Welcome to my Math help RU-vid channel! I truly am thankful for everyone who has subscribed and made my channel such a rewarding part of my life!
My name is James and my life has been connected to education for… well… my whole life! For 17 years, I taught Mathematics and Engineering in my home state of California to thousands of middle and high school students. My specialty was working to support students who needed to catch up with sometimes years of Math skills that had escaped them in previous chances to learn. Finding a way to make the math skills they found difficult, easy! Now, I work as an Instructional designer and Technology Specialist at a local College, helping to design courses and lessons that support students.
Here you will find videos to support you in your math learning journey. The methods used in my videos will help you to unlock your own math potential! I love responding to comments so say hello! Subscribe to see new content and support the tools I have coming!
That is awesome Dulce that you kept looking into you found a way that made sense to you! Always find a way that makes sense to you and don’t give up. This is my personal account but I wanted to say thanks!
Just wanted to ask isn’t for 6x+9=3x-3 and the answer is x=4 and not x=-4 because u didn’t add the negative for the last step which it had to be -12/-3=4 but u forgot to add the -3 u had just put -12/3=-4. Just want to double check with you.
Hey! This is my personal account so I hope you still see this reply. When I subtracted 3x from both sides, I ended up having a positive 3x = -12 and that is because 6x - 3x is positive 3. So then -4 is correct Let me show you a little trick. Teachers are always on you about checking your answer. I know! We are annoying about that. The thing is, you really can use it to see if you made a mistake. In this case, if these equations are equal for a value, you should be able to plug it in on both sides and it should work. Let’s try the positive 4! 6(4) + 9 = 3(4) - 3 24 + 9 = 12 - 3 33 = 9 So this obviously isn’t true. The key here is we are solving for the ONE number that does work! Every other number won’t work. This is a rule for one variable equations like this. Let’s instead try that -4! 6(-4) + 9 = 3(-4) - 3 -24 + 9 = -12 - 3 -15 = -15 So that is the right answer. I hope this helps you beyond this question. Think of the power of knowing you are correct! It is a good feeling. Math often leaves us hoping we are correct when we turn in a test. Think also of multiple choice. I want my students to know how to solve the problems. But if stuck, of the four answers below on a MC question, we know one will work in plugged in! 😉 I really hope this helps and thank you for watching my videos. Every view, like, and subscribe means a lot to me. Have a great day!
LOVE HOW YOU CIRCLED THE CONSTANTS AND PUT SQUARES OVER THE VARIABLES. You're a great teacher, thank you for this video. This has been the most helpful video that I have watched thus far.
I'm studying a bachelors of cybersecurity and have had to take a statistics based critical thinking class - I felt overwhelmed with the amount of maths I needed to learn in a short period of time but, these videos are a life saver. Your teaching method is flawless, the way you convey these concepts is remarkable, thank you.
man u deserve every good things i thank god for finding your channel i always thought math is not for me because i always get f now its so simple and smooth thank u sir you have changed my world of math
I’ve seen this video 10 years later and you really have helped me for my major test tomorrow appreciate all ur effort thank you so much for this video!!!
This video acutally helped me a lot, tons of video on youtube dosent really explain and give you question to try, this video help me a lot and im gonna use ur channel. thank you
Sir, I love you!. I spent three weeks trying to understand solving equations, when I tell you I was stuck, I was STUCK. Thank you for your patience and dedication for math turtle like me.
The love is mutual! You have no idea how much comments like these brighten my day! Teaching math for as long as I did was a labor of love. Helping people overcome the fear and anxiety that math can put in so many of us (myself included at one point) is really a special experience in this world. The fact that it continues to help on here was never an intent of this channel back then, but it brings me a lot of joy. Thank you for the kind words. You will have to define a math turtle for me because I really am interested in that one! But I seriously doubt you are one! You are a had working learner who will go to RU-vid to be sure you succeed. I am impressed by YOU!
I totally did! It is wild how hard it is to find your own mistakes, and sadly I can't edit a video like this without starting over on viewership. But thanks for letting me know so my OCD can be frustrated. :) Want to really laugh, check out my combining like terms video. It took 9 years for someone to tell me it actually says on the first slide "Combing Like Terms". facepalm We all do our best and I am happy this video helps so many even with my occasional misspeaking or inability to spell. :)
Great spirit. My OCD is what caught it. I did have to look at "combing" a few times to realize it wasn't combining. What if you did edit it would that reset it and bring it to the top?
Hey! It is a tool that allows questions and answers. I am trying it out, but worry it will hit capacity and need to try some new models. The goal is to create not only a video but a way to check yourself as you go for those that want it. The link is in the description if you want to try.
That is so great it helped you! It is amazing you go to this length for success and I applaud you so much for being someone who just has to learn! That is an awesome trait that will take you far in education and life. You know the thing that drives me crazy in the comments of this channel? SO many people tell me they have a test tomorrow or a quiz and they are so thankful they were able to use this to prepare. But they NEVER tell me how the quiz or test went! I really want to know! If you did well, awesome! If you didn't on one or more parts, why not? How did this not better prepare you? I could even make a follow up to help catch those mistakes for the next student. So, hint hint, let me know! :)
Hi. I am not entirely sure where these notes would be these days as I taught this many years ago. If you want to send me an email through here I can look around on the flash drives I have and see if I can track them down for you.
I am guessing you might have needed this response earlier, but the best way I know to approach this is to treat the - sign as an invisible 1. 8 - 1(6 - 6n) = -2 + 12(n + 1) Then follow the same steps I showed in the video. Distributive property first. 8 - 6 + 6n = -2 + 12n + 12. (-1 is tricky, especially on the -6n) I can't show the shapes here, but combine like terms on each side. 2 + 6n = 12n + 10 Next, you need to solve an equation with variables on both sides. Here is my video on that ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9lowiz4GJrI.html
I have learned more by your videos than all the years I spent in school I wish I had a teacher like you to make me understand and love math like you do keep doing what your doing your amazing. A lot of love from Albania ❤❤❤
So sorry I am so slow to respond! I wish I had more students like YOU! Kind and hard working who search the internet for help to make sure they succeed! :)
Hi. I missed this one so I am sorry for a slow reply. I would recommend you get all the constants to the same side so the problem becomes a simple two step equation. That is what I always taught my students. Organize it so it looks familiar and you know what to do from there. Since we would want to subtract the 3x from both sides later, I would add 2 to both side so the x terms end up on the right side and the constants the left 3x + 10 (+2) = 7x - 2 (+2) 3x + 12 = 7x -3x -3x 12 = 4x /4 /4 3 = x
Hi there! Well the thing is, what the number is solutions is referring to is the number of times that these two lines cross. Imagine two pieces of uncooked spaghetti (but they have no ends and go on forever). If you set them down you could make them cross once in tons of different ways. You could also make them never cross by laying them parallel to each other. Or you could make them always cross by putting one on top of the other one. This method algebraically figured out which situation we have so that you don’t need to graph them. Graphing is an inefficient way to figure this out and always has a lot of room for error. Understanding how the slope of lines determines this is where you want to really focus. Same slope for both lines means parallel or on top of each, so hence no solution since parallel or infinitely many if it is just the same line one on top of the other. One solution then occurs anytime they have different slopes, or the angle which you lay down the spaghetti is a different angle. Even if the two do not cross the way you lay them down, if they extended forever at the ends they would cross somewhere, even if it is outside your house down the street or in another state, eventually they would cross. This fundamental understand if the WHY is how you really understand math. This whole situation doesn’t even make any sense for one line. Because one piece of spaghetti can’t cross or intercept with another if there isn’t a second piece. I imagine you are looking at a different type of problem. In the near future, I do plan to create some short videos teaching some of these concepts, so please share the problem here! I have some guesses as to the type of problem, but it wouldn’t be 1, none, or infinitely many, so I would like to hear what the problem is and give you a little guidance.
Oh my gosh thank you SOOOO much for posting this video, you just saved my math quarter 1 grade. Im so grateful for you and your videos, you explain it so well. Even though it was posted 9 years ago it still helped me soo much! Thank you.
That is awesome! I really appreciate the positive feedback. Math learning doesn’t expire and even if things change, sometimes it is nice to learn maybe a slightly different way if it helps it “click”. Also give yourself a big pat on the back for continuing to stick with it and finding a way to understand!
Thank you so much! This helped so much since my teacher always went through the problems and equations so fast. I always got scared during questions I didn't know but now I understand! THANKS
I totally get it! Math can be like that! Until it clicks it seems like a foreign language. If you think about it, Math really is a new language. Give yourself credit when you figure out something new after trying many ways to help it click, and give yourself patience when you are still on the way to understanding. There is no such thing as a “math person” any more than there is a “Spanish person” or an “English person”. We just have to learn! Excited for your year and I hope you come back to my channel!
