Questions related to the teaching and learning of mathematics.
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6answers
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Online Math Degree Programs
Are there any real online mathematics (applied math, statistics, ...) degree programs out there?
I'm full-time employed, thus not having the flexibility of attending an on campus program. I also ...
13
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4answers
203 views
Should the domain of a function be inferred?
It is a common practice to have students of elementary algebra infer the domain of a function as an exercise. I believe this is contrary to the spirit of the definition of a function as a collection ...
13
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1answer
280 views
Do lay persons really believe that all of mathematics is known?
I once found a professor of medicine to be under the impression that everything in mathematics is already known.
It's probably commonplace to hear that the masses labor under that misconception.
In ...
12
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8answers
1k views
What math should a programmer know?
I am an application programmer focussing on Line Of Business (LOB) applications. I am from non-mathematics and non-CS background. What mathematics should I learn which help me improve my programming ...
12
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7answers
677 views
Films about math: a question about math education and motivation for learning math
I'm interested in movies about or related with mathematics or physics, I mean not documentaries which I also consider movies, but artistic or mainstream films about math. Now I have the following in ...
12
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5answers
466 views
Can the order of learning be changed?
I have been advised by many people to learn from scratch. So I decided to learn it. But I have the following questions in my mind.
Can we skip "the Trinity" and learn something else directly? ("the ...
12
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7answers
752 views
Teaching abstract maths concepts to young children.
I am interested in opinions and, if possible, references for published research, about the pros and cons of teaching abstract maths concepts to young children. My younger brother (five years old) ...
12
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4answers
1k views
Bridging any “gaps” between AP Calculus and College/Univ level Calculus II
I've been asked to tutor a soon-to-be college freshman who has taken AP Calculus and successfully earned college credit for first semester calculus. He has been admitted to an Engineering program, ...
12
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5answers
446 views
Do non-mathematical fields use the appropriate level of analytic/probabilistic rigor?
Talking to students in different areas and taking different classes in math, physics, electrical engineering I have been struck by the differing amounts of rigor in use.
I know little about economics ...
12
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3answers
680 views
Guidelines for learning about Ramanujan's work?
It is well known that one of the first books Ramanujan studied was "Synopsis of Pure and Applied Mathematics" and that it shaped the way Ramanujan thought and wrote about mathematics. Being interested ...
12
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1answer
1k views
GRE past papers
As it is required for most students who wish to do a Ph.D in maths in the US to sit the GRE subject specific mathematics exam, I hope this question will be of interest to the mathematical community ...
11
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9answers
581 views
Sources of problems for teaching/tutoring young mathematicians
I am tutoring several talented students, middle school level and early high school level, in mathematics. I am always looking for new sources from which to draw questions. Can anyone recommend books, ...
11
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5answers
321 views
Inspiring a new generation
Tomorrow is a very special day for both my students and I: we will be starting a calculus course. I'm looking for some nice quotes to read to them to convey just what a complete game changer calculus ...
11
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3answers
613 views
Books to study for Math GRE, self-study, have some time.
I just graduated from a regional university in the US with a minor in mathematics. There is a masters program overseas, for economics, that I want to attend but they require applicants to take the ...
11
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1answer
106 views
Learning Mathematics using only audio.
Are there any mathematics audio books or other audio sources for learning mathematics. I ask this because I make about 1 hour from my house to the school and staring at a screen on the car makes me ...
11
votes
1answer
174 views
Developing research experience in mathematics
I am not sure whether this is the right forum for this question, so it might be migrated somewhere else; but, it is, I think, certainly germane to the wider idea of pursuing interesting questions and ...
10
votes
4answers
346 views
Best way of introducing determinants in a linear algebra course
What is the best way of introducing determinants in a linear algebra course? I want to give real life examples of where the determinant is applied. It should have a real impact.
10
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4answers
867 views
What does Khan Academy have to offer? Depth? Rigor?
Khan Academy - http://www.khanacademy.org/ - is often cited as a great online resource for learning mathematics and other subjects. I have heard many good things about this website and was wondering ...
10
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10answers
2k views
Which 4 maths courses to take as an Economics PhD student?
I am doing a PhD in economics and I have the chance of taking one subject a semester in the maths department (I would like to do more, but "unfortunately" I have to work on my thesis). I want to have ...
10
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6answers
2k views
Best intuitive metaphors for math concepts (of any level)
Frequently, we introduce a new concept with a formal definition, then immediately say "Intuitively, what this means is..." What are the absolute best metaphors you've seen (for concepts of any level)?
...
10
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2answers
265 views
Elementary Geometry Nomenclature: why so bad?
A long-ish wall of text, and I apologize.
Some background: when I was a first-year university student, my chemistry professor was lecturing and was trying to find the word to describe a shape. A ...
10
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2answers
1k views
Best software to take math notes?
I have read some old discussions about this topic and would like to get some up-to-date advice, if possible.
How can I take math notes, write formulas and draw graphs on my pc (win 7), the easiest ...
10
votes
2answers
326 views
Popular general-interest math courses
I'm hoping the userbase here doesn't mind if I do a little crowd-sourcing.
I'm curious to find out about popular general-interest mathematics or statistics classes that are offered universities that ...
10
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3answers
834 views
I want to learn math!
Let me introduce myself. My name is Filip and I am going to 10th grade now. My school deals with electrotechnics and computers (programming, hardware etc.)
I was always good at math but not quite ...
10
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1answer
133 views
General question: What one can do to help students one is grading?
Due to unknown reason I was assigned as a grader this semester for a certain proof writing class in my universtiy. The class size is 65 and students took it usually comes from a computer science ...
10
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4answers
589 views
Grasping mathematics
First, I'm not trying to make this sound like a "poor-me" story. I understand fully that every decision I've made leading to this is my fault. I am genuinely looking for advice.
So, I am a high ...
9
votes
5answers
1k views
No radical in the denominator — why?
Why do all school algebra texts define simplest form for expressions with radicals to not allow a radical in the denominator. For the classic example, $1/\sqrt{3}$ needs to be "simplified" to ...
9
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4answers
616 views
Is there a more efficient method of trig mastery than rote memorization?
I would like to get alot better at trig than I am. What is the best/most efficient method?
Thanks much in advance
Joe
9
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4answers
2k views
Is “locally linear” an appropriate description of a differentiable function?
In this answer on meta, Pete L. Clark said:
I think the question concerns the idea that a differentiable curve becomes more and more like a straight line segment the closer one zooms in on its ...
9
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7answers
1k views
What should the high school math curriculum consist of?
"Life is open book."
With the advent of widely accessible, inexpensive (or even free) computational tools and Computer Algebra Systems (TI-89, Wolfram|Alpha, etc.), much of what traditionally ...
9
votes
2answers
387 views
Is there any way to read articles without subscription?
This is not mathematician question but I think it's related. How I can get access to some of "Software: Practice and Experience" articles without subscription?
Any advice is welcome. Sorry if I'm ...
9
votes
4answers
453 views
How to study for analysis?
I am currently a first year undergraduate majoring in mathematics. I'm taking an introductory analysis course and find it very hard compared to other math couses. I know that the topics covered in the ...
9
votes
3answers
435 views
Is the golden ratio overrated?
While reading many sources and watching many video's about nature and physics I wonder if the golden ratio is really that often occurring in nature and physics ?
If I look on the Wikipedia pages I see ...
9
votes
3answers
498 views
What should a math graduate know? [closed]
There are a lot of undergraduate courses out there and most of them agree on certain things, with regard to the subjects covered.
Courses that include mathematics (engineering, physics, etc) are ...
9
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5answers
804 views
Elementary Papers at ArXiv
Inspired by this question, at MO i am asking this question.
Can anyone list some elementary articles at ArXiv which can be understood by High-School/Undergrad Students. I am asking this because, i ...
9
votes
2answers
386 views
Is Mathematics graduation important for a Computer Scientist?
I know this might be a personal problem, but I often find some friends in the same problem as me so I think this might be helpful to them after all.
I am going to graduate in Computer Science in ...
9
votes
0answers
165 views
How to be a bird
Freeman Dyson has famously characterized two styles of mathematics, that of the bird and that of the frog. I was asked recently the following question, which I don't know how to answer: If, in ...
8
votes
6answers
497 views
When is something “obvious”?
I try to be a good student but I often find it hard to know when something is "obvious" and when it isn't. Obviously (excuse the pun) I understand that it is specific to the level at which the writer ...
8
votes
8answers
382 views
Elevator pitch for a (sub)field of maths?
When I first saw the title of this question, I forgot for a moment I was on meta, and thought it was asking about quick, catchy, attractive, informative one-or-two-liner summaries of various fields of ...
8
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3answers
263 views
Why is 1 raised to infinity Not defined and not “1” [duplicate]
$1$ square is $1$, so is raised $1$ to $123434234$.
My maths teacher claims that $1$ raised to infinity is not $1$, but not defined. Is there any reason for this?
I know that any number raised to ...
8
votes
7answers
750 views
Educational Math Software
What is the the most educational software for high school and college math?
Not the one that just gives you the answer, but has any of the following:
Edit: Software mentioned in answer added in ...
8
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5answers
1k views
Motivating linear algebra for economics students?
I'm a tutor for the introductory linear algebra course at my school; this course is required for most upper division economics classes, so a lot of my tutees are economics majors.
This is a typical ...
8
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3answers
122 views
Links to Online Videos of Good-Quality Lectures by Mathematicians
I am not trying to do anything new here, but I would like to start an activity that has been going on at Math Overflow. Hopefully, people here at the Math StackExchange can also enjoy the good stuff.
...
8
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3answers
1k views
Difficulties with Chapter 2 in Rudin
I have been reading Rudin (Principles of Mathematical Analysis) on my own now for around a month or so. While I was able to complete the first chapter without any difficulty, I am having problems ...
8
votes
2answers
429 views
How to assess a non-natively english speaking high-schooler's mathematical ability?
I'm a math PhD who has been asked to interview a high school student and determine what he/she is interested in and how strong the student is.
Usually I would want them to talk as much as possible ...
8
votes
1answer
343 views
Undergrad Student Trying to Figure Out What to Study
this is my first time on stack exchange and I am seeking advice for my future studies.
Some background first; I am a undergraduate student pursuing a degree in mathematics and I hope to pursue ...
8
votes
2answers
314 views
Outline and Goals of a One-Year Calculus Sequence
Our department is considering restructuring our traditional three semester calculus sequence so that the calculus requirement for our majors is satisfied in two semesters.
Does your department ...
8
votes
1answer
182 views
Publishing mathematics
How or where does one express work they've done to others?
What does it mean formally to 'publish' mathematical work you've done?
How do you know if your work is any good?
Or if someone has already ...
7
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11answers
525 views
Good examples for mathemathical problems/statements that are easely solvable/provable in one theory and hard to solve/prove in another
Let $P$ be a mathematical statement or a mathematical problem. I am looking for a couple of nice examples for $P$ that satisfy the following criteria:
Given two (or more) mathematical points of view ...
7
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5answers
955 views
Common misconceptions about math
YARFMO (Yet another reposting from Mathoverflow) ;-)
The more you know about math the more you find conceptions previously thought correct to be false:
1.) math is not as exact as many believe - in ...
