Feeling trapped by a tricky math problem? There are times when the solution to a math problem is elusive. Sometimes access to the problem's answer can avoid frustration and help learn how to solve the problem. With the answer to a math problem in hand, it is often possible to work backwards in order to figure out how the problem is solved.
It is always best to first try to solve the math problem on your own. Simply having an answer to a math problem without attempting to understand how the answer is arrived at is detrimental to your ability to move forward in a math class.
Search the archives at a math help website. Educational websites usually maintain archives of previously posted questions and answers. Your exact math problem may have already been solved at one of these sites, and if not, you may be able to find a problem that is similar enough that it will help you understand the steps to solving your problem.
Check the forums at math help websites. People often post questions on forums to get answers to math problems or advice on how to solve them. Just like question and answer archives, your problem may have already been answered on a math forum. A benefit of forums is that they usually have on-going dialogues with posts from many different people and sometimes the way one person explains an answer is clearer than another.
Enter your math problem into a problem-solving program at a math website. These programs are capable of solving basic math, algebra, trigonometry, calculus and statistics problems. Mathway, Basic-Mathematics.com and Free Math Help are a few of the sites that have problem-solving programs to answer your math problems.
Ask an expert at a math tutorial website to solve your math problem and provide you with an answer. Many math websites have experts who are available to answer questions for free. Ask Dr. Math and Ask MathNerds are two resources that have volunteers with expertise in various fields of math.
Warnings
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Warnings
- It is always best to first try to solve the math problem on your own. Simply having an answer to a math problem without attempting to understand how the answer is arrived at is detrimental to your ability to move forward in a math class.
About the Author
Laura Payne has been freelance writing for several online publications in her free time since 2006. She holds a Master of Arts in linguistics from Wayne State University and a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Oakland University. Payne teaches linguistics classes at both universities on an adjunct basis.
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