Why Are Math Tricks Are Not Reliable

Why Math Tricks Are Not Reliable

Math tricks are known for helping people find a shortcut to solve a problem; What people do not understand is that sometimes these shortcuts are not always reliable. Over the years, teachers have been teaching students the ways of these tricks and in some cases they do seem to work. Overall they result in not finding the solution to the problems because of the way that math works in general. From the foil method to synthetic division, these are just some of the many tricks that are not supposed to be taught because they are not reliable. There are countless reasons why teachers should stop teaching these false shortcuts to students. Like I mentioned, in some cases it might work, but it is not technically correct.

The foil method can only multiply binomials and nothing beyond that. The FOIL method is an acronym that stands for First, Outside, Inside and Last. For example, (2x+5)(5x+10), to successfully multiply this binomial you multiply the first numbers of each of the parenthesis, therefore it is the numbers with the variable which in this case it is 2x and 5x; Your answer results to 10x2because two time five is ten and x times x equals x squared. Then you continue to the next step which is the outsides. The outside numbers are the numbers that are at the far left and right of the equation, which is 2x and 10 making it 20x. The next step is the I which stands for inside and those numbers are the number closer to the middle which in this equation it is the 5 and the 5x and that equals to 25x. Then the remaining letter which is the L of FOIL and that means the last numbers from each parenthesis and that is the 5 and 10 which equals to 50. After completing the foil method you then combine like terms and once it is all cleaned out an equation comes out which in this equation it will be 10x2+45x+50. Since students are taught in that manner they use the FOIL method on every polynomial making them stressed because they cannot find the

When students are asked to go more in depth within the equation they are not able to since they used a simple shortcut that skipped all the major steps and ideas. A great example comes from Mike Flynn, the director of a leadership program for mathematics stated that students have a hard time doing the work in their head because they say they are used to using a shortcut and they do not really know what they are doing (Flynn). They are so used to just following the steps without knowing what they are writing or solving. Students do not get the full experience of doing all the work and get the real meaning of the equation that was used. They end up using a shortcut that is not really the way it is supposed to be done and they end learning something that is not correct. When it comes to really use the correct way, they will not know it and they will live with not knowing the correct way of working on problems. Sometimes when students learn about a shortcut, it affects them by not fully understanding the problem without it and that leads to more problems (Copywriting). Math should not be manipulated, why? Because while learning to use these shortcuts it cover up the beauty of the equations and that is what confuses students to actually mastering the problem, and that is when errors