The discussion focuses on strategies for excelling in the Math Counts competition, which targets students in grades 6-8 and emphasizes word problems. Key advice includes reading problems multiple times to gain a comprehensive understanding, translating text into mathematical information, and practicing problems in various ways to identify the simplest solutions. The importance of unit awareness and separating knowns from unknowns is also highlighted as essential for effective problem-solving.
PREREQUISITESThis discussion is beneficial for middle school students preparing for Math Counts, educators teaching math problem-solving strategies, and anyone interested in improving their mathematical reasoning skills.
Thank you so much, I have read the articles and they are very insightful!fresh_42 said:If anything helps then
https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/10-math-tips-save-time-avoid-mistakes/
or
https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/how-most-proofs-are-structured-and-how-to-write-them/
might help.
I always told my students:
- read it once to get an overview
- read it twice to translate the text into information:
"three men were building a log cabin in 5 weeks" translates to "##3\, m \text{ in } 5\, w##, probably reverse proportional, i.e. ##3\cdot 5 =15 \,[mw]##" where ##mw## are menweeks. Do not forget the units!- read it a third time to check your translation and elaborate on the question, i.e. separate unknowns and known parameters
Thank you, I will implement this when I am studying!Frabjous said:Do practice problems, but solve them multiple ways with the goal of finding simplest way.