Sunday, March 22, 2020

How to Deal With Group Projects

How to Deal With Group Projects Everybody has their own views on the quintessential group projects that are inevitable throughout school. While some students claim it makes the assignments more difficult to complete successfully, others feel the group aspect creates a safety net that will make failing far less likely to happen. One thing that appears to come up frequently, however, is that every group tends to hold a mix of these views especially when the groups are randomly assigned and students cant just gravitate toward their friends. Having clashing perspectives on how the work will get done can often be what hurts a group the most, so communication is key. Without it, your groups mission will never be accomplished. Along with communication comes a few steps that are necessary to follow if you want your project to be a winning one. You may also want to check out this information on the benefits of group studyas well. Establishing Roles: This should be done very early on and in regards to every aspect of the project. For instance, the very first time your group gets together and discusses the goals at hand, split up responsibilities related to researching information, acquiring supplies, gathering ideas, and whatever else may be on your collective plates. This will ensure you get off to a strong and organized start as a group but that is just the beginning. Dividing up the roles is a consistent effort that needs to be carried through every step of the way. When you find yourselves at the next stage of the project and facing a new set of tasks, you must continue to assign them accordingly. Going along with this, identify who is best at doing what, or who has the most desire to take on certain responsibilities. This will guarantee each and every task is being completed in the best possible way by someone who genuinely cares about it and/or has the necessary skills to do it. More over, clearly split ting up tasks will make it certain that no work is being repeated. Once all of these roles are defined and put in place, you will be able to get through each phase of the project as smoothly as possible. Here are 6 habits to become a more organized studentthat you may want to take a look at as well. Set Up Regular Meetings: Just saying things like, well talk about it sometime next week, or lets figure it out whenever we see each other next, is not going to keep things moving efficiently. Moreover, this will keep your group farther and farther from productive results. Trying to establish meeting times in a sporadic fashion will not work. As a group, you must talk with each other to identify when everybody is available and when they are not, and then plan your consistent meeting times accordingly. Set in stone as many of the details as you can the time, the length of time, the place, what materials to bring, etc. This way, group members will always know when they are checking in with each other and have more stable deadlines as to when assignments need to be done. More importantly, this will minimize any possible fears of being out-of-communication with each other. Exchange and Keep Handy Contact Information: If youre really putting effort into this project, odds are you are going to have various inquiries and opinions to share with your group members at all times, not just when you meet. That is why being able to comfortably email, call, or text each other is crucial. Without these open lines of specific communication, you will be making it a lot harder on yourselves to get things done in an efficient manner. Holding onto doubts and unused ideas without sharing them with anybody can significantly hurt a project, so you and your group members must outwardly make this contact information available to each other immediately so everyone feels free to use them and comfortable doing so. The last thing anyone wants is for something to go wrong because members were too nervous or lazy to contact one another. Monitor Progress and Goals: Just as you would independently on a project, keep track of how far along your group is in all of the various steps. Together, set deadlines for when each persons specific tasks should be done in order to move forward at a good pace. With these deadlines set, you shouldnt feel hesitant to check in with your fellow members and find out where they are in terms of progress. If they are struggling, help them out; perhaps switch tasks if you collectively feel certain people can cover them better. It is pivotal you treat everyones tasks with as much importance as you would your own because they are all leading up to your groups goals a.k.a. your goals. That is not to say you should unnecessarily take over other peoples tasks when not asked, but you should openly keep the discussion going regarding them so all of you are on the same page because ultimately, this is one giant effort that culminates in a result that belongs to all of you equally. Give the project the care it deserves. Finally, dont forget to have some fun with it and get to know your group members. If you treat this experience solely as a forced collaboration with people you just dont care to invest your time in, then all of these steps will be quite difficult to carry through. Dont write anyone off without giving them a chance who knows, you might make a few friends along the way. Even regardless of whether or not you keep in touch with these people after the project is over, youre bound to produce better results if you enjoy your time with them during it. That is one big plus of group projects; they keep things much more interesting than if you were working alone. Make the most of the situation and you may find yourself eagerly awaiting the next one. If you are a parent, you may also want to check out these tips to help your child work well in groups.

Friday, March 6, 2020

Give Yourself a Break - Introvert Whisperer

Introvert Whisperer / Give Yourself a Break - Introvert Whisperer Give Yourself a Break Sometimes completely changing what you’re doing by changing your pace, your location and even the nature of what you’re doing can do wonders for your work.   That’s why there are weekends off and vacations.   We need to change what and how we work in order for us to stay energized and interested. The deal is; we aren’t always in a position of taking a vacation or launching into a weekend.   That means you need to find things you can do periodically to recharge your creativity or motivation by mentally stepping away from your usual, daily mode.   Give yourself a 15-minute vacation. I worked with a gal who left work everyday at lunch.   She didn’t always go out to eat.   Sometimes she would pick up dry cleaning or run an errand.   When we talked about her lunchtime, she explained that lunchtime was her sacred time.   She had to step out of the work environment and do something completely different.   This allowed her to restore her energy and helped to sustain her good mood. If you’re mentally depleted, lacking creativity or feeling anything but motivated, start by stepping away from your work.   Go outside and take a walk.   You pick what works for you but we all need to mix things up sometimes to get the most out of that big, hefty brain.   Give yourself a break â€" you’ll be better off if you do. Go to top Do you know what your next career step is?  Many people don’t. I want to help you accelerate your career by connecting you with your Free Instant Access to my eBook on how to construct your Career SMART Goals â€" that will help you put together your actions and keep you accountable. Get your copy now and start your action plan today! Brought to you by Dorothy Tannahill-Moran â€" dedicated to unleashing your professional potential. Introvert Whisperer

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Solve Calculus Problems

Solve Calculus Problems Calculus is one of the most useful and important branch of Mathematics. Calculus is the study of functions and its different characteristics. Calculus has its own set of different formulas and methods used to solve various questions Calculus is applied to find the lengths, areas, volumes, graphs etc. of 2-D and 3-D shapes by using techniques of Differentiation and Integration. Calculus consists of two sub-branches which are called as Differential Calculus and Integral Calculus. Example 1: Find the derivative of the function, f(x) = 5x3 + 2x2. Solution: To find the derivative, the Power rule of the Derivatives says that: d(xn)/dx = n * xn-1 First step: We can distribute the derivative to both the terms: This gives; d (5x3 + 2x2)/ dx = [ d(5x3)/ dx ] + [ d(2x2)/ dx ] Using the above formula, we get: (5 *3 * x3-1) + (2 * 2 * x2-1) = (15 * x3-1) + (4 * x2-1) = (15 * x2) + (4 * x1) = (15 x2) + (4x) Hence the derivative of f(x) is f(x) = 15 x2 + 4x. Example 2: Find the anti-derivative of the function f(x) = 20 - x? Solution: Here the given function is f(x) = 20 - x. Power rule states anti-derivative of xn is equal to xn+1/(n+1). The anti-derivative of x is 1/2 x2. Using the power rule the anti-derivative of 20 needs to be found. 20 can be written as 20x0. Therefore, the anti-derivative of 20 x0 is 20x1. Hence anti derivative F(x) = 20 x -1/2 x2.

Exercise Before Tests

Exercise Before Tests High school students annually stress over SAT and ACT test scores. Parents and other figures offer countless little tips to boost students performances. Eat a good breakfast, they say. Get a good nights sleep, they prod. Have a nice cup of coffee, they advise. These are all simple, little tips that could boost a students thought process and generate higher scores. Furthermore, exercising the morning of your big ACT or SAT test could also help increase your score, according to an article in The US News World Report. Exercise releases chemicals in the brain that sharpen ones ability to learn and think quickly. Also, exercising to increase mental processing is more effective if it is done immediately before taking a test. The article cited a study completed at a Naperville school. Students standardized reading skills significantly increased, and their math skills increased by a factor of 20 if they walked or ran for ten minutes before taking a test. Most students take SAT and ACT tests at local high schools. Students could boost performance by getting there early and running a few laps on the schools track or field. Dont be embarrassed; people wont think youre preparing for a test. They will probably assume that youre a student athlete. If youre really concerned with being embarrassed about running before a test, bring a stop watch and make a big ol spectacle about your make believe times. Lace up some fresh, new Nikes, and people will certainly think youre an athlete. Dont worry about being a stinky, sweaty mess either. Just think: you can be Harvards stinky, sweaty mess. Exercising before your test could make you Ivy League stinky and sweaty, which is a lot better than a fresh-smelling state school. Who knows, you might even have cold weather on the morning of your test, and you wont sweat. You dont need to go Richards Simmons style out there before your test. Youre not going to be training for the Olympics or anything like that. But, 10 or 15 quick minutes before your test could genuinely help your performance. Running around your neighborhood before you drive off to your test could help your scores, and you wouldnt have to worry about running at the school. But, the best improvements are caused by running/exercising immediately before the test. If anything, exercising before your test will help you clear your mind and alleviate a lot of the inevitable stress. It could even help you be more relaxed as youre taking the test, which could only improve your performance. Exercising at the site of your big ACT or SAT might seem a little bizarre to you and your fellow test-takers. But, it beats the heck out of underperforming on what could be the most important test that you have taken before.

Are You Ever Too Old to Start with Spanish for Beginners

Are You Ever Too Old to Start with Spanish for Beginners Is There an Age Limit for Learning Spanish for Beginners? ChaptersWhat Does the “Critical Period Hypothesis” Say?Learn Spanish for Beginners: Advantages for Adults over ChildrenLexical Similarities with English: Spanish Vocabulary and Much MoreFrom Private Tutors to Spanish Books for Beginners: How to Learn Spanish When you're OlderThere are many things that people start to regret as they get older; not travelling more, not picking up a musical instrument, and never learning another language. When it comes to the latter, it is never too late.Spanish is a language spoken by around 400 million native speakers worldwide. It is a language of huge importance, not just because it is an official language in 20 different countries, but also because it is one of the official languages of the UN.It is therefore no surprise that many people opt to learn Spanish, with a lot of schools teaching Spanish to kids from a young age. But if you want to learn to speak Spanish, you don't necessarily have to be young. A beginner setting out to learn Spanish as second language can be of any age.Obviously those who choose to study Spanish will need to have a plan of action for learning Spanish, and this will change based on each person's individual goals, as well as their age.Whether you want to master the Spanish language, take Spanish lessons near me to make new friends, learn Spanish online in your free time, or just learn a new language because it's something you've always wanted to do, age is just a number and everyone can enrich their lives by learning a language.Over half of English vocabulary is either from Latin directly or from French, which itself evolved from Latin. Spanish is also a language that evolved from Latin. This shared lexical history means that there are similarities between English and Spanish that you wouldn’t find if you were learning a language like Chinese.As you’ve guessed, the same goes for most non-European languages, too. This is great news for anyone interested in learning Spanish. However, don’t th ink that this means that Spanish is really easy to learn. It also means that you can’t just put “o” or “a” on the end of every word in English, either!Are you starting Spanish from scratch? You probably know more Spanish than you think you do. You’ve probably heard a few words, already.From Private Tutors to Spanish Books for Beginners: How to Learn Spanish When you're OlderNow that we know there’s no age limit to learning Spanish, even if it can be difficult the older you are, we need to move on to the next step! This is the part where we give you a few tips and tricks on how to learn Spanish quickly and effectively.As a beginner, you'll need to know how to go about learning Spanish, so here are our suggestions...Get Private Spanish TutorialsYou probably could have guessed we were going to say that but it’s true! It’s probably not worthwhile going back to college! A undergraduate degree can take a long time and you want to learn Spanish as quickly as you can.Shoul d you learn Spanish online or with a more traditional book? (Source: pixabay.com)We recommend going straight to a private tutor and focusing on learning Spanish. Learning Spanish with a dedicated personal tutor or Spanish teacher means that the lessons are tailored to you and you can make progress much more quickly than you would in a class. Don't forget that there are also online Spanish tutorials available over Skype if you live in a rural area or can't make it to your Spanish classes.Rather than sitting in a massive lecture hall and blending into the crowd, get personalised  classes! You’ll learn Spanish in no time at all. Your tutor has the freedom to focus on any gaps in your knowledge or things you’re struggling with.If you're lucky enough to be retired, you might not even want to become fluent in Spanish. Maybe you just want to speak conversational Spanish with friends or family members in Spanish speaking countries. If this is the case, there are plenty of conversational language courses available  that can help you hold a conversation with a native, and in doing so you will work on language skills such as comprehension and speaking.However, if you want to learn to speak advanced Spanish, you are going to have to do a lot more than read a few basic Spanish phrases before you go to bed. That said, intensive language lessons can help you learn about Spanish culture as well as all the intricacies of this fascinating language.ImmersionWe often mention this when talking about foreign language learning. Immersion is magic when it comes to language learning. That's why so many young people decide to travel abroad during their studies.There’s nothing stopping anyone from moving abroad to learn a foreign language. You can go to Spain, Central America, or South America. The choice is yours!Once you’re surrounded by Spanish speakers, you’ll have a chance to train your ear and get used to speaking Spanish every single day.Spanish is spoken in plenty of d ifferent places. (Source: Amanda Kerr)There is no black and white answer for how long it takes to learn Spanish, but if your goal is to learn Spanish as quickly as possible and get a good level in a matter of months, immersion is really your only option!Join Speaking GroupsNot everyone can just move to a Spanish-speaking country whenever they want. We know that!  If you don’t want to do tutorials or go back to college, what else can you do?In cities all over the country, there are groups where you can practise speaking a language with other learners. These groups are often found in student towns (where large numbers of students are learning foreign languages) and are operated by students.There are also exchanges organised by those who’d like to practise English with a native speaker in exchange for helping someone else practice a foreign language. They also organise events for people to meet Spanish speakers. However, the main objective is to practise Spanish with as many people as possible. On your first night, you’ll probably have more conversations in Spanish than you’ve ever had up until now.You should try the site meetup.com. This site specialises in getting people together based on their interests (learning Spanish, for example). Members meet up and go for picnics or walks, for example, during which you can practice and get better at Spanish.If you practise enough, you might even end up having dreams in Spanish, too. This is when you really know that you are making great progress!Learn Spanish Basic Vocab by Watching Spanish Movies and TV ShowsFinally, the last tip for those who’ve just begun learning Spanish and are sitting in front of their TV, computer, or tablet: movies and TV shows! With so many streaming sites popping up in recent years, everyone has access to media from all over the world.  You could use this to find TV shows and movies in Spanish.Whether you’re learning new words by reading the subtitles or training your ear with them turned off, films and TV series are great for learning languages.Get a Good Book to Help you Learn SpanishWhichever method you think is the best to you, it is probably advisable to get a Spanish textbook to accompany your studies. This won't be your only learning method, but it can act as a good way to practise outside of the classroom, or in a different way to your principal Spanish learning method.

fraction word problems 1

fraction word problems 1 Word problems are the problems in math which are expressed in words and the required data should be taken from the questions and further be solved. Fractions are numbers that can be expressed in the p/q form. Here p the numerator and q is the denominator of the fraction. Different mathematical operations can be used to solve such questions such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Fractions are very common and are regularly used in different branches of mathematics. Example 1: There are 15 cookies in the cookie jar. If a group of children eat one-third of the cookie jar, how many cookies are remaining in the jar? Solution: Total number of cookies in the cookie jar = 15. Fraction of the cookie jar eaten by the children = 1/3. Amount of milk = Fraction of milk * number Therefore, amount of cookies reining in the cookie jar = 15 x 1/3 = 15/3 = 5 Hence, number of cookies remaining in the cookie jar = 5. Question: Multiple choice question (Pick the correct option.) There are 20 students in a classroom. If two fifth of the students are absent on a snowy day, how many number of students are absent on that day? a) 12 b) 5 c) 8 d) None of these. Correct answer: option c. Explanation: Number of students in a classroom = 20. Fraction of the student absent = 2/5. Therefore the number of students absent = 20 x 2/5 = 40/5 = 8.

ACT Math A Lesson on Logarithms

ACT Math A Lesson on Logarithms ACT SAT Prep and College Admissions Blog What are logs in math? Do you use them to develop a foundation and build like beavers do? No, you don’t. Instead, in math, logs are the “opposite” of exponentials, just as subtraction is the opposite of addition. If I asked you what number (x) to the third power equals 8 (x3 = 8), then you would take the cube root of both sides and tell me the cube root of 8 equals 2. Now consider this: if I asked you 2 raised to what power (x) gets you 8, how would you solve it? Well, we know that x=3 because 23 = 8, as we saw from the previous problem. But what steps would you take to solve this problem, or any others like it? As I mentioned before, logs are the “opposite”, or the inverse, of exponentials. Thus, one operation can undo the other. Let’s take a look at the relationship between them. Relationship between Exponentials and Logs y=bx logb(y)=x Example 8=2x log2(8)=x ; x=3 Just as in the exponential, the base (b) is always positive and never equal to one. In both cases, a helpful way to remember the relationship is (b) is the base in both scenarios. The x and the y switch, however, as can be seen first by the (x) on the same side as the (b), and then on the same side as the (y). Another easy way to remember this is that whatever the argument of the logarithmic expression is, in this case (y), becomes the “equals to” in the exponential expression. Unless the base (b) is equal to 10, you will not be able to just plug the expression into your calculator to evaluate that logarithmic expression. Your calculator will only evaluate logs in base 10. However, do not fear! You can easily use change of base to change the logarithmic expressions to base 10. Here is how you can do that! Change of Base Property logb(y)= loga(y)/ loga(b) Example log2(8) = log10 (8)/log10(2) you can enter this in your calculator as log(8)/log(2) There are also two key properties to know regarding adding and subtracting the arguments of logs! Addition/Subtraction Properties of Logs log(xy)= log(x)+log(y) log(x/y)= log(x)-log(y) With this new understanding of logs, you have the basic tools to face the logarithm questions on the ACT! Be sure to always pace yourself, be mindful and breathe. You’ll do great.

Listening Exercise Downton Abbey

Listening Exercise Downton Abbey This weeks listening exercise is using Downton Abbey, the popular British drama. The speech in this montage is quite a challenge and is really interesting. Although, I dont think you will hear this type of English a lot these days, the dialect is still similar to modern British English. If you really want to challenge yourself and your English listening abilities try this short exercise.1. Im ______ Toms small talk is very small indeed. 2. If I were to search for logic I _________ not look for it among the English upper class. 3. What a ________, I thought we might be in for something dreadful. 4. Guilt has never played a ________ part in my life. 5. I wonder your _________ doesnt grow heavy, it must be like wearing a ______round the clock. 6. Ive no ________ said yes, then you come back with another request. 7. The _____ thing we dont want is a ________ in the family.Writing Exercise: Have you seen Downton Abbey? What is your favorite series? Why? Does your country have good series? Do you normally watch your favorite series on TV or on your computer?