Math How-Tos

How To: Round a decimal up or down in math

If you haven't quite made it to school, or just can't afford it, maybe you had a family member killed by a mathematician, who knows, but whatever the reason, if you don't know how to round numbers and decimals, then this two-part video lesson is perfect for you.

How To: Work with tessellation shapes in geometry

Not all polygons are tessellation shapes. A tessellation is a collection of figures that can be put together to fill a plane surface without overlaps or gaps. I’m sure that you have already seen many tessellations in real life. The tiles in the kitchen and the puzzle you have solved are nothing but tessellations.

How To: Convert scientific notation to standard algebra form

Learn how to convert from scientific notation to standard form by watching the above math video. To change a number from scientific notation to standard form, move the decimal point to the left (if the exponent of ten is a negative number), or to the right (if the exponent is positive). You should move the point as many times as the exponent indicates. Do not write the power of ten anymore.

How To: Divide decimals in math

This video is designed to help elementary and middle school teachers be more effective when teaching decimals. This presents another short algebra word problem about dividing a whole number by a decimal.

How To: Use the order of operations in algebra

Are you looking for a simple math explanation on order of operations? Remember the following sentence: “Please excuse my dear aunt Sally.” What does this sentence have to do with math? The first letter of each word stands for an operation. “P” stands for parenthesis, “E” for exponents, “M” for multiplication, “D” for division, “A” for addition, and “S” stands for subtraction.

How To: Solve square roots in algebra

In this lesson we will learn about one of the most important concepts in algebra SQUARE ROOTS. The square root of a number m is another number n that satisfies the following formula: m = n x n. You can also say that m is the square of n. The opposite of squaring a number is finding its square root. You can use the radical symbol to indicate that the square root of m is n:

How To: Solve simple interest algebra problems

In this math lesson we will learn how to solve problems involving simple interest. When you deposit money in a savings account, the bank pays you interest at a certain rate called interest rate. There are two types of interest: simple interest and compound interest. In this lesson we will talk about simple interest. We will use the following important formula: