What is the best way to study for a math test? Please be clear and present a comprehensive answer.?

Question

The most complete and comprehensive answer will be promptly awarded best answer as decided by me. This question will not be put to vote, so please be as complete as you can.

this is for a test on trig functions and analytic trig, ie inverse trig functions, trig identities, sum and difference formulas, double angle and half angle formulas, producto to sum and product to sum formulas, and a few trig equations, ie solve tan theta = 1, give a general formula , and list 6 solutions. what is the best way to study for these particular type of concepts, test is tommorow :(

Answer 1

So to summarize this ramble cuz the test is tomorrow.

Know yourself,
Know the teacher,
Know what you REALLY need to study (what will improve your score most)

AND whenever you need to stop CLOSE YOUR EYES FOR 30 seconds and BREATHE. Half a minute of relaxation won't kill your performance, but 30 minutes of anxiety will.

At this point you pretty much know what you know, and what you don't know you don't have much time to learn. Study to improve your performance, not to learn the material. (BUT you still will need to learn it later.) Hone your performance to be the best it can knowing what you already know.

Not what you can already nail, not the hopeless stuff,
but the stuff you can actually improve your performance on.The way I studied trig was to try to remember the simplest form of the identities and work from that. (I am leaving the arguments out sometimes for clarity)

Like sin^2+ cos^2=1.

The other identities relating two squares can be gotten by algebra.

Then I would try to eliminate redundancy.

I wouldn't memorize the double angle formula, because I could get it from the sum of two angles formula ( or maybe only the difference formula). This SOUNDS like the opposite of what I just said, but it isn't. The sum of two angles is the simplest formula that will work. Of course you want to memorize the most general form in this case, so if the minus signs "fall out," that isn't the right one to know.

Then I would study my previous tests, to see how my teacher does things. Does he give a lot of multiple choice problems, true- false, are the problems like those from the homework? etc.

Just as important, I would drill on my strategies to transform my identities, as I described above.

I would go back to my homework, and see what questions did I miss and why? For example, I have trouble with dropping minus signs, so I know that I will need to be especially careful on the exam.

I would also plan strategies on how to check my answers. Can I plug my answer into the original problem easily? I want checks that are quick and easy, otherwise it kind of defeats the purpose. If I have no quick check, I may rework the entire problem once I've completed the test, time allowing.

I also think of my strengths and weaknesses. If I have a few things that I just don't get, I will not waste my time on them, but focus on the stuff I "sort of" get, and nail it.
THE NIGHT BEFORE

Try to sleep as usual, if you really feel you need the study time more than sleep, try to wake up early tomorrow instead.

Take breaks in your studying, walk around for 5 minutes, get some water, let the stuff settle into your subconscious

THE EXAM

If there is a critical formula that is important, and I am afraid of it slipping away, I write that formula down as soon as I get my paper. First I look quickly at the ENTIRE exam.
How many questions, how much time do I have (You DO wear a watch for tests, right?)

I find the questions that I think I can NAIL. Get these done first. Also, even if I think I can nail something, but it will take a while, I skip it in favor of the quickie obvious problems.

If I run into difficulty at any time, I ask the teacher, or leave the question on hold until later. Teachers frequently make typos (They really ARE human, even if they do not seem so.), and if they toss out the problem, that does not give you back the time that you wasted on the problem. The instructor may have left out a key piece of information.

Set a time limit per question, don't be strict about it, just try to know how you are doing time-wise.

If a problem type exam, write down something for every problem. Don't write nonsense. A teacher knows how to solve the problem already, so you won't fool them. But if you know some piece that applies, write it down. You may get partial credit, and you can't if you left it blank. If I couldn't remember a formula I would write at least the name of it.

If you are stuck, GO ON to something ELSE. You may have misread the question, and are trying to do something that wasn't asked. When you come back later, read the question with a clear mind.

ALWAYS, read the question. Read the entire question. REREAD the question. I often make a table listing what I know, writing things algebraically.
Think of what the answer would look like. Is it a number? an equation, an expression? Keeping the destination in mind lets you know what progress you are making, and may give you clues on what you need to get there.

Try different approaches. Work backwards, trial and error, unless a teacher tells you specifically how to solve a problem.

If using a calculator (I am a fossil). I would write down my equation entirely first. That way, if I made an error, the teacher can give me partial credit for knowing the formula.

Does my answer make sense? If the answer is sine of an angle, than the number two is wrong, always!

I realize that this seems pretty scatter-shot, but so am I. and I have a BA in math. Math is not as "linear" as many people think.

ALWAYS REMEMBER, no matter how hard the test seems, that you are usually being graded compared to your fellow students. So relax, do well relative to them. Most instructors are reasonable, and if they ask a bad question, they will discard it, or retest the entire class.

So to summarize this ramble.
Know yourself,
Know the teacher,
Know what you REALLY need to study.
Not what you can already nail, not the hopeless stuff,
but the stuff you can actually improve your performance on.

Answer 2

It will depend the type of test you are talking about. I am presuming that it is a final. In which case lay out all the topics that you need to review in an organizer. List what type (ie: formulas) each thing is, and then next to it how long you feel it will take to learn. Lets assume you have 15 topics that you would like to review for 1 hour each. Assume you will study two hours a day. Make a planner, and promise yourself that you will stick to it. It is important that you have all the material for the following place layed out before you leave.
Surround yourself in a place where you will not be interupted. First reread all of your notes. I find it helpful to recopy them in different words to another sheet of paper. Then look for sample or cumulitive review problems. Theses can generally be found in any book, review packet, or online. See if you can correctly answer the problemds without looking at your notes again.
If all of them were right, move on to a new topic, if not go back and figure out where you went wrong (using your notes) and do another few problems untill you are doing 100%)
After the last night were you have reviewed everthing go back and cover the answers to your work. Redo EVERY problem. If they are all right your will most likely get a good grade, if not, see where you went wrong, and relearn that section.

Studying is a tedious process, but if done well, generally leads to a rewarding grade.

Good luck for whatever upcoming tests you have.

Answer 3

The best way to study for a math test is to work as many problems of as many different types as you can. For each topic that's on the test keep working problems until you don't have any doubt about how to proceed. I recommend that you don't move on to a new topic or type of problem until you have gotten at least five right in a row of whichever one you are working on.

Don't stress about memorizing formulas. If you understand a formula and use it properly many times as you are studying, you will find that you have it memorized. Many math formulas look like alphabet soup. It's easy to get them wrong if you just try to memorize them without using them.

Reading over your notes has limited usefulness. Many students have the experience of looking over an example and saying to themselves, "oh, I remember how to do that." Then when they get to the test, they find that they don't actually remember all the details even though they understood the problem conceptually.

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Those trig formulas are not as complicated as they seem at first. They are also all related. For example, if you just memorize the most basic pythagorean identity (sin^2(x) + cos^2(x) = 1) you can get the other ones by dividing every term by cos^2(x) or by sin^2(x). Also you don't need to memorize the double angle formulas if you know the angle addition formulas because if you have to find the sin(2x), you can do it by finding sin(x + x).

I find that the most useful thing in studying and understanding trigonometry is a thorough conceptual understanding of how the trig functions are related to the unit circle.

Answer 4

First of all, are you already comfortable with math or are you not?

Second of all, have you been following what has been going on in class?

Third of all, "Are you going to start studying for you math test today?."

Well, if you are going to start today, I would suggest, group/combined studying if you do well with combined studying. Otherwise, go through the examples that have been done in class. And make sure you understand everything. Make sure you know "how you got the answer". If you think you have enough time, work out everything that youv'e done in class, and if you don't think you have enough time then try to work out a few examples under each topic until you feel comfortable with them. Try solving them a couple of times without looking at the answer.

And make sure you don't just understand the concepts but have "a command" over them.

Eat well and sleep well.

Answer 5

What works for me is to first reread my notes. Then I copy them over since it works best for me to actually redo the examples. Then I go to the review section of each chapter and do every odd problem there is (as the odd problems have the answers in the back of the book). After checking the answers I go through my homework and find those problems that gave me the most trouble and go over them again. After that I make flash cards of the trig identities and go over them reading the identities forwards and backwards. Then I get someone to test me on them. After that i'm so tied and have such a headache that I end up just going to sleep.

Answer 6

First write all your formulas on a paper.Then do many exercises using the formulas....in this way you will memorize the formulas and learn to make exercises too....
Some tips for the test:
-if you don't know to resolve a problem go to next...don't loose time;
-try to see what you know and use the formulas which includes all your data or almost all;
-Good Luck;

Answer 7

I recommend you use index cards. Write part of a formula on one side, and the answer on the other. After they're all written, start with about 2 cards and add new cards to your pile as you get to know them. Keep looking at all the cards as you add to the pile, even ones whose content you think you know. Also, get to bed on time tonight. Lack of sleep can greatly harm your ability to do well on tests in math. Good luck!

Answer 8

maths is a subject of logic and logic is polished with practise. so the best way to do math is to practice it. you could do ur math sums by reading their solutions(if u hav them ) or even better solve them. Always go through the solved examples before starting with the lesson/topic that way u get your basics clear before goin ahead with the higher level sums. daily practise ur sums regularly and never leave your doubts for the end(it wil just add to ur problem) Also always be clear with the theory of your respective lesson. this way u wil be confident and comfortable while appearing for ur math exam.

Answer 9

What kind of math are we talking about here? Arithmetic? Ordinary Differential Equations? Try getting old tests or doing your homework.

Answer 10

LOL Happy Valentines Day Bunches!