Posts

PEMDASLR

My favorite thing to do in math is order of operations.  They are fun little math problems that feel like a hunt.  As a kid it made me feel  really smart  to be able to solve problems that once looked incredibly difficult.  When I was in second grade, I feared equations that were long and looked difficult. My little mind couldn’t comprehend how easy it  actually was .      Everyone knows the famous acronym PEMDAS. I was taught a little differently. Instead of PEMDAS it was PEMDASLR.  Not many people were taught this way, which is a bummer.  The acronym stands for please excuse my dear aunt Sally’s loud radio. Adding the LR to the end of it made it very helpful for me to understand that when solving multistep math equations, you always go from left to right.  Not many people are taught to go left to right, which is a crucial key to solving these kinds of problems.  The P in PEMDASLR stand for parenthesis. Anything tha...

Pythagoras

One of the earliest mathematicians  in time  named Pythagoras started looking at the world in ways of shapes and functions. He was a famous mathematician in Greece around the 500’s  BC. He was a philosopher and the founder of Pythagoreanism. He was a political and religious man that  later on  inspired Aristotle and Plato with their work. Around 530 BC, he went onto Coton and started a school to share his knowledge and beliefs.      One of his many works was said to be that the planets move accordingly to math equations and produces an inaudible symphony of music.  He also introduced the  Pythagoran  tuning method into music. It deals with music notes and tuning.    He is  also  well known for coming up with the Pythagorean theorem  with the help of his Pythagorean brotherhood.   The Pythagorean theorem states that: A squared plus B squared equals C squared.  This is used in geometry...

Mathphobia

Mathphobia  is the fear of having to do math. Personally, I do not have it, but I do empathize with people who do. Math doesn’t come naturally to everyone.  It is something we each  have to  work on in order to get better at.  For me, I love problem solving and getting  a concise answer each time . Its  relaxing to figure out the answer to problems that have a definite solution.  There is a set formula for everything in math and I appreciate the simplicity.  Ever problem has a solution.  Whereas, in English there isn’t a set answer when it comes to writing. It depends on you to be creative and  is  subjective  based on the teacher you have . English is mostly just other people looking at your paper and deciding if they like it or not.  It’s based off the personal preference of the teacher to decide if your work is good enough.  Whereas, in math the teacher will look at your paper and know right away if  yo...

The Myth of "I'm Bad at Math"

Intelligence is a broad statement. One’s ideal of intelligence can greatly differ from another. The  Websters  dictionary definition is, “ the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations”. Everybody is capable of being intelligent whether it be in social skills, art, or math. Many people believe that they can’t be intelligent in math or they will never be. That’s not the case. Everyone is capable of being intelligent in math. You may not be intelligent in every aspect of math, but you will be in certain areas. The mind can be molded and change over time. If you practiced, your skills in math will increase.    In the article “The Myth of ‘I’m Bad at Math’” written by Miles Kimball, Noah Smith, and Quartz states, “ Different kids with different levels of preparation come into a math class. Some of these kids have parents who have drilled them on math from a young age, while others never had that kind of parental input”. This statement ...

Issac Newton

Issac  Newton is a very famous mathematician and physicist. He was born in England in 1643. While studying at Cambridge,  Issac  was greatly influenced by the  worksk  of Rene Descartes. It wasn’t until  Issac  returned home that he began his journey with mathematics and physics.    He is most famously known for his law of gravity. There is a famous story of an apple and  Issac  Newton. Apparently, an apple fell upon his head one day while sitting under a tree when he was younger. The story is partially true. The only falsehood is that the apple fell on his head. The apple  actually fell  right beside him but, storytellers throughout the centuries have mangled with the true story in order to capture viewers attentions. The law he discovered is known as the law of universal gravity or the three laws of motion.  The three laws of motion describe every object in this universe. It gave us a better understanding of g...