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I did the even-numbered questions in the "Algebra review" packet we were given on Thursday. Still very easy, but... I think I've discovered where my problems came from!
This time, I read the directions given before each section, and they were needlessly complicated.
"If a and b are any two real numbers, the difference of a and b, written a - b, is given by
a - b = a + (-b)
In other words, to subtract b, add the opposite of b."
... OR YOU COULD JUST, YOU KNOW... SUBTRACT b.
13 - 27 = -14
Simple.
13 + (-27) = -14
Needlessly complicated. It's the same thing, but with parenthesis and extra signs.
The more often you change the signs around, the more likely it is that eventually you'll forget to move one around.
My mother just gave me a lecture on how I did so miserably in math through middle and high school because my fourth grade teacher told me math was hard. I will admit that, perhaps that did affect me some, but I refuse to believe that it is entirely her fault. It's stupid to think that one person telling me "MATH IS HARD" for some of one year would cause me to have problems for the next eight years. I only started understanding the subject in my senior year, when I had a teacher who could actually teach the material and who sincerely wanted to see her students succeed in class (ask me about the man I had the year before, but only if you want me to rant for six pages straight). I am willing to bet anything that if I cracked open an Algebra textbook and read the instructions and then tried to do the problems, my eyes would still cross.
She also accused me of thinking about these things too much. I will readily agree with that one.
This time, I read the directions given before each section, and they were needlessly complicated.
"If a and b are any two real numbers, the difference of a and b, written a - b, is given by
In other words, to subtract b, add the opposite of b."
... OR YOU COULD JUST, YOU KNOW... SUBTRACT b.
13 - 27 = -14
Simple.
13 + (-27) = -14
Needlessly complicated. It's the same thing, but with parenthesis and extra signs.
The more often you change the signs around, the more likely it is that eventually you'll forget to move one around.
My mother just gave me a lecture on how I did so miserably in math through middle and high school because my fourth grade teacher told me math was hard. I will admit that, perhaps that did affect me some, but I refuse to believe that it is entirely her fault. It's stupid to think that one person telling me "MATH IS HARD" for some of one year would cause me to have problems for the next eight years. I only started understanding the subject in my senior year, when I had a teacher who could actually teach the material and who sincerely wanted to see her students succeed in class (ask me about the man I had the year before, but only if you want me to rant for six pages straight). I am willing to bet anything that if I cracked open an Algebra textbook and read the instructions and then tried to do the problems, my eyes would still cross.
She also accused me of thinking about these things too much. I will readily agree with that one.
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