If there is anything that is scarier than a ghost or an angry mother, then it is math. Half the population is afraid of math, and it’s simply because they don’t understand it. There is, however, an easy way in which you can help yourself learn math, and it’s by taking advantage of the many sources of online math help that exist today.

But availing yourself of online math help is only part of the equation. To learn math and improve your results long term, you have to take some additional steps. But rest assured, these steps are doable and foolproof, and once you finally know how to work your problems, you won’t be afraid of your math homework.

So buckle up; in this article we will talk about how you can solve your mathematical problems with only occasional help from external sources, so that you can succeed long-term and keep getting “A”s.

Four Steps To Take To Excel At Math

Math is tough, sure it is, but by following certain methods, you can successfully hone your mathematical skills and ultimately excel at it. We will share four methods that will allow you to answer the question, “Should I do my math homework by myself or just copy it from my friends?” with a definitive “Myself!” For, if you follow these tried-and-true steps, your math skills will improve steadily over time, and you won’t have to copy from your friends or hate math.

1. Practice mental math:

Mental math is performing calculations in your head. An acute ability to manipulate numbers mentally, to flexibly and speedily take them apart and put them back together without a calculator, is strongly associated with success in Algebra and Mathematical Reasoning, just as the ability to play with chords and melodies is related to success in composing songs and music. And the good news is, anyone can improve his or her mental math prowess with practice! Here are two practice tips:

• Practicing what has been done in class is a great way to make sure that you don’t forget the steps and methods that have been introduced to you. But instead of just repeating verbatim the steps you were taught, spice things up in your mind. Use estimations to arrive at the same solutions your teacher did but while taking a more imaginative route.
• For example, suppose you learned in class that buying a box of 9 packs of gum for $16 is a better deal than buying individual packs for $2.10 each because the price per individual pack, $2.10, is less than the bulk price per pack, 16/9 = $1.78.
• Then, when revising this lesson at home, you could use mental math estimations to alternatively assess quickly that since 9 x 2 = 18 and 16 is less than 18, the 9-pack must cost less than $2 per pack, which makes it a better deal than the individual packs at $2.10 per pack.
•  Another excellent mental math habit to practice is to perform a given arithmetic calculation in multiple ways in your head, and doing this will improve your “number sense.” Number sense is the ability to be flexible with numbers due to an intuitive understanding of their magnitudes, relationships, and interactions with operations, and higher degrees of number sense is correlated with better achievements in advanced mathematics.
• Here’s an example of using mental math to sharpen your number sense. Try to calculate 18 x 5. You could go “10 x 5 = 50, 8 x 5 = 40, 50 + 40 = 90”, sure, but don’t just stop there; unleash your creativity by coming up with other ways of working this problem in your head, like, “20 x 5 = 100, 2 x 5 = 10, 100 – 10 = 90”, or “18 x 5 = 9 x 10, 9 x 10 = 90”.
• Taking the time now to work out arithmetic problems in multiple ways in your head will make it easier for you to catch on to advanced mathematical concepts in the future.

If you follow these two tips daily, they will bring a change. You will remember the techniques you learned in class by thinking of them in new ways, and your mathematical horizon will thus be broadened, all thanks to mental math.

2. Work on your speed:

Make sure you don’t take a whole day to complete your math homework. Time yourself whenever you do assignments, and aim to steadily decrease how long you take to successfully complete a problem.

Following these tips will help you become faster:

• Get a lot of rest before tackling your homework. Your brain processes information more slowly when you’re tired.
• Memorize formulas, and write down all the ones you’ll need for the problem at hand before you start to solve.
• Mentally plan ahead the steps you’ll take to solve. And, in this planning phase, try to minimize the number of steps you use. Spending an extra minute doing this could save you 5 minutes of unnecessary computations.
• Start with the easy problems and/or the more familiar ones first to warm up your brain and gather confidence, then tackle the harder/unfamiliar ones after.
• Make a cheat sheet of the types of errors you have made in the past, and refer to it while solving so you don’t waste time going down those roads again.

3. Learn the logic:

Ask your teacher to give you extra insight into the logic and reasoning behind the steps you’re told to use to solve a problem. Understanding not just what procedure to use but also why the procedure works will help you in the long run, because then you will be better able to figure out how to apply the problem’s solution techniques to many different variations of the problem without help from anyone. If your teacher is not available to provide such insights, you may use one of the many tutoring services that exist online. Make sure to choose one that has experts who will take time to patiently explain the mathematical concepts to you in practical, easy-to-understand ways. And don’t forget to compare the hourly rates of the sites you come across so you can narrow your focus to the ones with the most reasonable rates. In fact, some sites even offer free math and statistics online tutoring for 15-to-30-minute sessions!

4. Search for real life math problems to solve:

Who said that you never need math in real life? Because actually you do. When you measure ingredients to follow a recipe, you’re using math. When you make a budget after getting your allowance, you’re using math. When you shop around for the best deal on your favorite item, you’re using math. Indeed, you use math all the time because it impacts your life daily, whether you realize it or not. So, in that event, whenever you do math homework, why not make it a habit to search for and solve a few real-world word problems related to the topic you’re studying, especially problems that explore issues connected to your personal experiences? Doing this will help you to make better sense of mathematical ideas and motivate you to consciously apply math to your everyday life. And your critical thinking skills will grow rapidly as a result.

Conclusion:

Math can be tough, but by following the four steps described above, you can end up mastering the art of “doing math” and pull an “A” easily.

• December 16 , 2019
• admin

Tags :  how to excel at math  how to improve your math skills  math success tips  online math help