I am in an advanced math class, and I probably shouldn't be, but I completely don't understand probability or trigonometry. My teacher is extremely busy all the time, and it doesn't help to be in her shortest class period of the day either. If anyone can give me some tips on how some of this stuff is done, I would be eternally grateful. Plus, I have to take the stupid CRCT next week, so you can tell I'm sort of in a jam here. Please help! Thanks all!
Can you give some example questions that you have trouble doing, so I can see what exactly you need help with? Trig and probability can enclose quite a bit of material, so I'd rather not take the risk of starting to explain it only to realize I've strayed into calculus-level trig by distraction; it'd only make things harder.
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I'm only in the 8th grade. I don't know exactly what the parts are. It's just real basic probability and real basic trigonometry. There's not much detail in it, but I have difficulties understanding it. One example on a worksheet I had for probability was about the probability you have of rolling a 4 and a 2 in that order on a single six-sided dice. How would you figure something like that out? It has something to do with fractions I think, but I'm not sure.
Okay, in that particular case (and others of the same kind) it's just a matter of multiplying the odds of getting each number by each other:
On a six-sided die, you have 1/6 chances of getting a four. You also have 1/6 chances of getting a two. The probability of getting first a four then a two is thus (1/6)*(1/6)=1/36.
Lumi: they stand no chance against the JAG SAFETY BLANKET
So, it's just multiplying fractions? Oh, well I guess that's simple enough. Thanks! (watch me forget that when I take the CRCT) What about trigonometry?
Pretty much, yeah. There are a couple of cases where you might need to add them, but they're not as common. Again, got any examples? Are you only just starting it? In any case, there's one thing that shall always be your best friend when it comes to trig: SOHCAHTOA. In other words, Sine Opposite/Hypotenuse Cosine Adjacent/Hypotenuse Tangent Opposite/Adjacent. Commit it to memory
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Really, we did just start learning it, and our teacher keeps saying we need it for the test and everything. I don't really have any examples on me right now, but I recognize the words sine and hypotenuse. I just don't know what they are. We did something on the Pythagorean theorem too. Again, the concept of it just doesn't click in the mind. But, it's just the basics of it. My teacher said we won't learn it in depth until the 9th or 10th grade. Thanks for the help with probability again!
Pythagorean Theorem recap, just in case: In a right-angle triangle, the sum of the squares of the lengths of the two shortest sides equals the square of the length of the longer side (aka the hypotenuse). The two shorter sides are usually written as a and b, the hypotenuse as c, so you get this:
a^2 + b^2 = c^2
Now, to the trig: Again, you have a right-angle triangle.
triangle.jpg (2.93 KiB) Viewed 630 times
See angle X? Good. [BC] is the side opposite it, [AC] the one adjacent to it. Now, the sine of that angle, sin(x), will be equal to the length of the opposite side from the right-angle divided by that of the hypotenuse, so [BC]/[AB]. For cosine, it's the adjacent over the hypotenuse, so cos(x)=[AC]/[AB]. Tangent is opposite over adjacent, so it's tan(x)=[BC]/[BC].
That good?
Lumi: they stand no chance against the JAG SAFETY BLANKET
I made this desktop for my sister when she was struggling with Trig... maybe it'll help?
If you need any help with math tutoring, PM me. I'm actually a math tutor and I worked with many people on those very subjects.
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Thanks peoples! I think I get the trigonometry stuff a little. (I feel so smart now ) You guys are awesome! That sohcahtoa thing is neat! It'll help me this year and probably in high school too! So, once again, you guys are awesome!
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