10 Mega Reasons Why Subtraction is Important in your Life

Math is like a family of four. Subtraction is just one of those family members. Subtraction is to take a number or an amount away from another amount or number. Picture a table with four legs. When one leg breaks that table will be of no use. This is what subtraction is to math. A strong leg that we cannot do without.

Career Choices

Some career choices require the knowledge of subtraction. To become a bank teller you definitely need the ability to subtract, or what about any career in sales. Without subtraction you are going nowhere fast. Everything in life is mathematically orientated.

Obesity

Obesity has become a major problem in this day and Era. Especially under young children and teenagers. One place where you will definitely use subtraction is when you lose weight.

Teamwork

What about a team. Sometimes you add players, but others times you take players off the field, always changing. That is subtraction.

Pregnancy

When a woman is expecting a baby she is not alone anymore but together they make two. As soon as she gives birth to the baby one is "subtracted" and once again she becomes one.

Balance

Can you imagine how boring life would be without color? Just think off nature and water, like for instance mountains, the sea or even a lake. Without color it would be extremely boring. Subtraction brings color to your life. It helps to bring a balance so that both weights are equal and not one overpowering the other.

Dentists and teeth

As we grow up we will get certain teeth at a certain age. When the new tooth starts to push through the gum, the old one falls out, making way for the new one. When we get older we need more specialized help, and we go to the dentist and he "subtracts" the extra tooth.

Clutter

Do you know what clutter is? It's all that tiny little things you collect. If you leave it over a period of time you will have so much junk that needs to be thrown out. Instead of collecting you need to subtract from your closets all the clutter you have collected over time and make way for new stuff. This is something that you need to do regularly in order to know what you possess.

Knowledge

Do you realize all the knowledge you have gained through time. A little bit here and a little bit there and you are a wealth of knowledge. You are like a library. Full of books, audios' and DVD's but instead of lending and borrowing, you need to give away some of what you have learned to others. By subtracting from your well of knowledge you can enrich someone else with it by teaching them what you know.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming can be a fountain of ideas springing forth. Have you ever done brainstorming? Well, it can be very creative when two or more people get together and put all there ideas on paper. Then they pick out the ones that are the best. The others are then stored away for further use. But at that moment you are subtracting the ideas that are not so good and only using the good ideas.

Cleaning the garden

When you have a garden you need to maintain it so that it can be kept neat and tidy. So in other words you have to clean it regularly and take out plants that have grown too quickly or have multiplied. When you take plants out you are subtracting.

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How to Reduce Anxiety and Nervousness on Math Tests

Math tests can be overwhelming and threatening at the same time. The emotional aspect that goes with it that makes you feel like a failure and at that very moment you have a poor self image. Your brain races and you can't think clearly. Sweaty palms, dry mouth, heart palpitations and to top it all up, your mind goes totally blank instantly.

Have you ever been there? Most probably you have! Every one of us experiences this at least once in our lifetime when taking a math test. The good news is that there is ways to combat this.
Taking time to study beforehand will eliminate most of these systems, because the fear makes you nervous, and when you know your subject all fear will be gone. When preparing for your test make sure that you take every problem into account, don't leave anything to chance.

Set up a practice exam beforehand if you struggle with anxiety and stress. Many bookstores or even the Internet have them readily available. Work through them so that you can identify any problem areas with enough time to spare if you need to master something.

Divide your exam paper in three parts. Do the easy ones first, those are the ones that you can do in your sleep. Then move on to the second part, the ones that are a bit more difficult, and when they are finished work on the ones you battle with. It is no good to sit for an hour with something you can't do and miss the marks that you are able to do.

Start to speak positive over yourself, things like, "I am able to do this". If your attitude is positive you will be able to do anything. So work on the attitude and built your self esteem up, don't break it down with words like, I'm a failure, I can't do this, it's just too difficult. This will surely sink your ship.

When you feel your attention wander bring yourself back in focus. Don't daydream during your test; you'll have plenty of time afterwards to worry about the marks.

Use some relaxation techniques to relax those tense muscles. Deep focused breathing and some positive talk at the same time will help you to stay calm and relaxed. Do simple exercises like contractions of muscles? Start at the feet and slowly work your way up your body. Contract each part and let it go. The tenseness will be gone quickly.

Not all anxiousness is bad. A little adrenaline pumping through your veins can actually be the whip you need to get you through the test. Become excited about the test. You have worked hard and now's the time to be rewarded. All that is standing in your way is to do the test and then you can move on to a new level of learning, which is actually very rewarding in itself.

Life is full of tests. Some we fail and some we pass but with each one, we learn something new. As you study for your test remember that the skills you learn today will be the stepping stones of tomorrow.

What about audio or DVD's. Get a math tutor on audio or DVD and listen to the solutions to the problems. This way it will sink in deep into your long term memory. Personally this has been something that really worked and helped me.

Remember to get a good nights rest, eat well and make enough time to study beforehand. Common sense will get you through!

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5 Fun Ways to Learn Subtraction: Critical Thinking Activities

Although subtraction is a relatively easy math concept to learn, there are at least 5 fun ways to learn subtraction. These fun ways allow learning subtraction to be more enjoyable, instead of completing the traditional mind numbing repeating worksheets. Most students find that when the math problems are related to their lives, creative, and challenging they will find not only can they subtract - they have the ability to apply subtraction to many situations.

The first fun way is through the use of an online computer program that uses virtual manipulatives by Utah State University. Their website is http://nlvm.usu.edu and is designed to engage student critical thinking skills as they apply subtraction concepts. An interactive activity is called color chips in which you use different color chips to illustrate the subtraction of positive and negative integers. This activity requires the students use their problem solving skills to solve subtraction problems.

Another fun way to practice subtraction is to play baseball math. In this activity the teacher draws a baseball stadium on the chalk board from an overhead view. Students are divided up into teams. Each team takes their turn coming to bat, solving subtraction problems. The team not at bat waits for their turn to bat, since there is no field to protect. Students are asked to solve a variety of subtraction problems to get a base hit, once the team member gets a hit he/she places at symbol or marker on first base. As long as the team is at bat they get to continue placing runners on the bases and advancing around the bags and scoring runs. Just like in baseball, 3 incorrect answers equals three outs. Then the next team comes to bat. This is a good way to review subtraction facts.

Variations of math baseball include: football, soccer, hockey, basketball, softball, and other sports.

A third fun activity is playing subtraction Jeopardy. In this activity students are given the answers and they have to come up with a subtraction problem that results in the answer given. This is an excellent problem solving interactive activity requiring the use of critical thinking skills to develop these problem answers. It also makes a connection to real world math situations for everyday choices when applying subtraction math for shopping, sports, activities around the home, and choices in life.

A fourth fun way to learn subtraction is by using paint by numbers kits. Students get to paint each numbered part of a picture when they solve an associated subtraction math problem. This teaches students not only the how to solve subtraction problems; it also teaches them how to use critical thinking and problem solving skills as they use the paint by number set to learn subtraction. This type of fun activity teaches them how to problem solve as they hone their subtraction skills and make connections to situations in the real world.

A fifth way is to have a simulated store in the classroom that sells various products, the use of empty containers and plastic foods allow the store to be used more than once. This activity has only one way students can purchase items, the total must result in a certain number or fall within a certain number range to purchase the products.

This creates a problem solving situation in which students must have a sound understanding of subtraction as it relates to other math concepts. These include connections with addition, division, and multiplication. And additional challenge can be by having the answers incorporate sales tax.

The key aspect in all of these fun activities is students' minds are engaged as they learn to solve and make connections as they subtract numbers for applications in everyday life situations.

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Learning Measurements by using your Kitchen

If you want to learn or teach measurements, the best place to do so is in the kitchen. Almost everything that is done in the kitchen is based on measurements. If a child wants to perform the simplest task such as making some Kool-Aid, measuring is involved as they will have to measure one cup of sugar for 2 quarts of Kool-Aid. If a parent were to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies with their child just think of the possibilities there. Measurements in a simple batch of cookies include cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons and just imagine the possibilities if you were to double that recipe.

Learning measurements in the kitchen can begin at a very early age and as the child grows, so can the learning. There really is no better place to teach measurements although teachers do bring these lessons into the classroom somehow they are not as effective as they are in the kitchen with hands on experience. Plus all kids just love to cook in the kitchen. Even preschoolers can help you bake a cake or prepare a simple dinner. Here is when you would want to explain to the child what tools are used to measure wet and dry ingredients. Show them what a cup of liquid looks like and then a cup of flour or sugar. Show them and then test them on which is bigger, a teaspoon or a tablespoon. Let them practice with water until they get it right. Let them play with dry ingredients such as flour but if you aren't so daring then let them play with the measuring devices in the sand where the mess doesn't count.

Weight is another measurement and this can be introduced early at the grocery store by weighing produce or buying deli meats. In the produce sections they have those scales and kids are fascinated by them. Let your child weigh some fruit and explain how many apples are in one pound, etc. This type of activity is preparing them for later work in the kitchen. Understanding all of the concepts involved with measurement can be difficult for a child first starting out. Most kids love the kitchen, which is a great place to begin the adventure of measurement. Once your child knows the difference between a cup and a tablespoon, start teaching them what you know about conversions and equivalents. Give lots of praise and encouragement along the way and when they're enjoying their first meal, remind them that they're the ones who made it and that measurement was the key.

Before you start to teach measurements to your child, discuss the process. Set some reasonable goals together and designate rewards for various levels of progress and understanding. This will create motivation for your child to learn measurements. Since you will be working in the kitchen, rewards can be easy to create. Set a weekly ritual of cooking something delicious together. Your child will learn their measurements and the whole family will get a nice meal in the bargain.

Here are a few of the easy math lessons that can be taught using your time in the kitchen. Once the child is a bit older then you can get to conversions in measuring. Even if you don't know all of the conversions between units of measurements, simply using the tools will help your children become familiar with the amounts that each measurement can hold. Show them the ones you do know: how two half cups equal 1 whole cup; four � cups equal 1 whole cup and so on. You may come across something that even you do not know in which case you should show the child how to be resourceful and find the answer.

Cooking can be a great way to explain to children how an algebraic equation works. Teach then the basic knowledge that cooking and baking requires following a specific formula which is just like algebra and if the formula is not followed precisely then you will come up with something different than you originally wanted.

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