The author reflects on teaching Rujuta calculus after successfully introducing her to precalculus. They emphasize the importance of a solid foundation in functions before calculus and discuss the challenges of finding a suitable textbook. “Calculus Made Easy” by Silvanus Thompson has proven effective, sparking interest and facilitating understanding.
Category Archives: math
SICP: A Synonym for Computer Programming
Choosing a cryptic title for your blog-post has a polarizing effect. There is some novelty promise associated with an unfamiliar title. The promise is fulfilled if the blog-post is a good one. Let me try. SICP stands for “Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs.” If you are already familiar with computer programming, then there isContinue reading “SICP: A Synonym for Computer Programming”
A Fun Math Quiz
Rujuta wanted a math quiz. She is now in the eighth grade and has studied arithmetic, some algebra, and some geometry. She enjoys the process of discovery. Of course, like everyone else, she has some blind spots. But one thing that I really admire about her is that she gives it her everything. She isContinue reading “A Fun Math Quiz”
How to Do Research …
Paul R. Halmos had been a great teacher, educator, author, and, of course, mathematician. He wrote eloquently about his life’s journey as a mathematician in what he called his “automathography”: I want to Be a Mathematician. It is a book with a lot of mathematics (higher) but it also has a high literary value. HeContinue reading “How to Do Research …”
MINDSTORMS
That is the main title of a life-changing book, at least for some. The subtitle is Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas. Its author is Seymour Papert, who was a mathematician and educator. I am still reading the book and will shortly do a longer post. But if you can’t wait to experience some powerful writing,Continue reading “MINDSTORMS”
Calculus: Of the Students, By the Students, and For the Students
We are happy to announce that we are doing a calculus group discussion on the Internet! I have not seriously researched if this the first ever such attempt, but it looks like an uncommon one. Apoorv and I have written about it in detail here. Please take a look and let people know. We expectContinue reading “Calculus: Of the Students, By the Students, and For the Students”
Sums of Consecutive Integers
Number theory problems can be some of the most difficult problems, but they are usually the most interesting and satisfying to solve. Recently, I was tasked with finding the solution to this problem: Find out which positive numbers cannot be expressed as the sum of two or more consecutive positive integers. The first thing weContinue reading “Sums of Consecutive Integers”
A Function Composition Problem
A topic that has resurfaced during my undertaking of calculus this year has been function composition. During the year, I have been drawn toward the concept of function composition, something that was evident to my father. One day, as we sat down to begin our class, he posed this problem to me: . Find .Continue reading “A Function Composition Problem”
Gelfand’s Algebra and an Application of the Greedy Algorithm
One of the joys of working with children learning mathematics (that means all of us) is to witness the accidental discoveries that they make. Let me narrate my experience of that in this rather long post. The only way to learn mathematics is to do it. And doing mathematics is solving problems. In a delightfulContinue reading “Gelfand’s Algebra and an Application of the Greedy Algorithm”
An Amazing Math Problem
Hello there! My name is Rujuta Mhaswade and today I going to ask you an amazing math problem. My dad and I were taking a walk and he asked me this problem (we even wrote it with a chalk on the sidewalk): Math Problem: Use the digits 0-6 exactly ONCE (i.e. the seven digits: 0,Continue reading “An Amazing Math Problem”
Free Learner's School 