math topics to review for back-to-school
While it’s becoming my favorite time of year, with Pumpkin Spice Lattes coming back soon and sunny fall days just around the corner, it can also bring tremendous anxiety for students. Right now, most students don’t even know what day of the week it is; they’re savoring the freedom of summer vacation, going to bed at 5:00 AM and waking up at 2:00 PM. It’s a brilliant and unique time.
As we return to our regular routines, it’s normal to feel anxious about the upcoming school year. I’ve written some tips that helped me reduce back-to-school anxiety and ensure you’re ready for Math and Calculus. Read on as we prepare for what feels like a bad word—'September.'
Your Absolute Best Friend: Algebra
So often, I work with students in higher-level math and calculus courses who think they struggle with new subjects like logarithms, exponentials, and graphing. In reality, these students understand the new concepts but struggle to follow the algebra.
Algebra is the language of math. Whether it’s isolating a variable in a physics formula or factoring a trinomial in Math 11 Pre-Calculus, algebra rules are number one.
2. Factoring Polynomials (Math 11 Pre-Calculus, Math 12 Pre-Calculus, and Calculus 12)
Factoring trinomials and polynomials properly begins in Foundations of Mathematics and Pre-Calculus 10 (maybe even in Grade 9 if you’re advanced). Just like learning multiplication, this topic never goes away once you encounter it—it’s like entering the matrix.
Factoring polynomials is an incredibly broad and important skill. This would be the next thing I review before going back to school next week.
3. graphing
When I was in high school, I was one year ahead in math (humble brag, sorry). I told my friends that once graphing starts in Math 10, it never goes away. They didn’t believe me at the time, but it’s true. Once you start graphing, if you ever learn a subject that doesn’t involve graphs, the next section will have one. You don’t want to be spending time playing catch-up on this important chapter.
4. Order of Operations (BEDMAS / BEMDAS / PEDMAS / PEMDAS—why have one acronym when you can have four?)
The order of operations is something everyone can practice. This is another topic where it’s easy to make a mistake when you’re rushing. Speed is the last thing to come with any skill, especially in math. I recommend practicing the order of operations so we’re not making any small mistakes at school—we want to keep those part marks!
If you want to start the school year off right, we’ve written great blog posts on math study tips, university applications, what topics to review before taking calculus, and much more, so be sure to check them out. Whether you’re a student studying math, calculus, biology, chemistry, physics, English, or French, we have great tutors for you! If you have any questions about our services, check out our web pages for in-person tutoring, online tutoring, or all our services. If you have any thoughts on this blog, I’d love to hear them! You can reach me at info@largetutoring.com or via our contact page. Don’t forget to check out our list of tutors too!
Have fun this September!
