Introduction
Welcome back to school kids. Many are excited but to those who fear and hate math, a start of a new school year brings on added stress and pressure.
I am creating this blog to reach out to students and give them just an extra little help in math. I will post one math problem daily taken from grade levels ranging from elementary school to college level and write a detailed explanation about how to solve it. Participation from students, teachers and parents in the form of comments on this blog is welcomed and appreciated. I can help you more if you leave me feedback on what you need.
I hold a Bachelors degree in Engineering Technology so I have had my share of math courses. I do admit that I truly love the subject. I have tutored it privately and at college for the past 17 years. My biggest reward stems from seeing a struggling student succeed in his or her studies.
It is my pleasure to be here today to try to bring that joy to all the students who fear and hate math. Lets begin our journey.
A little History
I thought that it would be appropriate to explain the history behind the name of this blog. I wanted to use a unique and authentic name that reflects math. After some search, I found out that Ahmes, who was born in Egypt at about 1680 B.C. was a scribe who wrote the oldest known mathematical document titled as “The Rhind” Papyrus. The Front of this document contains division by of 2 by the odd numbers 3 to 101 in unit fractions and the numbers 1 to 9 by 10. The reverse of the document has 87 problems on the four operations, solution of equations, progressions, volumes of granaries, and the two-third rule etc.
For additional information on this document visit this article: Rhind Mathematical Papyrus
Elementary school level
Students attending art class must work in teams of 4 students each. The following list gives the number of students in each class.
First grade has 15 students
Second grade has 9 students
Third grade has 20 students
Fourth grade has 11 students
Which class has exactly enough students to work in art class with no students left over?
a. First grade
b. Second grade
c. Third grade
d. Fourth grade
Answer : c
Explanation :
This is a division problem. The question wants you to divide the number of students in each grade by four. The class that has a number of students that divide without any left over students will be the class that can work in teams of 4 each. So lets try it:
First grade has 15 students : 15 divided by 4 = 3.75 (there is a remainder)
Second grade has 9 students : 9 divided by 4 = 2.25 (there is a remainder)
Third grade has 20 students : 20 divided by 4 = 5 (no remainder)
Fourth grade has 11 students : 11 divided by 4 = 2.75 (there is a remainder)
If you need some additional help on understanding long division with a remainder try this website: Long Division with Remainders
©Copyright 2007.Najwa S. Hirn. All rights reserved.
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