Problems learning mathematics in high school

[tree]

Hi,

I have problems learning (15 years old) mathematics in high school.
I do not get enough verbal information in school, so I need to learn it with more visual information.
But, how?
I need some tips about how I can learn and understand mathematics.

What does that mean? "not get enough verbal information".....

Does that mean words are hard for you?
Or does that mean the teachers don't explain?
Or that you don't ask questions?
Or what?

What kind of math are you studying?

==========
A thing that was useful to me in school was doing the problems more
than one time, the way a person practices a musical instrument.

Doing the same problem, over and over, helped me recognize and remember
how to approach other problems that were similar.

Also, I wrote out what sorts of errors I made in my work, so that I would
be aware of what I needed to pay attention to, in order to do it right.

 

[Pinkie B]

A thing that was useful to me in school was doing the problems more
than one time, the way a person practices a musical instrument.

Doing the same problem, over and over, helped me recognize and remember
how to approach other problems that were similar.

Also, I wrote out what sorts of errors I made in my work, so that I would
be aware of what I needed to pay attention to, in order to do it right.

That's brilliant! How much easier my academic career would have been if I had thought of that!

 

[tlc]

Algebra can be very weird at first. But then I realized it's really nothing different than you've been taught to do all along. Algebra is just a way of clearly writing down the steps that you're doing already. Then you can do more complex things with it.

That and equals means equal. You have to be fair and do the same thing to both sides.

 

[grommet]

Math is one of my strong subjects, but algebra was tough at first. My first semester I got a D. It took some time to understand it, then I did great.

I used to hate story problems, but now I think they are beneficial to putting a real life face to the equations and processes.

I also do the reverse for myself. I use math to make my life easier. For example trying to figure how much slack was in my timing chain and all I had was a breaker bar and a tape measure and very little room to work, I could do some trig and get my answer.

I've helped many people with math. One of the things I've had to explain a lot is negative numbers. My most useful analogy seems to be to imagine a hole in the ground. Negative is in the hole, zero is the ground, positive is above ground.

How did using the breaker bar help, did you use it solely as a lever?

 

[tlc]

How did using the breaker bar help, did you use it solely as a lever?

I used a 18" breaker bar with a socket on the crank pulley. And under the oil fill cap you could watch one of the valves move. So I moved the breaker bar forward until the valve moved. Then went backward just enough to take up the slack in the socket, and measured the distance from the radiator support to the end of the breaker bar. Then I continued backward until the valve just started to move again, and measured the distance again to the radiator support. I went back and forth at least a few times and recorded the difference between positions, and averaged the results (also making sure I was able to get fairly consistent results since you had to have a good eye to watch the valve). Using that and the breaker bar length, I could determine the crank angle that was covered. I had 200k on the engine and was concerned about the timing chain, but it turned out to still be within spec, whatever that was. I did this in 2002.

 

[invisibility003]

@han8

I'm 15 years old too I'm more of a visual learner, so I quite like diagrams and stuff like that when learning. Not sure what type of Maths you're doing, but I'll try and give general tips.

- Draw diagrams and pictures when learning Maths and label them. Try using different colours too.
For example: (parts of a circle)

- When revising questions, do ones on the same topic over and over again until you get them right. Then it's stuck in your head clearly.

- When you go to work on Maths problems, have the related formulas, examples, diagrams and information on how to work it out nearby, so you can refer to it if needed. Then try doing it without and see if you get it right.

- Maybe research and see if there's any online Maths courses on the topic, or practice questions? It might explain things in a different way because that's sometimes what helps me.

There's a website called Khan Academy, which has Maths tutorial videos and practice questions. It customises the questions based on what year level you are in and what topic you're doing in Maths. You sign up and then you can do it.
Khan Academy

Also, there's a website called Education Perfect which I like, but your teacher has to sign you up because it's class and school based, so that may not work...

Good luck!

 

[frink]

I've found watching YouTube astonishingly effective for me. Whenever I don't understand something, YouTube is often the first place I go. (and I'm talking quite advanced math topics). I often watch the first minute or two of a half dozen videos before I find one that has the right content and the right person explaining it. If you have trouble finding the right content, try searching for whatever the chapter name is in your math textbook. Learning how to be self-sufficient at finding information and filling in your knowledge gaps without someone "teaching" you is a hugely important life skill. Contrary to others here, I have found the Khan Academy videos tedious and almost unwatchable, but that is not to say their videos are bad -- they just aren't a good match for my personal learning style. So you just need to keep searching and find the right person / visuals to explain it in a way that works for you.

 

[grommet]

I used a 18" breaker bar with a socket on the crank pulley. And under the oil fill cap you could watch one of the valves move. So I moved the breaker bar forward until the valve moved. Then went backward just enough to take up the slack in the socket, and measured the distance from the radiator support to the end of the breaker bar. Then I continued backward until the valve just started to move again, and measured the distance again to the radiator support. I went back and forth at least a few times and recorded the difference between positions, and averaged the results (also making sure I was able to get fairly consistent results since you had to have a good eye to watch the valve). Using that and the breaker bar length, I could determine the crank angle that was covered. I had 200k on the engine and was concerned about the timing chain, but it turned out to still be within spec, whatever that was. I did this in 2002.

That's wonderful! I wouldn't have thought of that. If I had come close to your idea I would have rotated the crank until I thought I was ATDC then tried to measure on either side of that. I always loved cars and engines but I have no training as a mechanic. I used to think it would be fun to disassemble and engine down to parts and polish every mating surface then reassemble. I would never actually get it all back together but I thought it might not be too bad a try if I did it with a small motorcycle engine. This is far from the OP's topic, sorry, I just find it very interesting. Thank you for explaining