Review For the Test

Today, we were given a list of things we should know ho to do for the the test tomorrow. The list was relitavely small, but I only know how to do half of the stuff. I will need to do intensive reviewing if I want to do good on the test tomorrow. So thats what I am going to do right now.

Taking in Alot of New Information.. Again!

We learned alot of new stuff in class today, but I think once I get my other work out of the way, I will understand how to do it. I usually do pretty good in geometry. I did not notice the pattern right away, but I understood it by the end of class. Progress in Accelerated math has been very slow. The factoring is tedious, difficult, and tiring. I know how to do most of it, but the amount that we have to do is slowing me down.

Great Test Today

I really enjoyed writing the test that we had today. I felt confident that I knew all of the stuff. I an really excited to see my mark. I am now working on exercise 51, and I think I am understanding the things regarding lowest common denominators. There is alot of work ahead of me though.


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Quadrilateral Assignment

The venn diagram presented to us looked like a fun challenge. I should be abe to complete it fairly quickly. There is oe thing that i don't like, and that is the use of a venn diagram itself. I like to organize things like file folders on a comuter. The nice oranized lines appeal to me I guess. I've never liked venn diagrams.

Still Learning

Today, I paid close attention. I still don't quite understand, but I have identified the problem. I am having trouble finding the LCD. It seems simple enough, but there are just so many places that I can make mistakes. I know it is not proper to leave fractions without reducing, but I wouldn't mind working with larger numbers, if it gave me less of a chance to mess up.

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More New Stuff

I really tried my best to pay atention in class today, and I will see if it paid off. I will probably have to go to tutoring tonight, because I am fallng behind. There is alot of work involved in solving these problems, and I think that it is just cruel that accelerated math requires us to do so many. It will take me a while to master these next 10 objectives.

An Average Class

Ok I will admit that I was a little distracted for the last part of class. But I was paying close attention to the notes, and I will be able to do my accelerated homework later tonight.


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Yesterday's Test

I am so glad that yesterday's test went well. I forced myself to review it the night before, and it really helped. I think that I got at least 90 on it. The stuff we are working on now seems fairly simple, but I have a history of not getting along with division, so we will have to see how it goes.

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Good Solid Progress

Today and yesterday have been good classes. I have the most objectives in accelerated math right now. As I prepare for the test tomomorrow I feel pretty confident. I hope I do better! I also finished the cumulative exercises.

Non-Permissible Values

Today, we learned about non-permissible values. It was a litle confusing, as usual. But I probably will get the hang of it. I had accelerated math to do, which I didn't do, so that is going to put me behind a little bit. I am still pretty much ahead of the game there. And then there are those cumulative exercises. I do not like doing them because when we are done, There is no card to scan. I will have to keep going because I will get behind, and these new things will be harder to learn. When I am not ready to work on what we learned, I have trouble remembering them.

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A Note About Mental Math

Normally, I do not write about mental math on my blog, but we had a really good mental math assignment today. I agree that mental math is helping us to think outside the box. The symmetry question really got me thinking. Oftentimes I know that stuff works, but understanding how they work is what makes math exciting. I also learned about greatest common multiples. When dealing with 2,3,and 4, the greatest common multiple is 12. I treated it as a greatest common factor question, and wrote 1. Now I know better. Today, I will continue work on the cosine law.


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Triangle Laws and AM

I finally finished my outstanding accelerated math practice. It actually went really well. I got 100%. Now, I am working through the law of cosines on a small exercise assignment. I will do the outstanding cumulative exercises sometime, but i don't enjoy those as much. There is no card to scan at the end of all that work. I might also do all of the joke sheets, but i don't have time at the moment.

Complicated Stuff

While my title may make some people scoff, we learned how to do some tricky things, and I'm glad that we don't have to know how the formulas work, just that they do. The sine law is actually not too bad. I can recall working with similar triangles from last year having steps similar to the sine law. The cosie law, however is a different story. There are 6 ways to choose from, and they all have many variables. It is still interesting, and I enjoy how we set up a list of all of the values for the triangle. I find "filling in the blanks" to be quite (well, I won't say fun), but it helps keep my interst in the problem. And it is quite satisfying when the triangle is solved. I guess that is what I enjoy most about trig.
As for the math homework holiday, it is now over. I now know how to finish my AM practice assignmet, and I have a test. Also there are 12 questions on the cumulative exercises for us to do, and it will take a while.

More Test Corrections

We did some test corrections today, and now I really know where I messed up. I did not know that we have to treat the denominators as a difference of squares. I also was on the right track with the bonus question, but I didn't go through with it, because I thought it was a trick. I am excited to do the retest now. There is not much happening with AM right now, so I have been enjoying a little break.

No Homework This Weekend!!!

I am caught right up with my accelerated math. We corrected the math test today. After seeing it, I realized that I did more things right than I thought. Even so, my mark is going to be very disappointing. OK, maybe I should try to be optimistic. I for sure passed the test!

Work Class

Today, I hope to find out how to rationalize denominators. Tutoring helped, but I still get the questions wrong in my Accelerated Math. I will also try and finish the accelerated math test. I am about to master 6 objectives, so I feel that I am keeping up. I am now working on all assigned objectives, except for 59. In the near future I will also retest if my mark was below 90% (and I know it was).

The Test

I had a really busy evening yesterday, and did not get a chance to study. And it showed... I totally went blank for one part of the test. I really hope that I can go back and correct it, because I am not completely satisfied with the work that I handed in. I finally remembered what to do with the questions (involving square roots), but it was too late, and I had to hand my test in early. I am going to tutoring tonight, so I will be able to finish my accelerated math exercise on objectives 50 through 54. Also, I need to get help with rationalizing denominators soon. I'm surprised that I don't have a red bar yet in AM. I think its around objective 47.

Helpful Ideas for Math

Well, as you know, I am doing better in math lately, and its because of a few changes that I had to make to my study habits:

1. Do ALL of the Accelerated Math for homework that you printed out that day It is more motivating when you have a card to scan at the beginning of every class.

2. Print smaller AM assignments. I do only three brand-new objectives at a time, so it does not get too confusing. Bigger tests are still OK.

3. Close the laptop during notes. It is just too distracting.

4. Study for tests. It's simple and necessary.

5. Go to tutoring. Especially when you are getting behind. If you never get help, how do you ever expect to get it done?

These are the things that I have been doing lately.

Today we reviewed trig ratios. I didn't get it all at the start of class, but it came back, and I'm still moving forward with Accelerated Math.

Understanding Right Triangles

I really enjoyed what we did today, although i did not get all of it. The use of greek capitals like theta and beta confuses me, but i will probably get used to it later. I also learned the relationship between sin and cos. if I were to write a formula it would be something like sinX = cos(90-X). I also knew what pythagorean triples were, just not that they were called that. I remember that I had sub-consciously memorized some of them from last year. My favorite part of todays class was making the spreadsheet. Excel is a really coo program, and it can do alot more than I thought. In a way, you use it to write your own computer programs. I am looking forward to doing more work with it. As for AM, I still need to go back and work on a few objectives before I start on trig.

Math is going GREAT!

I had a really good math class today. I was very pleased to have my homework done for me. This was really the ideal math class! I have all of ths skills I need to finish all of my accelerated math homework this weekend. Then, I will be working on trig at the same time we are learning it. I plan to be testable on objectives 44 through 48 on monday.

When it All Goes Right

YOU had a great idea to have a work period today, Mr. Maks! My progress is Accelerated Math has been really exciting. I'm keeping up with all of the assigned objectives! Last night, I did a test on 7 objectives, and I UNDERSTOOD IT ALL!!!!!!!! If only math were always like this. Now that I am caught up, I will probably be able to be more focussed on the next unit.

Rationalizing Denominators Part II

Iunderstand what we are doing right now. It ties in nicely to my previous knowledge of reducing fractions. This stuff actually gets me excited, ecause we start with big ugly fractions and end up with nice, neat, smaller numbers. I will probably have no problems with the rationalization of denominators. The trouble is, I am nowhere near that with acclerated math. There are objectives in between that are slowing me down. That is my biggest problem in this class right now. For example, I do not know how to graph inequalities on a number line. These objectives slow me down considerably.

Solving Exponential Equations, Rationalizing Denominators, etc.

The title suggests what we learned in class today, I'm not writing it out again. It all looked so scary when the questions popped up on the screen, but it did not take me long to realize what was going on. A suggestion to myself: I learn more during the notes when my laptop is CLOSED!!! It actually looks pretty simple. I am feeling more comfortable with solving normal equations now. I really do not like linear equations though. Rationalizing denominators looks simple. I don't think it should be too difficult.

Working Through Objective 40

AM objective 40 is graphing inequalities on a number line. It seems really easy when you are working with one number, but it gets confusing when I try to put a whole equation onto a line. I think I just got the worst mark I've ever had on a math test. I thought I'd be ready to test tomorrow, but now I'm glad we are waiting.

Exponents & Radicals

I am really starting to feel comfortable with the stuff we have been learning, and it's a good thing with the test coming up. I am also in a good place with regards to AM. I will have a bit of work to do tonight, but I am all caught up with the cumulative exercises, and I'm not busy tonight. So, I will do 36 AM questions tonight!

What is Media Literacy?

Today is just a work period, and I do not find it necessary to give an update of how I did the same thing in AM as I have every other day. So, I have decided to adress your question, Mr. Maks. What is media literacy?

I don't know if there is a specific answer to that question. I would say that it is one's ability to interprit information from a wide variety of media. Perhaps to understand media literacy, one has to understand media. As far as I know, media comes in many formes, like newspapers, books, magazines, computers (pdf or powerpoints and spreadsheets to get specific), TV, etc. To have full media literacy would mean that one would have the ability to gather information, understanding, and knowledge from any medium they like.

Of course, I have romanticized the idea a little bit. Everyone knows that in its simplest form, literacy is the ability to read. But if you have to give a presentation on media literacy, I would recommend rambling on and on about collaboration, higher education, greater understandings, increased senses of self worth, world peace, etc. Even if you've lost the audience's attention, they'll know you know what you're talking about.

So there's my take on media literacy. I'm sure you allready have a good idea of what it is, Mr.Maks. but maybe this will help.

Understood What Wd Did Today

Today, I was relly focused in class and I understood what was explained to us. Thanks, Mr.Maks for including examples from our assignment in the notes. I really helped me understand what we are doing. I still no not fully understand what we did yesterday in class, but I am making exercise 21 a priority. I find that you really need to do that in this class. Otherwise it gets overwhelming because at times we can have three or more things all going on at once. Prioritizing is how I got caught up in Accelerated Math.

Lots of New Stuff

Yesterday, I understood everything we talked about regarding exponents and rationals. Today, because I came in late I only have a partial understanding of what we went over. I will probably only be able to do the simple questions on exercise 21. I also need to finish this equation: a^m/n = ... That will help me. I will probably also take the notes home tomorrow. I am still suuck with graphing in AM. I have trouble getting an answer that is on the sheet, and usualy end up justchoosing a similar answer. I wonder if I have the right equations for those... But I got a 5-question test and exercise so I will probably finish those quickly.

I Get It Now!

After yesterday's class, I was a litle frusterated. When I got home to do homework, I opened my books, and stared blankly at my homework. But then, for some reason, everything just clicked. I was able to do exercises 11, 12, 13, and 14! What's more, I almost finished an AM test today. It's interesting how that happens sometimes. Tonight in tutoring, I just want to firm up my understanding of a few things, and also finish objectives 33, 34, and 35 in accelerated math. I am also having a few probles with long division still. Overall, I think I am about ready for the test.

Getting Behind Again

I am starting to fall behind. AM is not the big deal though, it's those cumulative exercises. It is hard to focus on everything, and it is hard to stay organized. We should be doing one or the other at at time, not both at once. It is hard to prioritize. Today in class, we learned about parallel and perpendicular lines. I kind of understand the stuff, but when I get home to work on it, this is what happens: I open the book, look at the question, and freeze. I am having a problem applying the notes to the questions on the assignment. It would help if Mr.Maks would include an example directly from the assignment, and showed us exactly how we should show our work for that assignment. I think this would help me stay on top of things.

Good, Productive Weekend

Regarding AM, I have 5 more testable objectives to work on tonight. Once I've finished, I will be all caught up. I still have to do the assigned Cumulative exercises. I will also download graphmatica. Objectives I still need help with are 33, 34, and 35, especially the latter two. For the most part I understand everything. A question I still have is what the x means in the equations.

Solution to the Problem of the Day

First of all, I need to download poly 1.11, so I too can play with truncated icosahedrons. How about a six-frequency icosahedrical geodesic sphere?
I finished the problem of the day, but I need to clarify some things before i get the marks. Also, I've decided to finish AM exercise 336512 FIRST before doing anything else! It has been sitting around for way too long. It's pretty much just part of the scenery in my binder by now.

Slipping Farther Behind

Today, I noticed just how far behind I am getting in AM. Tonight, I will probably have to do some extra homework. to catch back up. I did pass three objectives today, but I'm still not meeting the expectations.

Combining Graphing Skills

Today in class, we did some work on a formula. It requires knowledge of a few other things like slope. It is a little bit confusing. Accelerated Math progress is slow but steady.

AM Progress

Finally, after a week, I scanned a card. I now have three testable objectives. Finally, I'm moving ahead again! Today we also learned about slope. We were given a nice formula, so I'm looking forward to working on it. It looks fairly straightforward.

Goals

Today's class was very enjoyable for me. I know, we wrote a test, how could it be? But I got everything and just took my time. It isn't likely that I got 100% on my test, but i am pretty confident that I got around 90% or so. I have not set any goals for myself yet, but I would like to get a minimum of 90% on daily work, 95% on tests, 80% in mental math, 85% in accelerated math practice/exercises, 100% on accelerated math tests. and 100% on my blog work. So there you have my goals for this class! I'm hoping to achieve a final grade above 90%.

Making Progress Again

Todays class was good, because we had a chance to catch our breath before the test. I feel pretty confident about the distance and midpoint formulas. I need to practice long division. Accelerated math is still slow going, but I will figure it out eventually.

Math Crisis

The math crisis was actually somewhat resolved, but I am getting way behind in accelerated math. This website will probably help: http://webct.merlin.mb.ca/webct/urw/lc4130001.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct
It has the actual provincial math cirriculim. Username and password are both demo. Today we're doing midpoint and slope stuff.

Catchup Today

Today's class started out with mental math. I got 4.5/5 today. I did not fully factor x^4-y^4. (x^2-y^2)(x^2+y^2) is NOT the correct answer. I should've written (x^2+y^2)(x-y)(x+y). Now I know anyways. I need to learn how to do 1. Factor sum or difference of cubes, 2.Factor a 4-term expression, 3. factor, more than one method (whatever that means), for accelerated math before I can continue.

Pythagorean Relation

Today we learned to calculate the distance of the hypotenuse on a right triangle. I understand how to calculate the length of the hypotenuse a^2 + b^2 = c^2. but I don't understand the formulas.

Graphing Stuff...

I finished most of my work today. A helpful site is http://www.apples4theteacher.com/prime-factors.html It saves time, because you do not have to write down factors of numbers on paper. I used it a few times allready today. Homework is exercise 4 but it looks ok. I'm also the scribe today, so i'll have to review the notes a few times. Good thing this graphing stuff is not too hard.

More Factoring

Mental math went pretty well, as I got 4/5. There's always a trick question, though. A perfect square trinomial is a rectangle. I treid the homework last night but did not get too far. Notes today were on Difference of Squares Factoring. This stuff I understand because the middle term is 0x. We got alga-tiles to play with, ut it is confusing and still does not seem practical. Here is a link to an algebra tile website that I found: http://my.hrw.com/math06_07/nsmedia/tools/Algebra_Tiles/Algebra_Tiles.html
... and then we throw fractions into the mix. I'm gonna have to take this slow.

New Ways To Factor

Today, we learned new ways to factor polynomials. I remember most of it from last year, but there are still some things that are new to me. It gets confusing after you write out the factors of one of the numbers. It would help if I could use those alga-tiles, but that is just not practical. Overall, I feel that it will come back fairly quickly when I do some questions on my own.

Two posts - In One!

First post today, how exciting! Yesterday was supposed to be the first one, but forgive me, i was in biotech. I was really happy in class today, because I got everything. I feel pretty good about the test. I really liked the bonus question! It took me a while to get it but then it was really obvious. Tonight I will probably try to finish the accelerated math that was handed out yesterday.