I study, do hw, still doing badly in math + raising grade?

Question

This is kind of like two questions in one.

1: I understand the concepts of what we're doing and I get the questions right.

However, on our math tests we have a section called 'Thinking and Inquiry' and there are always so many questions that require massive amounts of thinking. We haven't seen them before, ever, and many of my classmates fail but there are always some who seem to be able to get it. Math is FAR from my best subject, it's the only thing holding me back, and I just can't compute how to do them. To top that off, my teacher is horrible. Any ideas on how to tackle these problems?

2. I need to raise my math grade by 7 more percent (currently getting 73, need to make it 80) and I have only one test and one exam (20% weight) left.

There is no extra credit. My parents will seriously FLIP if they find out and I won't see the light of day (or the computer screen) for MONTHS. I ask everyone for help, do extra work and I still do horribly on tests. Please help me!

Answer 1

The thinking and inquiry section seems to test your ability to apply abstractual mathematic principles to real life situations. If I'm guessing correctly, they probably don't tell you which equation to use, or possible exactly what you need to use it do find, and they just tell you to answer the question.

The best way to practice these would be to:

A. Instead of merely writing down the mathematics, and saying 2+2 = 4, try to understand the meaning behind why you are doing it. For instance, why is the slope of the graph equal to the difference in y over the difference in x? Why are a lot of mathematical equations as they are.

B. Practice. Practice. Practice. As mean as your teacher is, I can't see her not giving you the necessary help. Ask her if she can give you some thinking and inquiry type questions, not the exam questions, just ones you can practice on. Work through them. It doesn't matter how long it takes you, or how many times you look in the book, you're still learning. the more you do, the better the grade you'll get.

Hope that helps :)