Scott Flansburg, an american dubbed "the human calculator" always tells people that he is "not an athlete, but a mathlete" (Discover Channel-More than Human). When invited to speak on the Oprah Winfrey show, he did a series of warm up exercises before going out on stage much like athletes do before every game and practice. He exercised his mind before the show by adding numbers, multiplying two digit numbers and doing long division in his head. In this Youtube site http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGFi-XswpoI, Scott shows his amazing ability to multiply two digit and three digit numbers unbelievably fast. He starts off with a 3 digit number like 373 and adds 373 to itself consecutively and keeps doing it even when he has reached well into the 6-7 digit numbers. His world record is from adding the same number to itself 37 times in 15 seconds (Guinness Book of world Records). It's astounding. He says that he doesn't count from 1 to 10. Instead he counts from 0 to 9. As he astutely mentions, everything relates back to 9. Take 11 for example. The two digits in 11 are 1 and 1. Add them together and they make 2. 11-2 is 9. Try it for 13. It works as well. He says that counting as if  9 was the highest number instead of 10 makes it so much easier. Take the number 55 for example. The two digits in 55 are 5 and 5. 5+5 = 10. 55-10= 45. 4+5 is 9. He says that if you don't get 9 in the end it means you've messed up. Every number problem relates to 9. It's just another way to check if you're right or not.
This is his website: http://scottflansburg.com/

Tom Zhang focuses on perseverance and a positive attitude. I believe that this is what everyone should focus on in life because if you can obtain these two fantastic characteristics you can solve anything. He mentions that "[he] never gave up." Teachers always talk to us about never giving up, but I feel that it is even more powerful when said from a man who has worked for years on "twin primes." Quite honestly, that sounds very hard to do; to revise and experiment with a math theory. It's like writing a book where for some it can take seven years to complete a short novel. But it all comes down to perseverance. If you want to discover something new, you just have to keep working at it. Throughout the questionnaire, Tom Zhang remains humble and brief. He does not bask in his fame; he has taken it by stride and that it was I like about him. He advocates for pursuing what the individual loves best; what they are passionate about. Because otherwise it is hard to enjoy what you are doing.
What I personally like best about math is algebra. Specifically, word problems with algebraic equations. I liked the set process and steps used to figure out a complicated problem about work/rate/time or the Mixture Problems or the distance problems. Word problems keep showing up, in geometry and standardized tests. After you've completed one of those problems, it's amazing. I always liked how each problem was unique and sometimes funny and told a little story. I enjoyed getting to the answer of the mysterious problem.

I've often heard people say that the most effective angle to park at is a 45 degree angle. To get an idea of this angle, I hold my right or left hand out straight ahead and point my other hand out toward the curb I'm parking next to. So I form a right angle. Then I try to visualize half of the angle formed with my arms. When my front bumper hits the 45 degree angle, I start to straighten the wheels. If you can master this, half of a right angled turn, then you won't be the person who repeatedly readjusts your car for 10 minutes while holding up the traffic on the street. Now that I've started to drive, I need to remember that because I won't always be able to park in a parking spot straight ahead of me.

I also want to practice my percentages with the bill that comes at the end of dinner. My father always tries to leave a tip and so I enjoy being a conversion factor calculator. I would like to help my dad out more, especially when the amount of the bill from dinner comes to a total of a very odd number. For example, the other day our bill amount for 3 people came to $63.4 (or something close to it) and my dad wanted to give a 15% tip. The tip amount came out to about $9.56. The formula is: tip amount = bill total x tip percent. It might have been because it was late, and the restaurant was noisy, but it took me a long and tedious time to figure out the percent tip in dollars. Or maybe those are just my poor excuses.

I would love to become faster at converting percentages and other numbers in my head. Since I'm studying geometry, I would like to be able to visualize angles in my head with precision.

I had forgotten about slope, seeing that we studied it in 8th grade and I am amazed how it has made a resurgence in our 10th grade math class.
Slope is rise/run or in other words; vertical distance/ horizontal distance.
Similarly, grade is used interchangeably with slope. Grade is where 0 is the gravitational level or flat surface and anything higher creates an upward path. Therefore, the higher grade percentage, the steeper the slope. The equation for grade is %grade = 100xrise/run.
Now tangent is equal to the ratio of the vertical side to the horizontal side or opposite side/ adjacent side which is very to the equation for slope. When you try to find the slope of line, you seam to be making a triangle with the part of the line as the hypotenuse. Therefore, the trig function is the tangent of an angle = rise/run.

I like to incorporate slope or grade into my life in two ways:  In a love/hate relationship and as an encouraging idea .

Two years ago, while I was a member of the Durango Ski Team, we had dry land training for an hour on Saturday morning and then ski practice for six hours after that. The dry land training consisted of weights and running. It was hard enough to run in Albuquerque, but when you add more elevation and cold weather to the workout, it's miserable. So while running up the gravel path that runs adjacent to the ski slope, I despised the incline.  However, within the next hour, I was on the ski slope, bombing down the hill and grateful for such a steep slope that allowed for me to gain speed. Similarly, I was glad that the chairlifts ascended almost to the sky, allowing for a greater decline down the hill.

Last year, Mr. Smith asked us during common time (something like) "are you willing to put all your effort into your studies just to end up not doing well? Because if you do put effort and that ends up being the case, at least you know you tried." Every time since then, when I've paused in the middle of studying history to ask myself "why are you doing this?" I try to remember Mr. Smith's words. Sometimes, I'm just going to have to trek it up that steep hill, only to be disappointed. But in the end, its knowing that you made it up the slope and that you're that much closer to the top of the mountain. In my mind, the slope keeps growing with more effort you put in, because developing the correct study habits and doing the work gets you father than just skimming along the flat, 0 grade, surface.

Technology: It's natural to do so

 

 

If you selected any of the multitudes of math problems in the Geometry textbook and typed it in the Google entry box online, you could instantly receive the answer to the problem.  Although you may appear intelligent as you present the answer to the challenging problem in class, you know that your own mind did not figure it out. It only makes it harder in the long run. However, you are so concerned with the present and all the things you have to finish that the “long run” is not considered.

I believe that Americans in particular are always rushing. Take New York City for example. It’s dubbed the “city that never sleeps.” Or how about the strip mall after strip mall that lines the streets of Albuquerque, providing Americans the easy access to fast food of which they gobble down, putting an end to the family dinners and slower eating habits. And what about the colleges, especially the Ivy Leagues, which make it clear  to all of the aspiring young students hoping for an acceptance letter that they have no chance of getting in unless they play an instrument, run a club, save lives, and excel in sports while maintain a high G.P.A. We are taught early on to do as much as possible, often more than we are capable. And so when it comes time to sit down and focus on math problems, we are unable to do so. We can’t focus, we don’t have time, and a pink calculator or a buzzing phone sits right in front of us, calling our names. With growing technology, access to the already solved math problems as well as calculators are fantastic ways to complete homework as quickly as possible.  And as these programs become a part of our daily lives, I find myself typing in 10² + 13 onto the calculator because it’s natural to do so.

The society we live in is dependent on technology so we believe that it is fine to have something else do it for us. We are obsessed with the newest technology that when we see an easier way to finish and move on, we do so. Why waste your time trying to solve the problem when you can type it in and have an app tell you how much money you should tip the waitress? It’s disturbing when you stop to think about how much less we use our brains. Then again, we don’t have much space left in our schedules to think. And whatever happened to the “times table” dinner placemat or the non-digital clock? We can’t even seem to tell time anymore.

 

 

You can accomplish so much with a backyard if you know how to put it to use. All you have to do is think "outside of the box" and apply your knowledge and the help and knowledge of your peers and you will grow. It helps to listen to your friends and be open to their thoughts because together you can accomplish so much. I might think I am limited in my math ability or I might be stuck within the confinements of my garden, but I can use what I have and create a rewarding and pleasant learning environment. Some of us students may be nervous coming into this class because maybe geometry does not come easily. At first, the plants Ms. Mariner cared for did not survive, but she listened to her neighbor and kept trying and in the end success was achieved. We may hit a block in the road; take a terrible test, forget a homework, but if we keep trying and reach out for help only good things will come.

 I enjoy mathematics. You are either right or you are wrong; math is not tendentious. I experience the most fulfillment from math when I complete a problem on my own. I have found that geometry is a bit harder for me than algebra was. Algebra came more naturally and I understood it faster. With geometry, I have to spend more time preparing for tests and I have to complete my homework slower to fully understand it. I look forward to math every year because it is a great way to work my brain.