Heads up! Our next class (Tues, Oct 20th) will include time for help setting up your ged.com account and using the tutorial that explains the Ready Test. You can practice with a slightly different looking TI-30XS calculator here. More GED information is in our syllabus.
Today was cross-multiplying day!
We began by talking about checking if a proportion is true, and then about proportions with variables. Both of those tasks involved cross-multiplying.
Then we applied this to the topic we began slightly on Tuesday: percent sentences. We reviewed the translation method, and now had the cross-multiplying tool to also demonstrate the proportion method.
All those sections have been updated to direct you to the appropriate parts of our nice textbook. Remember to look in Canvas for the e-book login's username and password.
Please use a text to my cell phone (541) 357-7551 or an e-mail to let me know how you spend your hour of math time outside of class. Nice options include:
Today's snack was lebkuchengewuerz pancakes.
Today we started talking about percentages.
We started by thinking about decimal point scoots. This might be good to practice at home, for it is one of the skills that being quick can help on the GED test.
Then we got to the most important foundation: four replacements for the % symbol. So far we have only used two of them. The others will have their moment to shine, but later on.
Using that foundation we could look at going back and forth between fraction, decimal and percent formats.
Then we looked at the two most common types of percent problems: "percent of..." problems and percent change problems.
We barely got started on the translation method for solving percent sentences. More Thursday!
Today's snack was English muffins.
Today we followed a slow progression from simple to complicated fraction stuff.
We started by thinking about fractions being different from ratios. (In a fraction the denominator must be a total amount. But a ratio can compare any two numbers.)
This is very similar to the distinction between probability versus odds. But we did not go deep into that.
Then we reviewed reducing and un-reducing fractions.
At the end of class we introduced a fraction game named Starship, but did not have time to play it.
Remember to use a text to my cell phone (541) 357-7551 or an e-mail to let me know how you spent your hour of math time outside of class. Nice options include:
Overall, today we did sections R.6, 2.1, 2.2, and 5.1 in our nice Prealgebra e-book. (Remember to look at the Canvas site activity about this textbook to see the username and password you can use to log in.)
Today's snack was mint chocolate pancakes.
Today we did topics requested by students.
We started by discussing divisibility and factors. This included playing the board game "The Factor Game".
Then we looked at a few linear patterns and area patterns. The purpose of those sections is to realize how patterns turn into formulas. We looked at some examples from the health decisions part of this website. Often which issues turned out to important for a formula (weight? height? age? gender?) is as interesting as how significant those issues were compared to each other. We also noted that each issue became its own term in the end result formula.
To exercise a different type of mental math muscle, we played a dice game named No Pigs! No Pigs!.
Snack was pumpkin bread waffles.
Thank you for a nice first week of class time!
Today we spent most of our time discussing terms and one-step equations.
Remember to spend one hour outside of class time (before Tuesday's class) on worthwhile activities. So far these include:
Please use a text to my cell phone (541) 357-7551 or an e-mail to let me know how you spent your hour. I enter that time into your attendance record, helping you earn free GED Ready Tests and other benefits.
I am still adjusting this website to fix the textbook section references (which refer to an old book) and improve the links to helpful videos. I have cleaned up the topics above (terms, one-step equations) for you.