Life is an arena of problems. L.A Averill has said,"The only worthwhile life is a life which contains its problems; to live without any longings and ambitions is to live only half way". A human child has to meet and solve problems as he grows-problems which present in his physical surroundings, his intellectual associations and in his social contacts. These problems grow in number and complexity as he or she grows older and older. His success in life is in large measuredetermined by the individual's capasity and competence to solve them.

Mathematics is a subject of problems.Stydying mathematics is different from studying other subjects. Math is learned by doing problems. Efficiency and ability in solving problems is a guarantee for success in learning this subject.

1. The first and most important step in solving a problem is to understand the problem.Read the problem clearly and grasp its meaning. Superficial or careless reading does not pay in mathematics. Be sure that you understand clearly what is given and what you are expected to find or prove. Keep these things in mind throughout your work.
2. Take sufficient time to think.
3. Plan thoroughly before you start.I dentify which skills and techniques you have learned can be applied to solve the problem at hand.

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On the surface, math may seem less glamorous than biology or engineering, but the field, which deals with abstract concepts and equations, is integral to all other scientific fields.

As the United States faces a critical shortage of American scientists, the University of Wisconsin-Madison will lead an effort to attract more students to mathematics, ultimately providing the sciences with a stronger, smarter workforce.

I have found a site that offers many free math ebooks. Most of them are in PDF format. If you don't have a PDF reader download it here.
Here is the link to free Online Mathematics Textbooks.

More women are pursuing higher education and doctoral degrees than ever before, but women still are rare in the math-oriented professions. Yet, researchers say, girls perform just as well as boys on achievement tests and tend to earn better grades in math than do boys during the earlier school years.

A new study in the journal Developmental Psychology indicates that how girls and boys approach their schooling underlies the differences in math grades. It also suggests that although the girls' approach to school may give them an edge in the grades they earn in math, it may not buy them much when it comes to math scores on achievement tests because girls are not more confident than the boys about their skills in math.

The study examined 518 boys and girls as they went through fifth and seventh grades in three primarily white, middle- to upper-class school districts in Illinois. Using children's reports, researchers looked at how the children approached their schoolwork, including their goals and in-class behavior. The children also reported on how confident they were about their ability to do well in math. Researchers also reviewed the young students' grades and achievement test scores in math.

In the classroom, girls outperformed boys at both time points of the study, with the girls' grades rising over time, while the boys' grades remained the same, said Eva Pomerantz, a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The study was part of the doctoral work done by Gwen A. Kenney-Benson, who now is at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania.

Concerns with outperforming others and engaging in disruptive behaviors while in the classroom, both of which characterized boys more than girls, were tied to lower grades in math by the researchers.

"This was due in large part to the fact that such competitive and disruptive leanings were associated with decrements in learning strategies such as preparing for tests, seeking help, and persisting even when things were challenging that led to higher grades," Pomerantz said.

Girls consistently used these learning strategies more than the boys did, the researchers found. It appears that, in contrast to boys, girls are more concerned with learning than with outperforming their classmates. They also engaged in less disruptive classroom behavior. As a consequence, girls used more focused learning strategies, giving them an edge over boys in terms of grades, Pomerantz said.

The researchers noted that the differences in grades between girls and boys disappeared once children's concerns with learning versus outperforming others, engagement in disruptive behavior and learning strategies were taken into account.

At achievement test time, however, girls' lost their advantage in math; their scores were the same as those of boys. After examining various factors, what stood out, Pomerantz said, was children's confidence in their ability to do well in math.

In the classroom, she said, children may be less likely to feel that they will be judged based on their gender, believing instead that their own behavior, knowledge and effort will determine their grades. Thus, she added, the girls' approach to schoolwork will pay off in the classroom, while the boys' approach will not. It also could be, the researchers theorized, that higher grades given to the girls reflect rewards from their teachers for better behavior.

During achievement tests, the researchers suggest, the environment changes. Removed for girls is the familiarity of the classroom, which is replaced with uncertainty and increased stress. In such a situation, confidence mattered more than in the classroom.

Because confidence was found to be a predictor of scores on math achievement tests, Pomerantz said, girls may not have kept the edge they had while in the classroom because confidence levels did not differ along gender lines.

It may be that while many girls are going on into higher education, they continue to steer away from "stereotypically masculine fields, such as science and engineering" because the "more competitive environment of these fields is not a good fit with how girls approach school," the researchers wrote.

"Consequently, even if the topic is of interest," Pomerantz said, "the girls' more learning-oriented approach may not match the work environment, where the atmosphere in these fields may provide a better fit to boys' more competitive approach."

Courtesy: Science News

What is the peculiarity of 1729?

This number is known in the name of the famous mathematician Ramanujan.




Answer

This is the one and only one number which can be written as the sum of the cubes of two numbers in two different ways.

10^3 + 9^3 =1729
12^3 + 1^3 = 1729

Mathematics is a difficult subject for many students. Children struggle with math because they don't enjoy it or they don't see how it is relevant to their future.

As a parent, you should encourage your student to spend time learning mathematics and pointing out how you use math in your everyday life - at home or at work. Even though math is difficult and requires a good deal of study time, parents should maintain a high level of expectations for their children to ensure success. Studies have shown that children perform better in subjects that interest them.

Generally I have seen many people who proudly say "I hate math". When hearing this young children also think it is some thing great that if they do bad in maths.So unknowingly they began to hate math.So, don't tell your child "math is hard" because they will believe you.Inspire confidence in them.

Be practical. Find something your child likes and relate it to math.

When doing problems,take it step-by-step. Do not get overwhelmed by the entire problem at once; break it down into small manageable pieces.

Encourage your child to be creative when problem solving. There is always more than one way to skin a cat and math isn't that different. Let your child explore alternative viewpoints - the teacher's way is not the only way.

Students who study hard all week and party on the weekends may lose a lot what they learned. Sleep deprivation on critical nights after learning may cause a 30% loss. Carlyle Smith, a professor of psychology at Trent University in Peter borough, Ontario researched the effect of sleep deprivation on learning by controlling the sleep of students the night they were taught a complex logic game and a list of paired words.

Smith found that when students were tested on paired words, a week later there was no learning deficit among the students deprived of sleep, but when tested on complex logic game, the students deprived of sleep showed a 30%
learning deficit when compared to the group of students not deprived of sleep.
Sleep deprivation on the 3rd night after learning had the same results showing a deficit of about 30% for the complex logic game. Sleep deprivation the 2nd night after learning seemed to have no effect.

This means that if you party all night on Friday after a rough week in the school you will lose 30% of the learning you acquired on Wednesday and Friday. If you lose sleep on Saturday night then Thursday's learning is also affected.
Ref: Mathematics today

The secret of Einstein's immense intellect may finally have been uncovered. One area of his brain was significantly different from most people's.

Albert Einstein died in 1955, at the age of 76. His brain was then removed and preserved for scientific research. Scientists at McMaster University, Canada compared the size and shape of Einstein's brain with those of 35 men and 56 women with average intelligence.

In general, Einstein's brain was the same as all the others except one particular area-the region responsible for mathematical thought and the ability to think in terms of space and movement.

Extensive development of this region meant that his brain was 15% wider than the other brains studied.

Uniquely Einstein's brain also lacked a groove that normally runs through this area. The researchers suggest that its absence may have allowed the neurons to communicate much more easily.

This unusual brain anatomy may explain why Einstein thought the way he did. Einstein allowed his brain to be studied after his death.

Ref: Mathematics today

Yesterday one friend reviewed my site and remarked that I am doing math homework for children and in his opinion it is not fair. To some extent he is correct because it can lead to undesirable character traits if it promotes cheating by just copying. But please note that I do not, "do math homework" for "them". I explain concepts, show them how to set up a problem, give hints, and try to get them started. There are children who can not do all the homework for themselves because it is not always been given by the individuals capacity. But if we provide some good "help" they may be able to do it. I may give the answers, so that they can check their work.

I am not providing voluntary help.. Nobody will simply throw their money if they really don't want this service. So nobody will seek the help without even try to do it. I think children who really need the help only write to me. And I hope, students, you use this service in a good manner only, if not I request you to don't misuse my service.

Good luck and happy learning.

• Avoid unnecessary distractions and interruptions.
• Cultivate concentration.
• Keep the mind alert.
• Develop self-confidence.
• Practice critical thinking.
• Proceed systematically and thoroughly.
• Analyze difficulties.
• Learn accurately the fundamentals.
• Clarify thought by writing.
• Verify results.

If you follow the above tips, it will surely lead to success.

For the things of this world cannot be made known without a knowledge of mathematics ********Roger Bacon

Mathematics is an independent world created out of pure intelligence
******* Wordsworth

If I feel unhappy, I do mathematics to become happy. If I am happy I do mathematics to keep me happy
******* Alfred Renyi

Geometry existed before creation
******* Plato

Life is good only for two things: discovering mathematics and teaching mathematics
******* Simon Poisson

God is a child; and when he began to play, he cultivated mathematics. It is the most godly of man’s games
******* V.Erath

Imagination is more important than knowledge
******** Albert Einstein

Perfect numbers like perfect men are very rare
******** Descartes

All great theorems were discovered after midnight
******* Adrian Mathesis

Some mathematicians I believe, has said that true pleasure lies in the discovery of truth, but in the search for it
******** Tolstoy

The essence of mathematics is in its freedom
******** George cantor

The greatest unsolved problem in mathematics is why some people are better at it than others
******* Adrian Mathesis

The essence of mathematics is not to make simple things complicated, but to make complicated things simple
******** S.Gudder

God wrote the universe in the language of mathematics
******** Galileo

A problem well stated is half solved
******* John Dewey

Calculators can only calculate. They can not do mathematics
********John A.Van de Walle

We use only 10% of our brains…Imagine how smart we would be if we used the other 90% ********Ellen DeGeneres

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former
******** Albert Einstein

Homework has been a part of students' life from the beginning of formal school.However, the practice has sometimes been accepted and other times rejected, both by educators and parents. This has happened because homework can have both positive and negative effects on children's learning and attitudes towards school. Some educationists of the view that homework should not be given to students. Giving homework means creating in the child school mania in the home also. Others are of the view that five hours in the school is in sufficient and it must be supplemented by some work at home. It is not the homework that is objectionable, but its nature and amount which invites criticism.But the importance and need of homework cannot be minimized, if it is of a right nature.

It utilizes the leisure time of the children, which otherwise would have been wasted. It may establish the habit of working hard and that too regularly.We know that good assignments, completed successfully, can help children develop wholesome habits and attitudes. Homework can help parents learn about their children's education and communicate both with their children and the schools. And it can encourage a lifelong love of learning.Homework can have many benefits for young children. It can improve remembering and understanding of schoolwork.

Homework can help students develop study skills that will be of value even after they leave school. It can teach them that learning takes place anywhere, not just in the classroom. Homework can benefit children in more general ways as well. It can foster positive character traits such as independence and responsibility. Homework can teach children how to manage time.

Take a look at this...

It appears that many students are struggling with Maths. It is because maths is an abstract science. Every body has a complaint against the teaching of mathematics. It is dull, boring, difficult and useless from the point of view of the leaner. But this is not due to the drawback of any single agency.

CHILD- CENTRIC APPROACH

Teaching has been subject- centric and not child centric is trust on him child should not be subordinated to the subject. He should be given as much as he can assimilate.Child's interests, likes and dislikes, capacities and difficulties and aptitudes should be uppermost in a teacher's mind.