Textbook errors

Algebra Word Problems: Learning from Mistakes

A recent series of questions from an insightful high school student about word problems, provided a number of opportunities to discuss how to find and correct your mistakes – or the book’s! We’ll look at five.

A Finite Series Workout

(A new question of the week) A question from the end of August led a student and a Math Doctor to an extra challenge, by way of an apparent typo in the problem. We particularly enjoy working with students who are willing to take on extra work in order to learn more than they need …

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A Bad System of Nonlinear Equations

(A new question of the week) Sometimes a problem that looks complicated turns out to have a simple answer. And sometimes that simple answer turns out to be too simple for its own good. Today’s problem is an example of this.