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Are looking for my math games?
This week, in addition to getting introduced to each other and to the course, we review some topics like percents, rates, and geometry, and use them to practice solving problems. We will also talk about appreciation, depreciation, and simple interest.
In this chapter, we begin to use math as a tool. This will be a recurring theme in the course.
Whenever you get stuck use the Get Help Forum.
To Do List for Week One
1. Attend the Zoom sessions. The last 15 minutes of each Wednesday class has our weekly quiz. If you are ever absent, watch the archived videos of the lessons, ask questions, and check in by attending a study session or submitting a video of you doing math work.
2. Skim the textbook chapter about Problem Solving. Be ready to use it as a resource when doing this week's work.
3. Complete this week's activity. Work on your own as much as you can. Then review the answer key. This item will not be collected. It is just for you to make sure that you can use the math topics we are learning.
4. This week's discussion forum is for introducting ourselves. The requirement is what will usually be true: make a contribution soon, then come back and reply to two other students' posts. (Moodle should show a completion checkmark when you have done that.)
5. Complete the homework, part A and part B, before the end of the week. Keep trying each homework assignment until you get 8 out of 10 or more.
6. Perhaps go over Paula's weekly worksheet. If it is helpful, write out solutions for yourself to make sure you understand. You do not turn this in, but may contact me with specific questions if there are parts you don't get. Unfortunately, this worksheet does not have an answer key.
Week 1, Monday | review day | ![]() |
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Week 1, Wednesday | problem solving | ![]() |
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Study Session on Saturday | problem solving | ![]() |
not recorded | not recorded |
U. S. Census Data Spreadsheet which you only care about if exploring Paula's weekly worksheet
Tips for using online math videos:
1. Be selective! Watch the videos that you want to know more about. If you're already familiar with a topic, you may not need to watch the video.
2. Reuse! If you find a video that is helpful, you may want to watch it more than once. Make a note and review the video at a later time.
3. Go further! If you don't understand something from a video, or would like to see more examples, post in the weekly Get Help Forum.
Introduction to Percent
Ex 1: Relating Fractions, Decimals, and Percents
Ex 2: Relating Fractions, Decimals, and Percents
The Percent Equation
Ex 1: Solve a Percent Problem Using a Percent Proportion
Ex 2: Solve a Percent Problem Using the Percent Equation
Ex 3: Determine What Percent One Number is of Another
Percent of Change
Ex 1: Determine a Percent Change (Decrease)
Ex 2: Determine a Percent Change (Increase)
Metric Unit Conversions
Ex: Convert km/hr to meters per second
We start a new chapter this week: finance. We use our review of simple interest as a foundation for studying compound interest. This sets the stage for more advanced work in finance, such as saving for retirement and installment loans.
Whenever you get stuck use the Get Help Forum.
To Do List for Week Two
1. Attend the Zoom sessions. The last 15 minutes of each Wednesday class has our weekly quiz. If you are ever absent, watch the archived videos of the lessons, ask questions, and check in by attending a study session or submitting a video of you doing math work.
2. Skim the textbook chapter about Finance. Be ready to use it as a resource when doing this week's work.
3. Complete this week's activity. Work on your own as much as you can. Then review the answer key. This item will not be collected. It is just for you to make sure that you can use the math topics we are learning.
4. This week's discussion forum is for investing anecdotes and savings account research. The requirement is what will usually be true: make a contribution soon, then come back and reply to two other students' posts. (Moodle should show a completion checkmark when you have done that.)
5. Complete the homework, part A and part B, before the end of the week. Keep trying each homework assignment until you get 8 out of 10 or more.
5b. This week we had a take-home take-home quiz
6. Perhaps go over Paula's weekly worksheet. If it is helpful, write out solutions for yourself to make sure you understand. You do not turn this in, but may contact me with specific questions if there are parts you don't get. Unfortunately, this worksheet does not have an answer key.
When studying finance formulas it is very important to learn which formula to use. All the formulas involve an initial amount (principal), an interest rate, and one or more payments. So the formulas look similar. Be sure to really understand what makes financial situations similar and different, and which formula to use for each situation. This week has this extra accordion section to focus on this issue!
Here are some hints on deciding which equation to use based on the wording of the problem.
The easiest types of problem to identify are loans. Loan problems almost always include words like: "loan", "amortize" (the fancy word for loans), "finance (a car)", or "mortgage" (a home loan). Look for these words. If they are there, you are probably looking at a loan problem. To make sure, see if you are given what your monthly (or annual) payment is, or if you are trying to find a monthly payment.
If the problem is not a loan, the next question you want to ask is: "Am I putting money in an account and letting it sit, or am I making regular payments or withdrawals every month/quarter/year ?" If you are letting the money sit in the account with nothing but interest changing the balance, then you are looking at a compound interest problem. The exception would be bonds and other investments where the interest is not reinvested—in those cases you are looking at simple interest.
If you are making regular payments or withdrawals, the next question is: "Am I putting money into the account, or am I pulling money out?" If you are putting money into the account on a regular basis then you are looking at a basic annuity problem, which is sometimes called a savings annuity. Basic annuities are when you are saving money. Usually in these problems your account starts empty, and has money in the future.
If you are pulling money out of the account on a regular basis, then you are looking at a payout annuity problem. Payout annuities are used for things like retirement income. You start with money in your account, pull money out on a regular basis, and your account ends up empty in the future. Payout annuities are also used for car payments, because from the point of view of the loan itself, its size begins large and shrinks over time until it reaches zero.
Remember, the most important part of answering any kind of question, money or otherwise, is first to correctly identify what the question is really asking. Then determine what approach will best allow you to solve the problem.
For more practice, look at these slides and their
answer key
Tips for using online math videos:
1. Be selective! Watch the videos that you want to know more about. If you're already familiar with a topic, you may not need to watch the video.
2. Reuse! If you find a video that is helpful, you may want to watch it more than once. Make a note and review the video at a later time.
3. Go further! If you don't understand something from a video, or would like to see more examples, post in the weekly Get Help Forum.
Simple Interest Formula
Ex 1: Determine an Account Balance Using Simple Interest
Another Video on Simple Interest
Compound Interest
Ex 1: Compounded Interest Formula - Quarterly
Ex 2: Compound Interest Formula - Determine Deposit Needed
Determine the Value of an Annuity
Payout Annuity Formula, Part 1
Payout Annuity Formula, Part 2
Note that Monday is the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. There is no class.
This week we continue our study of finance by moving to more advanced topics: annuities, payout annuities, and loans. (We'll omit remaining loan balance.) These topics are useful in a variety of applications, such as retirement savings, car loans, mortgages, and refinancing a loan.
Whenever you get stuck use the Get Help Forum.
To Do List for Week Three
1. Attend the Zoom sessions. The last 15 minutes of each Wednesday class has our weekly quiz. If you are ever absent, watch the archived videos of the lessons, ask questions, and check in by attending a study session or submitting a video of you doing math work.
2. Skim the textbook chapter about Finance. Be ready to use it as a resource when doing this week's work.
3. Complete this week's activity. Work on your own as much as you can. Then review the answer key. This item will not be collected. It is just for you to make sure that you can use the math topics we are learning.
4. This week's discussion forum is for for reflecting on your study skills and test preparation. The requirement is what will usually be true: make a contribution soon, then come back and reply to two other students' posts. (Moodle should show a completion checkmark when you have done that.)
5. This week does not have the usual homework. Instead, complete two practice tests and after grading your answers submit photos of your work (preferably using a shared folder in Google Drive, instructions here).
5b. During class we talked about an Example Savings Plan Spreadsheet. You can make your own copy and experiment with it as a make-up quiz (if you missed a quiz during the firs two weeks).
6. Perhaps go over Paula's weekly worksheet. If it is helpful, write out solutions for yourself to make sure you understand. You do not turn this in, but may contact me with specific questions if there are parts you don't get. Unfortunately, this worksheet does not have an answer key.
Next week we will have our first test. Begin preparing for it now! Test One covers everything we have done so far, plus "Which Equation to Use" which we will discuss next week. You will take this test during Week 4.
To Do List for Test One
Review your notes. Rewrite the most important things you have learned, helpful terms, and examples from each concept. Organize what we learned each class. Make useful notes to use on the test. The process of reviewing and rewriting is very helpful to get your brain organized and confident. Having carefully prepared notes will allow you to work efficiently during the test.
Review the activities and their answer keys, and your homework and quizzes.
Use Paula's review sheet.
Take lots of practice tests.
Share questions you have in the Get Help Forum.
Use other resources! Remember to look at the "Getting Help" section above.
Merriam-Webster's history of why biweekly and bimonthly are ambiguous
Calculator-Dot-Net has an payout annuity calculator
Bankrate has an payout annutity calculator
Bankrate also has an installment loan calculator to find the monthly payment when you know the loan total
CalculatorSoup has an installment loan calculator to find the loan total when you know the monthly payment (set the Sales Tax, Down Payment, and Trade In Value to zero)
NerdWallet's comparison of types of IRA accounts
The Motley Fool page on account types
The state program Oregon Saves
Wikipedia's page for IRAs
OCCU's page for Traditional vs. Roth IRAs (requires scrolling down a lot)
Investopedia's page about 529 Plans
Vanguard's pages for Get Smart on Investing
The current cost of TurboTax Premier as a warning not to foolishly leap into investing.
For steady withdrawls and low risk (but not low fees) use an annuity fund.
Investopedia's page on payout annuity funds
The Balance page on the fees in payout annuity funds
For steady withdrawls and low risk (but not low effort) use a "ladder" made of bonds or bank certificates of depoist.
The Motley Fool page on understanding Treasury bonds
Treasury Direct page about Treasury bonds
Treasury Direct page about Treasury bonds
Fidelity's page about bond ladders
For low fees and low risk (but not steady withdrawls) use a whole-market exchange traded stock fund for a long-term investment.
ETF Report for IVV (for S&P500 Index)
ETF Report for MGC (for Entire U. S. Market)
For low fees and low risk (but not steady withdrawls) use a whole-market exchange traded bond fund for a medium-term investment.
ETF Report for AGG (for Aggregate Bond Index)
ETF Report for VTEB (for Government Bond Index)
For low fees and moderate withdrawl flexibility (but not low risk) use a broad collection of boring and reliable dividend stocks.
The Motley Fool page on Dividend Aristocrats
Kiplinger's Picks for 2021 Dividend Stocks
This week we take our first test to conclude the problem solving and finance chapters.
Then we start a new chapter, Describing Data. This branch of statistics is known as "descriptive" because we use it to describe what we see in the world around us. This week we will look at categorical data and charts. Next week we will look at quantitative data and tables. For both types of data we will learn how to analyze and presenting data. We will also slowly build a spreadsheet of in-class examples of technology use.
Whenever you get stuck use the Get Help Forum.
To Do List for Week Four
1. Attend the Zoom sessions. The last 15 minutes of each Wednesday class has our weekly quiz. If you are ever absent, watch the archived videos of the lessons, ask questions, and check in by attending a study session or submitting a video of you doing math work.
2. Skim the textbook chapter about Describing Data. Be ready to use it as a resource when doing this week's work.
3. Complete this week's activity. Work on your own as much as you can. Then review the answer key. This item will not be collected. It is just for you to make sure that you can use the math topics we are learning.
4. This week's discussion forum is about creating a bar chart, pie chart, or Pareto chart from survey data. The requirement is different from usual. You will need to reply to two surveys, then create and comment about a frequency table and chart. (Tips for including images in Moodle forums are here. Moodle will not understand completion for this.)
5. Complete the homework, part A and part B, before the end of the week. Keep trying each homework assignment until you get 8 out of 10 or more.
6. Keep looking over your midterm. Here is the answer key if you lost that e-mail.
Tips for using online math videos:
1. Be selective! Watch the videos that you want to know more about. If you're already familiar with a topic, you may not need to watch the video.
2. Reuse! If you find a video that is helpful, you may want to watch it more than once. Make a note and review the video at a later time.
3. Go further! If you don't understand something from a video, or would like to see more examples, post in the weekly Get Help Forum.
Categorical and Quantitative Data
Overview of Categorical Displays
This week we continue the Describing Data chapter by looking at quantitative data, frequency tables, and contingency tables. Again we focus on analyzing and presenting data. We continue to slowly build our spreadsheet of in-class examples of technology use.
Whenever you get stuck use the Get Help Forum.
To Do List for Week Five
1. Attend the Zoom sessions. The last 15 minutes of each Wednesday class has our weekly quiz. If you are ever absent, watch the archived videos of the lessons, ask questions, and check in by attending a study session or submitting a video of you doing math work.
2. Skim the textbook chapter about Describing Data. Be ready to use it as a resource when doing this week's work.
3. Complete this week's activity. Work on your own as much as you can. Then review the answer key. This item will not be collected. It is just for you to make sure that you can use the math topics we are learning.
4. This week's discussion forum is for critiquing a David Ramsey video named How to Drive Free Cars for LIFE!. Pay attention to how he presents and analyzes data. He is obviously a salesman promoting his book. What can you learn about salesmanship and describing data? (Don't get distracted by the validity of his financial advice, which we can discuss during class time.) The requirement is what will usually be true: make a contribution soon, then come back and reply to two other students' posts. (Moodle should show a completion checkmark when you have done that.)
5. Complete the homework, part A and part B, before the end of the week. Keep trying each homework assignment until you get 8 out of 10 or more.
6. Special for this week! Pick a math playground to do this week or weekend.
7. Maintain mastery of old material! Keep looking over your first midterm. Here is the answer key if you lost that e-mail. Now and then re-try the problems you missed with a new version of the practice midterm.
8. Perhaps go over Paula's weekly worksheet. If it is helpful, write out solutions for yourself to make sure you understand. You do not turn this in, but may contact me with specific questions if there are parts you don't get. Unfortunately, this worksheet does not have an answer key.
Monday | Quantitative Data in charts and tables | ![]() |
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Monday (after class) | a few more week 4 HW problems | ![]() |
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Wednesday | review of Describing Data so far | ![]() |
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LCC Career Community Survey Data with Graphs
Animation of Age Distributions in China and India
Animation of Age Distributions in the United States
Census 2014 Income Distribution
CBO's 2017 Wealth Transfer
U.S. Census Bureau Quick Facts
Tips for using online math videos:
1. Be selective! Watch the videos that you want to know more about. If you're already familiar with a topic, you may not need to watch the video.
2. Reuse! If you find a video that is helpful, you may want to watch it more than once. Make a note and review the video at a later time.
3. Go further! If you don't understand something from a video, or would like to see more examples, post in the weekly Get Help Forum.
Creating a Relative Frequency Histogram
This week we finish the Describing Data chapter by looking at measures of variation. We also share what we did in our playgrounds. We continue to slowly build our spreadsheet of in-class examples of technology use.
Whenever you get stuck use the Get Help Forum.
To Do List for Week Six
0. Share during class about your math playground if you have not yet done so.
1. Attend the Zoom sessions. The last 15 minutes of each Wednesday class has our weekly quiz. If you are ever absent, watch the archived videos of the lessons, ask questions, and check in by attending a study session or submitting a video of you doing math work.
2. Skim the textbook chapter about Finance. Be ready to use it as a resource when doing this week's work.
3. Complete this week's activity. Work on your own as much as you can. Then review the answer key. This item will not be collected. It is just for you to make sure that you can use the math topics we are learning.
4. This week's discussion forum is simply a place to share about your math playground time. There is no expectation to reply to what classmates share, but you may. If you share during class time you do not need to do this week's discussion forum.
5. This week does not have the usual homework. Instead, complete two practice tests and after grading your answers submit photos of your work (preferably using a shared folder in Google Drive, instructions here).
6. Perhaps go over Paula's weekly worksheet. If it is helpful, write out solutions for yourself to make sure you understand. You do not turn this in, but may contact me with specific questions if there are parts you don't get. Unfortunately, this worksheet does not have an answer key.
Next week we will have our second test. Begin preparing for it now! Test Two covers everything we have done so far: problem solving, finance, and describing data.
To Do List for Test Two
Review your notes. Rewrite the most important things you have learned, helpful terms, and examples from each concept. Organize what we learned each class. Make useful notes to use on the test. The process of reviewing and rewriting is very helpful to get your brain organized and confident. Having carefully prepared notes will allow you to work efficiently during the test.
Review the activities and their answer keys, and your homework and quizzes.
Use Paula's Warm-Up, a nice Google Slides review of the Describing Data topic.
Use Paula's review sheet, which this time has an answer key.
Take lots of practice tests.
Share questions you have in the Get Help Forum.
Use other resources! Remember to look at the "Getting Help" section above.
Monday | Quantitative Data in charts and tables | ![]() |
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Wednesday | More Standard Deviation | ![]() |
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Tips for using online math videos:
1. Be selective! Watch the videos that you want to know more about. If you're already familiar with a topic, you may not need to watch the video.
2. Reuse! If you find a video that is helpful, you may want to watch it more than once. Make a note and review the video at a later time.
3. Go further! If you don't understand something from a video, or would like to see more examples, post in the weekly Get Help Forum.
Overview: Range and Standard Deviation
Examples: Range
Examples: Standard Deviation, Part 1
Examples: Standard Deviation, Part 2
This week is a holiday and our second test.
Whenever you get stuck use the Get Help Forum.
To Do List for Week Seven
1. Attend the Wednesday Zoom session. This is our test!
2. If you wish, explore our class library and maybe earn easy achievements.
3. Say or send a thank you to a classmate who has helped you this term.
4. Relax. You have earned a break!
This week we start our next topic: Probability. We begin by discussing likelihood, permutations, and combinations. We also use tree diagrams. Then we deepen our exploration of probability by looking at complementary, independent, conditional, and contingent events.
We continue to slowly build our spreadsheet of in-class examples of technology use.
Our official formula page has grown to include the probability formulas.
Whenever you get stuck use the Get Help Forum.
To Do List for Week Eight
1. Attend the Zoom sessions. The last 15 minutes of each Wednesday class has our weekly quiz. If you are ever absent, watch the archived videos of the lessons, ask questions, and check in by attending a study session or submitting a video of you doing math work.
2. Skim the textbook chapter about Probability. Be ready to use it as a resource when doing this week's work.
3. Complete this week's activity. Work on your own as much as you can. Then review the answer key. This item will not be collected. It is just for you to make sure that you can use the math topics we are learning.
4. This week's discussion forum is about the difference between independent events and mutually exclusive events. Students sometimes mix the two ideas up. First, explain in your own words what independent events are, and what mutually exclusive events are. Then give four examples (two of each kind) from your life. (Avoid things like rolling dice and drawing cards!) Explain why you think your first two examples are independent, and your second two examples are mutually exclusive events? (Moodle will not judge completion for your reply.)
5. Complete the homework, part A and part B, before the end of the week. Keep trying each homework assignment until you get 8 out of 10 or more.
6. Perhaps go over Paula's weekly worksheet, which this time is only notes without any problems to attempt.
Tips for using online math videos:
1. Be selective! Watch the videos that you want to know more about. If you're already familiar with a topic, you may not need to watch the video.
2. Reuse! If you find a video that is helpful, you may want to watch it more than once. Make a note and review the video at a later time.
3. Go further! If you don't understand something from a video, or would like to see more examples, post in the weekly Get Help Forum.
Probability Using Combinations
Probabilities Using Combinations: Cards
Probabilities of Independent Events: P(A and B)
This week we finish our exploration of probability by looking at expected value.
We continue to slowly build our spreadsheet of in-class examples of technology use.
Remember that last week our official formula page expanded to include the probability formulas.
Whenever you get stuck use the Get Help Forum.
To Do List for Week Nine
1. Attend the Zoom sessions. The last 15 minutes of each Wednesday class has our weekly quiz. If you are ever absent, watch the archived videos of the lessons, ask questions, and check in by attending a study session or submitting a video of you doing math work.
2. Skim the textbook chapter about Probability. Be ready to use it as a resource when doing this week's work.
3. Complete this week's activity. Work on your own as much as you can. Then review the answer key. This item will not be collected. It is just for you to make sure that you can use the math topics we are learning.
4. This week's discussion forum is about comparing the currend pandemic with the 1918 Spanish Flu. Consider the world population in 1918 and 2019. Consider how many people caught each disease, and died from each disease. What percentage of the world population died from each disease? What else do you wonder about these or other pandemics—what would you like to know or research to gain a better perspective on the scope or magnitude of these pandemics? (Moodle will not judge completion for your reply.)
5. Complete the homework, part A and part B, before the end of the week. Keep trying each homework assignment until you get 8 out of 10 or more.
6. Perhaps go over Paula's weekly worksheet. If it is helpful, write out solutions for yourself to make sure you understand. You do not turn this in, but may contact me with specific questions if there are parts you don't get. This week it has an answer key.
7. Carefully go over Paula's final exam review. If it is helpful, write out solutions for yourself to make sure you understand. You do not turn this in, but may contact me with specific questions if there are parts you don't get. It does have an answer key.
Monday | Probability HW Review, Expected Value, Tests with False Positive and Negatives | ![]() |
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Wednesday | Review Day #1 | ![]() |
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Saturday | Jamboard from the evening Study Session | ![]() |
not recorded | not recorded |
Tips for using online math videos:
1. Be selective! Watch the videos that you want to know more about. If you're already familiar with a topic, you may not need to watch the video.
2. Reuse! If you find a video that is helpful, you may want to watch it more than once. Make a note and review the video at a later time.
3. Go further! If you don't understand something from a video, or would like to see more examples, post in the weekly Get Help Forum.
Conditional Probability with Cards
Conditional Probability from a Table
Review of Probability Concepts
Paula's first video on Expected Value
Paula's second video on Expected Value
Week 10 is a review week.
Please give feedback about the class in our last Moodle Forum.
We will do many practice finals. Your homework for Week 10 is turning in two.
Our jamboards for Monday and Wednesday, and Wednesday's class had two videos.