Why show your work in math......?

Question

i've always wonderd, why do they keep teaching math by hand(as in you have to show all your work), i hate it when you can do a problem on a calculator in 3 second and the teacher looks at you and says no no no you have to show all your work....and there you go to spend the next 10 minutes doing it on paper its useless, stupid, and infuriating......

Ok...so arugements are:

if you dont learn how to do all that work you wont know how the calcuator came up with the answer
>who cares, you need to know the answer not how you got it

what if somwhere along the calculation there was an error?
>the calculator usually tells you where the error was made...

what if you dont have a calculator?
>Go buy one

what if your calcuator runs out of batteries your stranded in the middle of the desert and you have to do a complex calculation?
> LOL

What if there is a problem that the calculator cant solve and you have do to by hand?
> well its ok if they teach you that by hand

Answer 1

Dummy. The whole point is that they don't want you to do it with a calculator, or copy it from a friend. They want you to actually LEARN how to do the math and remmeber.

Answer 2

My son hates it when I look over his shoulder and say something like "Answer 2 is wrong". He says "So what is the right answer?" My usual reply is "I haven't got that far yet". If you know the methodology, then you know that if dividing by a whole number, the answer gets smaller, not bigger, for example.

Workings allow you to understand how the process works, and are a good way of checking back your method.

"who cares, you need to know the answer not how you got it"
Disagree. How can you know the answer is right? OK 2+2 should not be a problem, but in a new field of study you won't have a feel for what the answer should be.

"the calculator usually tells you where the error was made..."
No it doesn't. It gives an answer. AN answer, not THE answer.

"Go buy one "
Still doesn't tell you why you have gone wrong

"what if your calculator runs out of batteries ...."
OK, with you on this one.

"What if there is a problem that the calculator cant solve and you have do to by hand?"
Hard to think of one, and you could always get a more powerful calculator, but doesn't solve the fundamental problem of understanding, rather than just reproducing.

Answer 3

I love working with calculators too. I study communication Engineering. And althogh in some subjects we are allowed to answer with calculators. I have a programable TI-89 so you can imagine how easy such a thing could be. I rather answer any question with my hand manually first and then with the calculator. I answer it manually for a reason that is not to have my brain so rusty! and then the calculator so that when I am in an exam I am used to it so I can go on fast on the buttons and voila!

I hate doing math by hand. But I love the brain challenge and the feeling that I have when I get out of a problem victorious!

Answer 4

If you show work, you can get partial credit and your teacher can see if you are making a mistake over and over. If you make a simple mistake such as hit + when you meant -, a teacher can spot that easier if you show your work. Also, your calculator does not always "read" the problem the way we do. If you do not type the expression correctly into the calculator, it will give you an incorrect answer. If you know how to do the problem, you will understand the math procedure better. I

Answer 5

The purpose for showing work is so that the teacher can see how you are using critical thinking to work out the problem. If you show the work, the teacher will be able to see where the break down came in your skills. Sometimes it's a simple mathematical error in adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing or it may be applying the wrong concept. Showing the work allows the teacher to figure out where the breakdown occurs.

Answer 6

I agree with above. Some things you have to do, and it is easy to copy off of a friend when all you have to do is show the answer.


In addition, some things can't be solved on a computer, and you can't solve it unless you have the correct process. But wait, you didn't learn the whole process because you have a calculator. To bad, so sad.

Answer 7

Well, lessee........If they aren't teaching YOU to do it, then all you are taking is a course in how to use your calculator. If all we did was use our calculators, then no new advances in mathematical theories would happen. What if you are taking an advanced placement test where calculators are not allowed? Good Luck, buddy! If you enjoy being ignorant that much, drop the math class. The world of academia won't miss you.

Answer 8

no in the 'real' world you dont have to show your work, but the teachers want to make sure that you know how to do the problem, by hand, step by step. and as long as you know how to do that then later in life you can use a calculator. i dont know what else to really tell you.

Answer 9

I hate showing work too. Society is failing its best maths students by forcing them to waste their lessons showing work for ridiculously easy stuff when they should instead be giving them harder problems. And then any student who does show work but finds a better problem solving strategy gets penalised for not using the strategy on the mark scheme. The insistence of exam setters that students show work is why the students who are best at maths do not get the best grades in maths. What sucks most is that even mathematical olympiads are about showing work, which was a horrible shock after the nice multiple choice test I took to qualify. If you still think that making everyone show work is justified, imagine how you'd feel if you were forced to go to a long series of lessons on how to add single digit numbers and you couldn't just write down the answers but instead had to draw out all the hand positions that you would use to count on your fingers and you'll get what maths lessons are like for us.

Answer 10

Most teachers will give you some credit for writing out the problem even if the answer is wrong. Also they want you to write out the problems to prove that you aren't cheating.