Yep! It's me... Katie! I'm back and ready to start the next quarter at Computech and semester. This year sure has gone by fast and I'm glad to be back in school, for all I know, I could've ruined my brain being out so long!
This semester is going to be a little tricky for me in my math class because of changes. I switched to a new math class and a new math teacher. I was having a tricky time in Algebra, so I moved to Pre-Algebra. Ilike it better because it's easier to learn. One thing I do remember from my Algebra class was graphing. When your about to graph something, you just look for the equation "y = mx +b" pretty simple. All of the work needs to be in this form, slope-intercept form, in order to do some actual work. Y is clearly our answer, thank you equal sign. M is the slope and X is our variable. B is where our line meets the Y axis. This concept was really tricky for me at first but look at me now, it's really paying off.
Even though math isn't my favorite subject, it doesn't mean I don't listen. I really do try to have math concepts stick to my brain, the problem is, they just don't. Sometimes its not always best to be put in a high level class before re-doing the basics. I am glad I made this decision to move into Pre- Algebra because I will learn more, quicker, and easier than how I was in Algebra. We all take steps, just we can't always skip the the first step.
If there is one class I regret taking (even though I didn't really have a choice) it would (sooooooooooooooooooooooo) be Algebra. I call it math because I don't like saying Algebra... plus I'm still getting out of that elementary student inside me. "Math" is really tricky for me because not only does it deal with numbers, you deal with signs and letters which all have names, that you have to remember. Like "subtract" for instance, if you never learned what the word subtract meant, you'd be in a lot of trouble by second grade! Not to mention seventh! One concept that was the hardest for me to learn was probably the linear equations unit.
This was hard for me because in elementary school, we didn't do a lot of graphing, we learned about coordinates and where the might range from looking at them, but we never figured out how to use an equation to graph. One way that was really easy to remember how to graph was to remember that "What does y equal?! (y =) mx + b." It's a song that has the beat and tune of "YMCA." It a really annoying song that is one YouTube, that once you hear it, you'll always remember it! Y is you answer. M is what your slope or steepness of line is. X is just the variable, its what changes the answer. B is where the line hits the y axis. So they are all pretty easy to remember once studied!
After a while of hearing the song (CONSTANTLY!!!!!) I was able to remember how to graph a line using an equation. I am really glad I asked questions because all "math" does, is builds upon itself. If I didn't ask, I could have a really bad grade in that class and not learn anything. So next time someone needs you to graph a line based on an equation, you'll know what to do!
Did you know that when you were little, you liked to draw!? No, just kidding, but honestly you did make sort of silly little lines all intertwined in some sort of shape. Your parents and family called it scribbling. Really, you drew all sorts of lines all with special names. Parallel lines are lines that are right across from each other. They never touch or intersect... ever, for as long as they go on. We all know lines never end. Perpendicular lines are lines that cross to make the letter "T," it's more of a cross really. You now it is a perpendicular line, though, when all the corners of the lines are 90 degrees!
Each of these lines have certain rules though. Like what if you have two coordinates and you need to figure out if the coordinates are perpendicular when graphed or parallel. Well, here are the two simple rules, if the coordinates are ( 2, 3) and you want them to be parallel make it look like this ( - 1/2, 3). You basically switch the "m" in "y = mx +b" to its complete opposite! If you want them to be perpendicular, change the "b" to a different number. You see?! Good Luck!
Picture this... You are sitting in class and your teacher asks you to make an equation of two coordinates. Oh! You have no idea how! Oh well, just throw that thought away! No, don't, just kidding. You need to make that equation so you can have that happy little A+! To get that A+ however, there are some steps! Here's how...Delta Y over Delta X. What the heck is it! Well what's "y"? It's the vertical line that is on you graph. So that means "x" is the horizontal line on your graph. So let's say that the teacher's coordinates he gives you are (4, 6) and (3, 5). Just do delta y over delta x. So even though you have x and y in one coordinate (4, 6) is going to stand for Delta y. In "Delta Y over Delta X" over = subtract. So (3, 5) is going to be your Delta X and will be subtracted from you Delta Y. Your answer should be (1, 1) because once you've subtracted the coordinates from one another that should be your answer. So do you know what (1 ,1) is? Well, in the equation, y = mx + b, (1,1) is m. Plug in the number an figure out b. Y = 5, X = 3, and M = 1 (because 1 divided by 1 is 1.) Sometimes things seem really tricky because the directions have too many words or numbers in them. A lot of the time, the questions might be tricky, but a lot of the time, they're not! Sometimes you just have to read the questions over and over again until you finally get it. And if you can't get it, then ask a teacher, friend(s), or even your parents. They all know what to do and so do you. Oh! You might want to know what happened to you in the story! Well, here it is... Your teacher is disappointed because a lot of the student's paper's he's graded have been incorrect. He comes up to you and takes your paper. A small smile lights up across his face as you wait impatiently. He writes something on your paper then drops in it the center of your desk and walks to the next student. What did you do wrong? You hold your paper in the air and look at what he wrote. In red ink there sits a small, simple, but the best A+ ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then you ride away on a purple unicorn!
Here's the technical equation for your "mathmatical" life, Student + Confusing Math(Teacher)
Today, I get to blog about how when a number not equal to 0, raised to a negative power is less than 1 but not a negative. Well, when you see a minus sign it can mean multiple things like subtract or negative or sometimes divide. In this case, it's a divide symbol. If you see a 2 and then a -2 as the exponent, or the little number in the big 2's corner, that means instead of multiply 2 by 2... divide 2 by 2. Right now, it sounds a little tricky, and at first it will be. Think about this, there is a 3 and a -2 as the exponent. What do you do?! Divide! You would divide 3 by 3! The only time you would multiply a number by itself would be if the exponent is positive! Like 2 and a small 2 in its corner. Where the exponent (2) is a postive number, you would multiply.
See! Really, exponents, even when they are negatives, are easy! As long as you know the rules and how to "handle" them, you've got this down! So if you ever see this "trouble" in your math class... you know what to do!!!
We see exponents a lot of the time used in mathmatical equations. Exponents are the little numbers in the upper right hand corner of other numbers. Sometimes we see a 2 and another 2 in the big 2's corner. That means we take the larger 2 and multiply it 2 times by itself. So... 2 x 2 = 4. What if you saw a 2 and a 3 in its corner? Same thing, just you would multiply the 2 3 times by itself. So... 2 x 2 x 2 = 8. When we see a 2 in a numbers "corner or space" we call it "squared." So when you see a 2 in a number's corner that basically is " 2 Squared." When you see a 3 in a number's "corner or space" that means cubed, "2 Cubed"
Exponents are sometimes hard to understand because peole think the exponent is the number you multiply with the "big" number. That's not true! Don't believe it! The exponent is the how many times you are going to multiply the number against itself. See?! This is a lot easier than people make it look! So work hard and practice those silly exponents!
We see math everywhere. Whether it is from calculating gas prices, to measuring salt, to shaped blocks, we see something to do with math every second of every part of our lives. This weekend I had the chance to play a fun game on a math website. The game was a little tricky at first until I figured out how to work it. The game starts and you need to plug in numbers in these little bubles. The are bubles at every single corner of the game, which is shaped as a square. There are four numbers in each corner already filled in for you. Your job is to plug in the number that fits in the buble in between your top and bottom bubble. If the top buble is 10 and the bottom bubble is 2, the middle bubble is 8. This is because 8 is the difference between 10 and 2. Then your answer adds on to another set of mathmatical problems that adds on to another set that it tied to the center 4 bubbles.
I figured each proble out by subtracting the smallest number from the biggest. This worked every time. I even did a decimal, money, and another bubble game using trickier numbers. I really liked this game because it helped my brain get back into the swing of things on the weekend. It helped me to remember my math tools while not in school. I am very gald I played this game!!!
When graphing equations, why is there is always a dot? Either a decimal, a circle to represent something, or a mulitplication sign. Luckily, I've got your back so there is no need to worry. When graphing inequalities or equations, there is always a graph with a dot to represent a number. Sometimes the dot is filled in, that means that what you are trying to solve for, could be equal to that number. If the problem states that the number is between 35 and 40 that means could fill in that bubble. You would do that because it is between but ALSO including. The number could be 35 or 40!!! Sometimes you need to look into the sentence. That means to take a closer look at the problem and look at what is wants you to do.
See, equations and inequaltities are a lot easier than you think. Just read your problem over and think about what it is asking you to do. Is it including or no? Does it want you to graph it or not? See! Ask yourself those questions! You'll see what a difference it makes!
We see numbers everywhere, and we use them too! We see numbers for gas prices, school work, signs, money. A lot of the time, we see either numbers, fractions, or deciamls. A few days ago, I blogged about deciamls and fractions, so we know a little about those and how to translate them.
Sometimes we see numbers behind the decimal point and we get confused, look at it this way. There are millions and millions of numbers behind 1 and in front of 0. That means there is no whole number. To be translated more... that means we have no number in front of the decimal point of to the left of the fraction. Like this...
.50 That means we have half of 1 because it is not 0 but it is not 1.
.75 We have three-quarters of 1 but it is not yet 1 nor 0.
There are so many little numbers in between 1 and 0. If you look closely and make exact measurments when measuring, you'll come across many of them. Remember, fractions and decimals are just pieces, pieces of anything, and you'll see them anywhere. You just have to look just close enough.
Volume is the amount of cubic units you can fit inside an object. We normally use volume for 3 dimensional objects like cubes. In oder to find the volume of something you multiply its length, its width, and its heighth to come to a conclusion about its volume. Like a cube, if the cube's length was 6 units, and it height was 6 units, and its width was 6 units; you would multiply its length, width, and heighth. So 6x6x6x=216 cubic units.
What if the object you were measuring was and irregular object? What would you do then? The rules would be the same. If you had an irregular object, all you would need to do would be to find its length, width,and heighth and multiply them. Just like we did for the cube. See, volume is really easier than people think. Just remember length, width, and heighth all multiplied together equal your volume! Don't forget the cubic units!
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