Elementary Calculation The deliberate process known as calculation transforms one or more data sets into one or more results, with variable change. In the beginning, calculation was a simple arithmetical process. Early calculation used small stones as counters. Simply by adding or removing the appropriate number of stones, one could easily...   Read more »

Mental Calculation…In the Beginning Mental calculation is defined as arithmetical calculations solved using only the human brain. Mental calculation, in fact, is one of the earliest forms of problem solving. In the “good old days,” mental calculation began with memorization. Those of a certain age vividly remember flash cards as...   Read more »

Calculating The Dietary Damage Of The Holiday Season Get your calculator ready. Halloween is behind us and we’re rapidly closing in on that most wonderful time of the year...The Holiday Season...a festive time filled with family, friends, and food! Tables are laden with the special dishes that only appear at this time of year. Will power...   Read more »

The Increasing Obsession With Fitness Fitness! The very word conjures up visions of a well-toned body in those who are already fit and nightmares of torture and pain in those who aren’t. Fitness buffs today have become almost “cult-like” in their devotion to physical perfection. The rest of us are less obsessed and many see...   Read more »

PEMDAS – What’s In A Name In the arena of equation calculation, PEMDAS is the name of the game. The acronym PEMDAS, which stands for Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction, defines the order in which the components of a complex equation are completed. Its purpose is to allow equations to be consistently...   Read more »

Reality Math Is Functional At some point during our educational experience, we’ve all wondered why the study of math is such a big deal. Surely, we think, we’ll never use this stuff again in our real lives. Math is for teachers and geeks. Real people need just enough math to balance a checkbook, calculate a tip, or determine mileage...   Read more »

A Not-Exactly-Comprehensive Introduction to Pi Welcome to the mystical world of Pi. What exactly is Pi? Truthfully, there is nothing exact about Pi. In fact, from the hand-calculated efforts of ancient Babylonians to the 21st century age of supercomputers, determining the value of Pi has become a quest rivaling the search for the Holy Grail....   Read more »

Why Should I Invest In A Financial Calculator? Let me introduce you to the fourth member of the calculator family, the financial calculator. Like its siblings, the basic calculator, the graphing calculator and the scientific calculator, the purpose of a financial calculator is to do the heavy lifting for you as you journey through the maze of...   Read more »

The Graphing Calculator And One-Dimensional Thinking A graphing calculator requires the application of understanding to a concept in order to use that concept effectively. This enables the user to solve problems by visualizing them. While the use of the graphing calculator is primarily in the fields of math and science, changing the dimension of a...   Read more »

The Language of Math - Begining With The Basics When most of us think of math, we see it merely as numbers and numbers and more numbers. If you can look beyond the obvious, however, math takes on a whole new personality. Open your mind and discover the language of math. The renowned 16th century Italian mathematician, Galileo, understood that the...   Read more »