getting good at doing the test is purpose enough. The option is to lead a revolution against all the colleges and universities that look at your scores on this test as part of the admissions process.

Looking forward to seeing the results of your research, Bobo! MDD

]]> By: bobo http://cafe2400.org/math/#comment-17 bobo Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:35:02 +0000 http://cafe2400.wordpress.com/math/#comment-17 Mr. Davis, thanks for the web site, I'm not as scared of taking the SAT anymore. I wish I didn't have to take it but knowing more about it really helps. I know the mean is the average, and those are easy for me. I always get the medium and the mode mixed up and there's doesn't seem to be any reason for them anyway. Thanks, Bobo. Mr. Davis, thanks for the web site, I’m not as scared of taking the SAT anymore. I wish I didn’t have to take it but knowing more about it really helps. I know the mean is the average, and those are easy for me. I always get the medium and the mode mixed up and there’s doesn’t seem to be any reason for them anyway. Thanks, Bobo.

]]> By: Michael D. Davis http://cafe2400.org/math/#comment-14 Michael D. Davis Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:10:14 +0000 http://cafe2400.wordpress.com/math/#comment-14 That's a hard one to answer in this format. I'd really need to show you how to do that. Often, word problems can be translated into equations. Once you get to than point, you then just solve it. For example, if you saw my PQOTD from several days ago, you might remember that I showed how a question about the angles formed by the hands of a clock was REALLY a question that was seeing if you knew the geometric properties of the circle. The best way for me to answer this question, though, is to do a whole lot of practice problems and see for yourself that most of the math word problems are just fancy ways of testing your basic mathematical skills. Hope that helps! Thanks for all of your good questions, Beesknees. MDD That’s a hard one to answer in this format. I’d really need to show you how to do that. Often, word problems can be translated into equations. Once you get to than point, you then just solve it. For example, if you saw my PQOTD from several days ago, you might remember that I showed how a question about the angles formed by the hands of a clock was REALLY a question that was seeing if you knew the geometric properties of the circle. The best way for me to answer this question, though, is to do a whole lot of practice problems and see for yourself that most of the math word problems are just fancy ways of testing your basic mathematical skills. Hope that helps! Thanks for all of your good questions, Beesknees. MDD

]]> By: beesknees http://cafe2400.org/math/#comment-10 beesknees Wed, 19 Mar 2008 02:35:03 +0000 http://cafe2400.wordpress.com/math/#comment-10 i'm really good at math but not so good at word problems. is there a way i can figure out word problems without the words? i mean i know i can't, but how do i make a word problem into a math problem that i can do? i’m really good at math but not so good at word problems. is there a way i can figure out word problems without the words? i mean i know i can’t, but how do i make a word problem into a math problem that i can do?

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