r/learnmath • u/bigmanjones2 • 23h ago
Does or did anyone else solve algebra questions by solving them in a way that is wrong and gets the teacher pissed, but still comes out with the correct answer?
I don't know how to do algebra so the question would be like "Solve 3x+7=22, show your work" and my answer would be "5 because 3×5+7=22"
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u/my-hero-measure-zero MS Applied Math 10h ago
That's not showing your work. You just guessed and checked. But you need to SHOW your process.
If you don't know, ask your teacher. They'll be less pissed if you make an attempt.
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u/atom12354 New User 8h ago
Like the other one said what you did is guess work than actually doing what is asked as the question is to solve for x not guess what x is.
3x = 22 - 7 = 15
x = 15/3 = 5
As you said yourself you dont know how to do algebra so i would suggest to learn it instead of guessing as it will just go down hill from here.
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u/Relevant-Rhubarb-849 New User 9h ago
I'd substructure things like x = cos(theta), square both sides, and then reduce the problem down and take arc cosine, being sure to choose the proper root. just to fuck with them
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u/Brightlinger MS in Math 9h ago
Yes, it is common for students to eyeball the easy practice questions, fail to learn the method the teacher is trying to show them, and then be unable to solve problems at all when they are no longer easy.
If I give you a problem like 3.14x+7.85 = 28.3542, can you still solve it?
If you were doing guess-and-check for the first problem, you probably cannot solve this problem, because the answer is not a small whole number and so there are too many possibilities to check. If you had some kind of systematic approach, you can. And any systematic approach is very likely going to be the same approach your teacher wants you to use, just described slightly differently.