Math education Definition and 36 Threads

I understand that $$\zeta(s)=\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\frac{1}{n^s}=\frac{1}{1^s}+\frac{1}{2^s}+\frac{1}{3^s}\cdots$$ I understand what an infinite series is. I know n goes on to infinity and that s is the function input. I just don't know how the heck this finds primes? Can someone explain? I have...

hello, I was wondering which book is better for actually genuinely getting better at math (not just learning actual tricks but training your brain as if it were an actual muscle), the art of problem solving textbooks or the openstax math textbooks?

The question is: my students (K9-12) have received the (sadly) usual routine based Math pseudo-education, before me teaching them. The best way to curb the tide is to use Math puzzles, to re-ignite their love of Math, lost in kindergarten. Now, which book would you suggest to fight the battle...

Hello there, I hope this message will find you all very well. I have some experience with online courses, and I have found some "strange" things I want to ask about. - First, why so many of them suggest time that is too short for the course? I will give an example here of a course I have...

I will have to teach a first course in differential equations. What should I cover in this module? For example, in most books they have Laplace Transforms which is fine but I would not use LT to solve differential equations. I want to write a course that it motivates students and has an impact...

Where can I purchase old mathematics textbooks on Advanced level (16-18 year olds) or undergraduate mathematics? I am ideally looking for books from the 1920’s to 1980’s.

I am tutoring a student on 7th grade math via zoom. I am using graphics tablet myself to write down my exposition. My student solves problems on his (paper) notebook and tells me what he wrote/how he thought it out and I re-write it on the screen and make eventual corrections. I have the...

I am currently 21 years old in my 4th of 5 years of physics undergrad (switched into physics). I have massive gaps in the math education I should have gotten from 6th to 12th grade because I was a completely unmotivated student back then. Although I have done well in calculus, diff eqns and...

I recently started volunteer math tutoring in an after school program in a city near me. This is one of the poorest cities in the state, and the students' math preparation is about as bad as you'd expect. The after school program is not part of the school system, it's run by a non-profit. I work...

I'm very curious as to know how a person who pursued a formal, strict and rigorous education in mathematics would fair in comparison with a person who learned applied math by "intuition" (that is without doing any proofs and relying more on the computational part), when confronted with problem...

Background about myself (Can be skipped) I'm a gifted math student in the 11th grade, I studied Differential Calculus 2 years ago and I did pretty well in it, unfortunately I'm not studying math a lot these days, but I've gained a lot of experiences in life that made me more mature than I was 2...

Hi all, I hope everyone is well? I'm James Fitzpatrick-Ellis and I have a 6 yo son that I'm trying to get interested in all things science. It is working so far where he wants to make his own experiments up. So far we have: Made slime - if you add red food colouring during the mixing process it...

So, I am majoring in Electrical engineering, and probably doing a decent amount of Physics and Computer science courses until I can no longer squeeze it into my schedule. In the far future, I definitely plan to work in industry, and hopefully in R&D type engineering work. Will I ever in my...

There's a lot of questions that float around like "I'm an EE major, should I double/minor in math?", "What math classes should I take as a physics major?", etc. After I typed in the title, this already started to show. Maybe you will disagree with some philosophical points I make, but I think...

Hi All, I am looking for the best way to learn math from elementary algebra (just above arithmetic) to calculus. I am looking for the most *comprehensive* way to do this--that is, I want continuity from subject to subject, for instance, a series of textbooks from a single author on Algebra I...

Background: Undergraduate majoring in physics to work in research, hopefully in astrophysics or cosmology. 1.5-2 years behind where I should be academically and (if all goes well) about to start courses relevant to major. My questions are these: 1) How should I study basic mathematics...

Hi, my name is Walter ill try to keep my background brief so as to not bore you with a wall of text, by all means this is NOT a sob story. I never applied myself in school, I did enough to get by as a low B, C student. I uncovered a passion for cars by fixing them myself, I had no money...

I wanting to do some papers at university, however I have long been out of high school and never really don math or science at high school. As an adult I am now keen to pursue some math papers and was wondering what kind of background I need. I have looked through various web pages and they...

Hey all! I have just finished a course in Calc II and have started a course in multivariate calculus. Is this right course I should have taken? Also, what does a typical order for math look like? I am in my last semester of high school; so far my career in math looks like this: MiddleSchool...

This is for a friend, google is literally turning up nothing for us. What would it be like to go to graduate school in math after graduating as a math education major? Would it be difficult? Would there be a lot of catching up to do? Should some time be taken off to study things like...

I tried searching to see if this had been discussed before, but instead I found a lot of people using Wolfram Alpha to help with homework etc. If this has been discussed before can someone link me to the thread? I am unable to find it...

Dear PF, I've been a lurker for about a year now and decided I needed a bit more advice: I'm a freshman physics major getting ready to pick classes for this spring quarter. So far I've taken/taking: Fall: Multivariable Calculus: A Honors Intro Mechanics: A Winter: Vector Calculus...

I was under the impression that with my math background (A-Level aka, AP Calc + AP Stats + the pre-reqs to these courses), I should be able to do fine. After a few recent posts in the "Who wants to be a mathematician..." thread, I was surprised as to how horrible I am. I knew that I had a fair...

I am a second year student of engineering at a Canadian university and am very interested in mathematics and education. I feel like the methods of teaching math in high school and early university (I have no experience with senior university classes) are not only an inefficient use of the...

I came across this article. Really I thought it was a fantastic read and worth sharing. http://www.maa.org/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf

I have taken 3 calculus courses (First one was Diff. Equations, second one was integrals, and the third one was a mix of both), a statistics course and a linear algebra course. I'd headed into engineering, so my "pure" math education is stopping here. Maths interest me a lot and I'd like to...

Hi I am a third year electrical engineering undergraduate, who would also like to engage in higher study of mathematics. I am in awe of mathematics, having done linear algebra and calculus as part of engineering, plus whatever is necessary for elec engineering (Laplace, DE's, Fourier, complex...

Anyone familiar with Singapore Math? http://www.thearticlemonkey.com/2010/07/28/reasons-why-the-singapore-math-coaching-method-desirable-for-children/ Do you know any teacher who is using this teaching method in North America? If so, please share the success stories, and the...

I have a question about grad school prospectus after earning a B.A. in Mathematics (for prospective 5-12 teachers). The B.A. curriculum consists of Calculus I-III (standard three semester sequence), Linear Algebra, College Geometry, Abstract Algebra, Probability and Statistics I-II (two semester...

On average, I would like to know how deeply some of the more mathematically inclined university students have delved into higher mathematics before attending university. I am in the top 5 for marks in my courses, but having talked to others in the top 5 I discovered that they had been doing the...

Hey! Any1 knows anything about Russia's education system or some russians here could explain to me what the hell are they teaching you in school that you guys are simply dominating math/computer science competition, I'm just amazed at the results. My exact question would be: What is the learning...

There are several reactions that one can have upon seeing the text Advanced Calculus by Sternberg and Loomis. (Those unfamiliar with this book can find it online here: http://www.math.harvard.edu/~shlomo/) My reaction was simply to be surprised at the extreme discrepancy between the material...

How is the math education in NYU (undergrad pure and applied)?? I know they have this courant institute but I want to hear first hand opinions about their math program. Also, how tough is it to make it to NYU? Thanks.

I plan to go the path of mathematics in college. I've always been an adept at solving problems and writing proofs. I'm only 17 and doing self-study. I checked out from the university library the second volume of Calculus by Apostol and Principles of Mathematical Analysis by Rudin. These should...

I like your signature, Astronuc. You would be surprised how many people drop out of math because they lose sight of the "why" to math, it's difficult not to. Did anybody record this Dr. Phil episode? http://www.drphil.com/shows/show/767" In it, a young woman's mother mentioned that she...

I am doing a paper on math education in different parts of the world. I was wondering what books you guys use for your math classes (i.e. big textbooks with cool graphics or small textbooks with more material)? Also how is math taught in different schools? Thanks :smile: