bkb

I went back to school 25 years after high school. The Head of the math dept was the teacher for algebra. He said use $ before the numbers and you can do it! All the way though I did it like that. yep even the final exam. Yes I was the last one done but I passed! You can do it.

Bobbinwinder

Are you sure that there isn't another math course that you can take to fill the requirement for your degree plan goal? I'd for sure be trying to find a way around taking a pre algebra class. If there's an alternative to College Algebra available...study up to better your entrance exam score to avoid the pre Algebra prerequisite for a course you don't really want to take anyway...hope this is making some sense. Academia is a business...it's in their best interest to keep you a student for as long as possible...don't waste time taking classes you may not need for your purposes...please make this work for you.

tlrnhi

Heck, I have a problem with simple math!
I was always taught that 1 + 1 = 2...right?
Well, how come when it comes to me (1) + hubby (1) it equaled 3? (me, hubby, baby) :lol: :lol: :lol:

dsj

I don't get it either but I do know that it is training your brain to think differently. My son is taking algebra right now. I took in college too a few years back, I did great but never understood it then either. I have never had to use it in anything that I have ever done. Just memorize PEMDAS. Parenthesis, equations, multiplication, division, addition,and subtraction, in that order and viola, you have your answer. Who in the world came up with it anyway????

wvdek

DSJ - That is funny. We learned PEMDAS as:

Please
Excuse
My
Dear
Aunt
Sally

Lisanne

Because you (1) & hubby (1) were fruitful and MULTIPLIED!

barnbum

My students and I always talk about debt with negative numbers... and they got a long lesson in using credit cards to go with it. :wink: Hey--they're 10-11, but one can never learn about money stuff too early.

And yup--"Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" is what everyone memorizes. We figure she ate too many beans in her chili. That kind of thing always keeps their attention. :roll: I'm shocked at how much kids learn these days. Our math curriculum was taking them to amazing places at a comfortable level, but the new edition came out this year and it's expecting more out of them. It's pushing it. It's frustrating the kids who don't have numbers as one of their multiple intelligences. They need more practice than the book provides. But, I make up stuff and try to fit it in.

Lneal

You have a good point here. I have been taking adult ed classes to get me better prepared for this. My instructor told me to check and see if I could re take the placement math again so in order not to have to take the prealgebra. The business degree or course doesn't have much algebra, so I am finding this frustrating to have to learn. Thanks for your help and I plan on checking into this more.

STAR

Now I tried that problem and my answer was 3!! :shock: :shock:

bodie358

I am on my second semester of college and just turned 52! I am struggling with math also. I decided it was best to start with the very basic college math course and work my way up from there as I have forgotten most of the math I learned in school. It's much easier to refresh on the basics before attempting the actual algebra. It does take longer to complete the math requirements though.

Good luck in school, I have found that it is much harder now than when I was younger (but I am enjoying it much more). I don't seem to be able to concentrate or retain info as easily as I used to. I worked hard my first semester but I achieved a 4.0 average and made the dean's list - top 6% of the class!