Pi

Typing "pi" onto the Google search box leads to this simplified value of Pi = 3.14159265.

In high school we used 3.1416, but your school may be different. Find out more about pi by going to these sites:

• Wikipedia: Pi
• The Math Forum at Drexel: About Pi
• The University of Utah: Pi to 10,000 digits

Quadratic equations

A polynomial equation to the second degree. As it happens, I don't encounter this anymore in my line of work, but many high school students have to deal with this on a daily basis. Hope these links help...

• Quadratic Equation on Wikipedia
• Youtube: Solving Quadratic Equations (in under 4 minutes!)
• Purplemath: The Quadratic Formula Explained
• Purplemath: Solving Quadratic Equations by Factoring
  

More Homework Help: Skoool.ph

Intel and the Department of Education have launched www.skoool.ph, a site that provides interactive math and science lessons for students and teachers.

You can browse it according to year level or subject. It requires that you have Javascript installed, which shouldn't be a problem if you watch Youtube on that computer anyway.

HOWEVER, some feedback for the people behind skoool.ph, based on my "surface scan" of the site:

1. Please get rid of the "concept paper" language! And with bad grammar too. For example:

The learner shall developed the following competencies:

The site is online now; talk to your audience directly, instead of referring to them in the third person. Right now it looks like a site targeted to your donor rather than the Pinoy student. And do a grammar check!!!

2. The math lesson I tried out was too UK-centric. Is there an effort to localize this? Not to dumb down the content, but only because it's not generally in a Pinoy high school student's experience to pay "2.50" for a sandwich and eat "bonbons."

Entrance Exam Cram: Basic Algebra

Comprehensive exams, in my humble opinion, are the worst. There's nothing like having to remember stuff you studied (and already passed) years ago to make you worry and generally feel miserable. What I should have done, looking back, was take better notes and study to understand rather than just pass. Then maybe I wouldn't have tanked my math tests in college entrance exam season so badly.

I got into a good university eventually, but had to take remedial math. That meant I wasted a perfectly good summer going to school for just one math class. Ah, but I learned my lesson.

If any of you fear going through the same thing, check out these links:

• Math for Morons Like Us: Pre-Algebra Basic Equations - Includes quizzes so you can practice
• Intmath.com: Basic Algebra - Read further to solve verbal problems as well
• AlgeBasics - Multimedia tutorials, from basic algebra to quadratic equations. Best if you have audio!

Sending you positive thoughts for your entrance exam season... you can do it!

College entrance exam review

By now, most Philippine high school students would be on summer vacation. Some of them are coming back in a few weeks for summer school, incoming seniors probably for college entrance exam review in their own schools or tutorial centers.

Even before they start cramming stuff in your brains, you can prepare at your own pace by checking out online reviewers. You can test yourself through the ACT Test Practice Questions page (scroll to the bottom of the page for the links to test questions) -- at least in math, English, and some reading comprehension. These were developed for US students, but at least you can figure out from here what topics give you trouble, and attack them once you start your review.

Trigonometry for the unwilling

Despite being slightly math-phobic, trigonometry made sense to me. I just kept imagining a ladder leaning against a wall, and I'd do all right. Trigonometry was concrete. And it should be easier to digest for you students -- it's taught in fourth year high school, right around the time when you're thinking of what college course to apply to, and what to do for the rest of your life. Especially you people with engineering-related aspirations... you should embrace this subject and not snooze through it.

• David E. Joyce's short course in trigonometry on the Clark University site
• Trigonometry tutorial on Thinkquest's Math for Morons Like Us site
• Basic Trigonometry on OnlineMathLearning.com

Searching for "basic trigonometry" on Youtube will also lead you to a bunch of interesting videos. Go for that if you have a good Internet connection.

Calculating percentages

The Tutors4You site has a quick tutorial on calculating percentages. It describes how percentages and fractions are related. If you're OK with fractions, then you'll be OK with percentages.

This would be great to master because you actually will encounter percentages a lot in regular life. Calculating discounts, making sure you don't get surprised when your restaurant bill comes with 12% VAT and 10% service charge, paying for your credit card with a 3.5% interest rate...

Geometry tutorial at library.thinkquest.org

Geometry is one of those subjects that you can't be lazy about at the beginning of the school year. I know -- I sort of slacked off in the first few weeks of geometry, and as a result I had trouble with it the whole year because everything depended on my understanding of the basic concepts, proofs, theorems.

The Geometry tutorial at library.thinkquest.org can help you catch up on those basics, in case you started off like I did. The lessons are short, mostly illustrated, and there are practice tests with answers to help you.