am i just plain stupid?

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sportsstar469

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ok so i am 19 years old, 20 in october, and i am in college. i have around 30 credits so i guess iam a sophomore. anyway i chose to be a science major because i want to be a doctor. the thing is i am horrible at math. i couldn't pass algebra in highschool, and graduated by taking remedial courses. upon entering college ihad to take a refresher of algebra last semester called elementary algebra. it was like slopes quadratics, rational equations etc. so anyway i barely got an A in that class. ii just started my intermediate algebra class today, and it was the first day. we reviewed a lot of the REAL easy stuff, that was even pre req for elemntary alg. like slopes and functions etc. well i keep getting my homework qurestions wrong and iam so confused on this stuff.
i need to pass this math in order to get any degree this is basic highschool math, and if i choose to keep my science degree i need to go up to calc 2. without this math course i cant take my science courses.

should i drop out of school? id go to the math center for help, but idiot understand a whole list of problems and l;ast time i went back in elementary algebra they got upset with me for asking so many questions.
i have a 4.0 GPA right now but that is only because i took biology courses, English courses, sociology courses and history and Spanish courses which are more memorization than logic.
i have a photographic memory, but im to stupid for alg at 20 years old!
don't know if i was clear or not but last semester i passed elementary algebra with an A. elementary algebra is basically algebra 1. the stuff we are learning now that ifor some reason am having difficulty with was material that was even review for the last course in which i received my A. i guess i never really mastered it.
 
What can we tell you :shock:

Well, two remarks:
1: apart from a few formulas, you can't "memorize" mathematics; are you trying that instead of "understanding" ?

2: you seem a bit careless; as example, if you've taken English, why are you not capitalizing the first letter of each
sentence, or using i instead of I ?

Mind you, on the careless writing, I guess that's expected from doctors :wink:

Do you ever use Google to look up something, like "equation of straight line" ?
And "understand" the explanations, not memorize them?

Good luck, buddy.
 
Get a tutor. I've tutored many students who seemed very intelligent, but when it came to math were clueless. Needless to say it helped, at least most of them, a great deal.

I advise you not to put this off. The longer you wait between math classes, the harder it will be to learn.
 
Learning mathematics is very boring - just like learning another language (the grammar, the idioms, the jargons -- exactly the same littany of painful demands). Obviously it will take very hard work and diligence (I am sure you know that). My grandfather used to say -
Code: 
Only way to learn mathematics is, to do hundred problems 

                 - if that does not work, do 500 problems 

                                            - it will work.
 
well today wasnt so bad my teacher was willing to heklp me with waht i didnt understand but i didnt really want to bother her with all of my questions i am not as confused anymore, but i do have a simple question.

this was the problem-......... 3x-1=11(1-x)
i simplified it to..... 3x-1=11-11x
i added 1 to both sides to get......3x=12-11x
i added 11x to both sides to get..15x=12
i divided both sides by 15 to ge3t x=12/15 then i divided that down to .8

i got 12/15 as an answer or .8
the book says 6/7 which is a differrent number than 12/15 lol
 
sportsstar469 said:
well today wasnt so bad my teacher was willing to heklp me with waht i didnt understand but i didnt really want to bother her with all of my questions i am not as confused anymore, but i do have a simple question.

this was the problem-......... 3x-1=11(1-x)
i simplified it to..... 3x-1=11-11x
i added 1 to both sides to get......3x=12-11x
i added 11x to both sides to get..15x=12
i divided both sides by 15 to ge3t x=12/15 then i divided that down to .8

i got 12/15 as an answer or .8
the book says 6/7 which is a differrent number than 12/15 lol
Click to expand...

well, 3+11=14, not 15. I'm sure you knew this. Is it possible that your problem is not algebra, nor arithmetic, but carelessness? Please don't take this the wrong way. I don't mean to insult - even the best mathematicians make careless mistakes, and often. The key is to spot them and fix them before the work becomes public or gets used.

If this is indeed your problem, you would need to develop a habit of going over each problem you solve with a "fresh eye" - that is, read it again as if you've never seen it before, and question each step. Spot mistakes, and correect them.

Maybe also, do each problem more slowly, and in more detail, in the first place. Don't rush. I once helped a 'D' math student score a 'B' with this piece of advice alone.
 
DrMike said:
sportsstar469 said:
well today wasnt so bad my teacher was willing to heklp me with waht i didnt understand but i didnt really want to bother her with all of my questions i am not as confused anymore, but i do have a simple question.

this was the problem-......... 3x-1=11(1-x)
i simplified it to..... 3x-1=11-11x
i added 1 to both sides to get......3x=12-11x
i added 11x to both sides to get..15x=12
i divided both sides by 15 to ge3t x=12/15 then i divided that down to .8

i got 12/15 as an answer or .8
the book says 6/7 which is a differrent number than 12/15 lol
Click to expand...

well, 3+11=14, not 15. I'm sure you knew this. Is it possible that your problem is not algebra, nor arithmetic, but carelessness? Please don't take this the wrong way. I don't mean to insult - even the best mathematicians make careless mistakes, and often. The key is to spot them and fix them before the work becomes public or gets used.

If this is indeed your problem, you would need to develop a habit of going over each problem you solve with a "fresh eye" - that is, read it again as if you've never seen it before, and question each step. Spot mistakes, and correect them.

Maybe also, do each problem more slowly, and in more detail, in the first place. Don't rush. I once helped a 'D' math student score a 'B' with this piece of advice alone.
Click to expand...
i am not insulted at all. i was careless in elementary algebra and ive noticed already in two days of intermediate that i am just as careless. i got a problem wrong because ithough -2-2 was 0 when it is obviously -4. i would have never caught that math mistake i did the problem several times amybe im worse off than i though if i cant add 3three plus 11 haha.

thnaks for the help.
 
Have you ever considered the possibility that you might have a touch of dyslexia?
 
ok guys i have another problem that has baffled my wits.

problem- 4.2x-6.2=1-1.1x
added 6.2 to obth sides 4.2x=7.2-1.1x
added 1.1 to both sides
5.3x=7.2
divided by both sides to get.......... 7.2/5.3

the book has 72/53 did they just make a typo. i
 
sportsstar469 said:
ok guys i have another problem that has baffled my wits.

problem- 4.2x-6.2=1-1.1x
added 6.2 to obth sides 4.2x=7.2-1.1x
added 1.1 to both sides
5.3x=7.2
divided by both sides to get.......... 7.2/5.3

the book has 72/53 did they just make a typo. i
Click to expand...

No - both of you have the same answer - and of course both are correct.

If you multiply your answer by (10\10) - that is multiply numerator by 10 and the denominator by 10 - you get books answer.
 
thank you sub kahn. it just is weird to me that theyd give that answer. to the best of my knowledge when solbing equations your not supposed to multiply anything. why wouldnt they just give 7.2/5.3 which is what i believe my fellow classmates would receive as thir answers as well. also isnt it more simplified in the 7.2 form then the 72? maybe im making this more complicated than it is and thats my fault.
 
sportsstar469 said:
thank you sub kahn. it just is weird to me that theyd give that answer. to the best of my knowledge when solbing equations your not supposed to multiply anything. why wouldnt they just give 7.2/5.3 which is what i believe my fellow classmates would receive as thir answers as well. also isnt it more simplified in the 7.2 form then the 72? maybe im making this more complicated than it is and thats my fault.
Click to expand...

When you express your answer as fraction - do not use decimal points (it is just a convention). You could also divide it out and wrote the answer as 1.358490566 or as \(\displaystyle 1\frac{19}{53}\) and would have gotten full credit for answer.
 
o ok thanks a lot, so as long as i divide it out it shouldnt matter im guessing?
what exactly do you mean its a convention
 
oh i misread your post lol. so as long as idivide it out i should be fine. im not good with mixed numbers.
 
sportsstar469 said:
o ok thanks a lot, so as long as i divide it out it shouldnt matter im guessing?
what exactly do you mean its a convention
Click to expand...

An agreement, known as ,...
 
ok guys i have another question

problem- find the equation of a line with x intercept of -3 y intercept of 4
ok so the points are (-3,0) (0,4)
that gives a slope of 4/3
i then get the equation y =4/3x +4
i used point slope to figure it out

the answer sheet has y=3/4x+4

i didnt mess up on the intercepts did i? isnt the x intercept when y equals 0? so x intercept of -3 should be -3,0? same with the y points?
it seems i messed up somehow on the slope!
 
Your answer is correct. The answer sheet is wrong.

\(\displaystyle \frac{4-0}{0-(-3)}=\frac{4}{3}\), as you have.

For the answer sheet to be correct the x intercept would be -16/3 and the y intercept would be 4
 
ok guys i appreciate all of your help this site and this forum have helped me with this class and last class(looked at the free math help site for last semester) i have my quiz tomorrow morning so if you guys dont mind answering a few more questions thatd be great thanks.

first question- ok im supposed to find f(x) in this problem. normally im ok with these problems but this one confuses me. the book has 3 for the answer and 3 for the other answer (2 values)

f(x)=3 x=-8, x=7/3

ok now my next question is this....

i had to express the following problem graphically numerically, and symbollically. for the numerical representation let x=-3,-2,-1,....3 and for the graphical representation let -3<x<3 (less than or equal to symbols didnt know how to put the line under thems.)

im having trouble with the graphical representation for this problem..
multiply the inut x by 5 and then subtract 2 to obtain the input y.
so symbollically- 5x-2=y
numerically -3.....-17 etceteras
OK ITS THE GRAPHICAL IM CONFUSED OF! THE BOOK HAS THIS FOR AN ANSWER!
[-3, 3, 1] by [ -20, 20, 2]

i am assuming the first part is the domain with the scale of 1. but the second doesnt make any sense to me at all! that cant be the range because those numbers arent on m ytable!
 
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