Counting and Addition (Part Two)

 

This is yet another book whose problems I would do. I would publish them here. This book, New Comprehensive Mathematics by a W. Furlonge, is more obscure than the Holmes New Comprehensive Mathematics, but the infomation in this book is more informative and explanatory. It is too bad that, over the years it has scars to show. I used this book when I did what was called Common Entrance in my home country. It is (probably) 277 pages long ( the back page of this copy is missing). There are Sixty Three Chapters in the book.( The book has so many chapters, because the Chapter length is two pages long). There are a lot of oddities in the book but I am sure, when I do the problems, that you would agree that this book was informative, despite its poor formatting.

In addition, there is an attempt to do some geometry, albeit with sketchy diagrams. If anyone has a copy or can give me future info on the Author or anything on the book, feel free to add comments below.

IT HAS BEEN A WHILE

Wow. It has almost been two years. But I have to write something-anything.

This blog was intended to be a place where I solve mathematics and physics problems, introduce concepts and spill my guts on what I think a nation needs to produce a proper STEM ( Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) Education Culture.

I am still committed to this, but it seems more like I have bit off more than that I could have chewed.

What’s Going On? A word On Knowledge

I haven’t posted anything in a while. I know this.

The project is going to take some time. I still haven’t finished doing the problems from the two books. Other things (like life) have cropped up. Plus, other things in my country, like the semi-controversial Secondary Entrance Assessment ( S.E.A., formerly known as The Common Entrance Examination) have started and the  Caribbean Secondary Entrance Certificate (C.S.E.C.) given, espiecally in the English Caribbean, called the C.X.C (Caribbean Examination Council: yes: the ” X” in the acronym is a bit strange ).

I have a long-winded opinion on both of these exams but I need time to collect my thoughts on these two exams and on exams in general and on Education Culture in Trinidad and Tobago in General.

What passes for discussions about knowledge in Trinidad is trivia about the country, political knowledge and things that would bring shame and ridicule to those who do not know as exemplified bythis site.

In many respects this site is the opposite of this. It doesn’t try to make fun of what you do not know but encourages you to find out on HOW to know. This is called by the fancy Word: Epistemology. It simply asks the question: “How do you know what you know?” Through going through select textbooks and doing the problems along with commentary like this. I hope I would be able to answer these questions. It is all in an effort to teach people how to teach themselves with using textbooks critically.

Purpose.

What is the purpose of this site?

The first and foremost purpose is to encourage people to practice mathematics.

This site has different aims than that of Sal Khan’s wonderful site or many useful YouTube Sites like this one or extremely useful but didactic sites like this Nobel Theoretical Physicists’ site.I especially like to view Grant Sanderson’s exceptional YouTube Site. or Cut The Knot., which is one of the pioneers and stalwarts of the Internet (you can tell because the format is an original website and not one which uses social media formatting.
Then there isWikipedia’s large treasure trove Of Mathematics lists, which is educational and comphrehensive in itself.
There are others.This website was inspired by them but has a different take. This website would be a means for students to drill themseves in the techniques of answering questions in certain selected Mathematics and Physics textbooks. It would not be a site to explain concepts as such. Drilling and using problem-solving techniques which build on one another would be the main focus of this WordPress site.
Why? I would give three reasons for now:
(1) To concretely show how Mathematics and Physics problem solving techniques are bulit upon one another and logically lead from one another.
(2) To create a link between the short-term and long-term habits in which problems are solved in the real world
(3) to give people on the whole the confidence that they too can understand these seemingly difficult concepts and practices ALL Mathematics and Physics concepts.

The Secret.

What is “the secret”? to Mathematics and Physics Mastery?

Overlearning and exposure to as many different instances of solving problems. That is it.

Overlearning is the repetitious practice of something to the point of not being conscious of the details learned through the steps of the said practice. This is the reason why there are so many problems in a typical Math or Science textbook.

However, even in myself, I have found that people usually do not attempt to do these problems for one reason:  doing them is NOT pleasureable. It  usually becomes stressful after doing five problems or tasks over and over.

Funnily enough, it is at this point when the task becomes mastered and cemeted in the brain for eeasy retrieval. Task repetition is  the secret.

Now eventhough this is the way to understand and Master Mathematics and Physics, it is not the way to do Mathematics and Physics. Reasoning is the other part, but we have to build our problem solving abilities to recognise the patterns needed to complement our reasoning.

Counting and Addition (Part One).

From the very beginning.
Counting and addition is the very beginning of it.
I will start by giving a boring History lesson though.
I will feature two books from which I will do the problems. I hope you would do some of them too.
I will show you several techniques of  addition mathematics involving addition.

Sometime in the 1950s a Book by the name of Holmes New Comprehensive Arithmetic (See the picure above?) came into being. It was one of the books that trinidadian primary-school students used to learn Mathematics Fundamentals.

It was 126 pages long and had 144 exercises all catered towards learning the Fundamental Mathematic Operations and Consumer Aritmetic, In MY ( My Mother’s) copy, some of the pages are missing. If anyone has a copy, please feel free to upload it or tell me where I can get another copy like it.

There are five book versions, which, I presume progresses in dufficulty accoring to primary school class level. There is a lot I do not know about this book. However that wouldn’t prevent me from doing what I have to do with it; which is: doing the problems.

The General Idea

The whole general Idea of this site is to popularize Math and Physics. It is to show and encourage interested people. It is also to convince people that Math and Physics challenges can be overcome wth some effort. It is also to make concepts in each field a bit easy. Studying tips, learning ideas and practices are also going to be addressed.

I also get to talk a little about some Music as I am currently pursuing a  Bachelors Of Music Degree at the College Of Science Technology And Applied Arts Of Trinidad and Tobago (C.O.S.T.A.A.T.T.).

The basic format is me going to the Whiteboard and drawing and writing stuff. Later on, some experiments can be done
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