Frequently Asked Questions
Language Arts/English
How do I write a book report?
What activities can I do to help me in reading?
What should I use as a subject for an essay in English?
Which way is b and which way is d?
How can I make my writing more interesting?
What's an easy way to practice writing?
How do I make an outline for a report?
How do I write a paragraph about myself?
How can I build my vocabulary?
Poetry
How should I understand poetry?
How do I read poetry?
How do I write poetry?
What terms are used when talking about poetry?
Social Studies
Why are teachers so strict about social studies?
Why do we need to study social studies anyway?
What is the Bill of Rights?
Math
Addition
How do I add two 2-digit numbers, like 59 + 86?
How do I do subtraction when I need to borrow?
Multiplication
How do I learn my multiplication table?
How do I do 2-digit multiplication?
What is division?
How do I do long division?
Fractions
How do I simplify fractions?
How do I add and subtract fractions?
How do I multiply fractions?
How do I divide fractions?
How do I change a decimal to a fraction?
How do I write a fraction as a decimal?
Science
What is the solar system?
Where can I get information and find the names of the nine planets?
Are there other planets besides those in our solar system?
How can a baby be made?
What are the tools used in science?
What is science?
Language Arts/English
Question: How do I write a book report?
Answer:
Read a book that interests you. Then, write a paragraph for each of the following four points:
1. The names and descriptions of the main characters.
2. A description of what the story is about, chronologically (plot) (in the order the events occurred)
3. What the book is trying to say to YOU, the reader. (What's the theme, the idea?)
4. Whether you liked the book -- and WHY or WHY not? For example, if the book was boring, give a reason.
Then check your work for good English to make sure there are no careless errors, like spelling the word "I" with a small i.
By the way, each teacher has a slightly different format or set of instructions for writing a book report. The main thing is to include at least what I have explained above.
Oh, and don't forget to write (or type) at the top of your paper the NAME of the book and the AUTHOR.
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Question: What activities can I do to help me in reading?
Answer:
Read everything you get your eyes on.
One of the best ways to learn to read is to WRITE. Write a diary, poems, stories, a letter to the editor, or write to your lonely
out-of-town grandparent. Write down a recipe, and read or send what you write to others. Maybe even type out some of your writing and let me read it.
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Question: What should I use as a subject for an essay in English?
Answer:
Maybe try the subject: "The most difficult problem facing the world today is _____________________and this is how I'd solve it".
In your essay, try to give specific examples to back up your ideas.
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Question: Which way is b and which way is d?
Answer:
The best way to solve this problem is to read a lot so the words that have b and d sort of become natural to you.
Also, when you write words with b or d, think that b has a big belly in front, and d has a big behind. This should not only help you remember, but also make you smile!
Plus write a diary or story about a person who hated b's and d's until one day, she decided to open a dictionary and list out b and d words until she fell asleep.
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Question: How can I make my writing more interesting?
Answer:
What makes writing more interesting is using specific details instead of generalities. You can start with a topic sentence, but then GET INTO DETAILS. Try to write from your own experiences or interests if possible. Vary the length of sentences and use
synonyms, rather than the same words all the time. Use quotations, if you can -- in other words, quote what other people are saying. AND READ a variety of other's writing to see what you admire. Then even imitate the style of a writer you like, but make the story your own.
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Question: I am learning to write. What's a good way to practice writing?
Answer:
Practice by writing letters to people you love and maybe to a pen pal this summer. Write a letter a day. Include people like first cousins, aunts and uncles, and so on. Tell them what you're doing (practicing) but also tell them about what you think about things, what's newsy, and ask questions so the people you are writing to have to answer you.
If some of the people have email, you can "write" that way, back and forth.
Tell them to save your letters and you'll save theirs. Good luck and tell me how it goes. Maybe even write to me and I'll write back, as I'm doing now.
First grade is a good time to start!
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Question: How do I make an outline for a report?
Answer:
Here is a lot of information. It will help YOU write better papers.
Outline! The very word used to make me sick. More work. But now, years later, I know I was wrong....The purpose of an outline actually is to save time and get your ideas across better.
What you want to do is to make an orderly arrangement of related ideas - like a sketch for a final painting, but in words, to guide you. Another way to put it is you're making a blueprint for a building - to make clear where everything belongs.
In other words, an outline may seem like a waste of time but it is important - a very important step - because it will help guide you in writing your actual report. It's kind of like first reading the headlines in a newspaper or skimming the photos; it gives you a good idea of what you'll find in the "small print."
Okay, that said, let's get into details. First, your outline must be flexible in the planning stage so as to allow for needed changes; yet, it must also be rigid enough to keep you from wandering off the topic. How do you do that? First, you make a WORKING OUTLINE which you can change; then, in its final form, your outline should be a permanent guide to your completed composition. (By the way, your outline can also serve as a table of contents in a longer paper, say in a term paper - so you're killing two birds with one stone.)
What about the details of your outline?
The details should be from general to specific. (The following details are listed from general to more specific: transportation, motor vehicle, car, Ford, Mustang.)
This means that the general topic of your writing (usually called the THESIS STATEMENT) you list first, followed by the major subtopics and the supporting details and examples.
EXAMPLE:
SUBJECT: Trees
1. Topic (Many trees can be used for landscaping.)
A. Subtopic 1 (Some trees are best suited for cold climates.)
1. Supporting detail 1 (Evergreens are hardy and provide year-round color.)
a. Specific example 1 (Norway pine...)
b. Specific example 2 (Scotch pine...)
2. Supporting detail 2 (Maples hold up well and provide brilliant seasonal color.)
a. Specific example 1 (Red maple...)
b. Specific example 2 (Silver maple...)
B. Subtopic 2 (Some trees are better suited to warm climates.)
So, that's one form of outline: from general to specific.
A similar outline is A TOPIC OUTLINE, which lists the topic to
be covered in a piece of writing; it contains no specific details.
This is a useful outline for SHORT compositions.
To do this outline, start off by placing your THESIS STATEMENT
at the top of the paper. (The thesis statement is your controlling idea.) Do not attempt to outline your introduction or conclusion unless specifically told to do so. Here's a sample outline:
THESIS STATEMENT: American's supply of resources is vast, but not unlimited, as shown in the energy crisis of 1973.
Introduction
I. Gasoline shortage
A. Long lines
B. Gas "rationing"
C. Stations closing
II. Voluntary energy conservation
A. Gasoline
B. Electricity
C. Home heating fuel
III. Forced energy conservation
A. Fuel allocation
B. Speed limit
C. Airline flights
D. Christmas lighting
Conclusion
For longer, more formal writing (like term papers!) try out the SENTENCE OUTLINE, which contains not only the major points to be covered, but also lists many of the important supporting details as well. Here, each point must be set forth in a sentence. It is much easier to understand (and ask for help with) an outline that has complete sentences rather than one using single words and phrases. Plus, you can use the sentences as the lead sentences for your actual paper! So, here too you'll kill two birds with one stone - which is very efficient use of precious time. It goes like this, for example:
SENTENCE OUTLINE:
I. In the summer of 1973, gasoline was in short supply.
A. Long lines of cars at the pumps became a familiar sight.
B. Some stations "rationed" their gas.
C. Other stations closed early.
II. The Arab oil boycott forced additional cutbacks in energy use.
A. Many Americans turned down their home thermostats.
B. Some businesses shortened working hours to conserve.
C. Unnecessary lighting and driving were cut.
III. Late in 1973, new laws were passed to assure energy savings.
A. The amount of fuel available for heating was reduced.
B. A 50 mile-per-hour speed limit took effect for all states.
C. Airline flights were cut back.
D. Outdoor Christmas lighting was banned.
So that's some information on OUTLINING. The rest is writing and rewriting.
Oh, by the way, don't forget a title for your paper, which belongs at the top along with your name, date, and other required information.
One final thing. I used to think that outlining was something you could do in your head. It seemed a waste of time that my teachers wanted an outline. Writing the paper was hard enough, let alone having to outline it too. Now, however, I think back and see how much better my papers could have been if I had spent more time on outlining and less time complaining about it.
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Question: How do I write a paragraph about myself?
Answer:
The key to writing a good paragraph is writing a good topic sentence. That means a sentence that limits your subject and makes clear your feelings or impressions about it. In other words, a good topic sentence reveals what your subject is and what you plan to say about that subject. Below is a sample topic sentence (just an example) and a simple formula to remember when writing a topic sentence:
Music helps me relax.
FORMULA: a limited topic (Music) + a specific impression (helps me relax.) = a good topic sentence.
Once you have a good topic sentence, you must gather a number of interesting details and arrange them into the best possible order. Take your choice: This can be (1) CHRONOLOGICAL (in the actual order things happened) or (2) in the ORDER OF IMPORTANCE you recall they were to you, or (3) as a CAUSE AND EFFECT, in which one thing or event led to another.
Next, work your details into well-worded sentences, writing as naturally as you can. Try to write in such a way that you feel comfortable with the words. Bring your own personality and feelings to your writing. Give it a style and a flavor that is your own.
If the sentences which follow your topic sentence flow naturally and work together well, they will create a paragraph that is easy to read.
Once you have arranged all of your sentences into a natural, logical order, it is time to add a concluding sentence to your paragraph. The concluding or clincher sentence serves two basic functions: it ties together all the details in the paragraph and draws attention to the message or impression you are trying to communicate. It gives you one last chance to help your reader see the overall picture.
Okay, so now what? Applying the above ideas, if you are writing about yourself, you must narrow down the topic. Maybe it's "The best time of my life was before I reached five." (Then give examples. Describe the most happy occasions but give vivid details, using your 5 senses. Maybe it was smelling a cake baking and licking the icing; maybe you remember your mother singing a song to you at night and you can quote the words; maybe it was your daydreams, hopes, and wishes which you can tell the reader about; a surprise birthday party in kindergarten; etc. Possibly after your topic sentence, start with your EARLIEST happy moment or event and then go on in chronological order, first things first, and onto the very last happy thing that happened, maybe it was kindergarten graduation with your family taking photos and then all of a sudden, you had that rude awakening: First Grade!)
Then, to end the paragraph, you can write something like "Then, I had that rude awakening: FIRST GRADE. Now those innocent happy years are gone forever now; replaced with school work, responsibilities, and the scary future of growing up in a world of not knowing what, how, when, why, or where I want to be. But, then again, I'm still just nine (?) and lately I've been hearing that there's something greater than happiness. It's called LOVE. Could that be just ahead!"
By the way, maybe your teacher will let you write your paragraph in the form of a Dear Diary. The basic ideas above still apply, though.
One other thing: check for mistakes in spelling, grammar, and capital letters (like use I instead of i) and CORRECT the problems before you turn the paragraph in with a TITLE at the top and your name, date, and other information your teacher asks for.
That's it. I hope I have been of some help. Please write again.
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Question: Can you help me with my vocab?
Answer:
Yes, but vocabulary-building takes time & work. It's like learning a language. First, it will help you improve your reading speed and comprehension - which means more enjoyment, less frustration, and better grades. Plus, who knows, maybe it will help get you a scholarship to college if you do well on Merit tests and the SAT!
If you are serious about improving your vocabulary, then read on carefully, print out this material and study it very carefully, please.
That said, for those of you who are still with me, have a soda or pop and a candy bar or carrot stick and read on...
There are several ways to work on vocabulary. Some are obvious and some are not. By the way, if you can find a family member who is interested in improving their vocabulary too, by all means work together; it's more fun. My grandfather and I, for example, every Friday night after dinner would quiz each other with the Word Power list of hard words in the "Readers' Digest." It amazed me how much he knew - and how much I learned from him.
Back to the future...try one or all of these:
1. Dictionary. Basic! Read all the definitions. Know how to pronounce the word. Write a sentence for each word. Writing helps you remember more than just thinking a new word. Watch how a good dictionary conjugates the word (uses it in different spelling forms like past & future tense).
2. Thesaurus. This is a dictionary of synonyms and antonyms - similar and opposite words. Each word has a different "shade" of meaning. For example, when you write an essay and you want to use the word ANGRY, a thesaurus will give you choices such as IRATE, WRATHFUL, BITTER, ACRIMONIOUS, INDIGNANT, FUMING, RAGING, FURIOUS, RABID, CROSS, PEEVED, HUFFY, INFLAMED, ENRAGED, INFURIATED, EXASPERATED, FIERY, and so on.
3. Vocabulary from context. This means learning a word from its environment - from the words that surround it. You can pick up clues or hints which will help you with the meaning of a difficult word. Research has shown that most good readers use context clues regularly. There are at least seven types of context clues. Pick at least one way that works for YOU:
a. Clues supplied through synonyms: Carol is fond of using trite, worn-out expressions in her writing. Her favorite is "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink."
b. Clues contained in comparisons and contrasts: As the trial continued, the defendant's guilt became more and more obvious. With even the slightest bit of new evidence against him, there would be no chance of acquittal.
c. Clues contained in a definition or description: Peggy is a transcriptionist, a person who makes a written copy of a recorded message.
d. Clues through association with other words in the sentence: Jim is considered the most troublesome student ever to have walked the halls of Central High. He has not passed a single class in his four years there and seldom makes it through an entire hour of class without falling asleep or getting sent to the office. His teachers consider him completely incorrigible.
e. Clues which appear in a series: The dulcimer, fiddle, and banjo are all popular among the Appalachian Mountain people.
f. Clues provided by the tone and setting: The streets filled with bellicose protesters, who pushed and shoved their way through the frantic bystanders. The scene was no longer peaceful and calm as the marchers has promised it would be.
g. Clues from cause and effect: Since nobody came to the first voluntary work session, attendance for the second one is mandatory for all the members.
TWO MORE THINGS ABOUT CONTEXT CLUES:
ONE, THEY MAY NOT SHOW UP IMMEDIATELY IN A LONGER PIECE OF
READING: THE CLUE/S MAY NOT APPEAR UNTIL SEVERAL SENTENCES OR EVEN A PARAGRAPH LATER. THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE ON A CAT
OR SAT READING COMPREHENSION TEST.
TWO, THE MORE CLUES YOU AS A READER CAN FIND, THE CLOSER YOU CAN GET TO THE SPECIFIC MEANING OF THE WORD AND, IN TURN, THE OVERALL MEANING OF THE PASSAGE.
NOTE: A GOOD PIECE OF LITERATURE TO TRY CONTEXT CLUE PRACTICE ON IS JACK LONDON'S FAMOUS STORY "CALL OF THE WILD."
LAST THING: USING CONTEXT CLUES INTELLIGENTLY CAN BE A READER'S MOST VALUABLE VOCABULARY TOOL - BUT DON'T EXPECT THE CLUES ALWAYS TO BE HANDED TO YOU ON A SILVER PLATTER, ESPECIALLY ON HARDER TESTS. YOU MAY HAVE TO BE A DETECTIVE ABOUT IT.
________________________________________________
WAIT! HAVE ANOTHER SNACK, TAKE A BIKE RIDE, THEN COME BACK HERE!
WE'RE NOT FINISHED YET.
THERE ARE TOTALLY BASIC WAYS TO LEARN VOCABULARY. REMEMBER THAT ENGLISH WORDS DERIVE FROM OTHER EARLIER LANGUAGES. THAT MEANS WE CAN BREAK DOWN ENGLISH WORDS INTO PREFIX, SUFFIX, AND ROOT STUDY
(MOSTLY BORROWED FROM GREEK AND LATIN AND GERMAN)
TO DO THIS STUDY, THOUGH, YOU MUST BECOME FAMILIAR WITH AS FEW AS 50 OR AS MANY AS 500 PREFIXES, SUFFIXES, AND ROOTS, DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT OF TIME AND EFORT YOU HAVE TO PUT INTO THIS PROJECT.
WHAT MAKES THIS FORM OF VOCABULARY STUDY ESPECIALLY EFFICIENT IS THAT THE NUMBER OF WORDS ADDED TO YOUR VOCABULARY WILL BE MUCH, I REPEAT MUCH GREATER THAN THE NUMBER OF WORD PARTS YOU LEARN.
EXAMPLE: MICRO MEANS SMALL AND IS A PREFIX. SO SOME OF THE WORDS WE GET ARE MICROMETER (A DEVICE FOR MEASURING SMALL DISTANCES); MICROWAVE; MICROBE (SMALL LIVING THINGS); MOCROORGANISM; MICROFILM; & MICROSCOPE.
EXAMPLE: LOG, LOGO, OLOGY MEANS WORD, STUDY, SPEECH. SO SOME OF THE WORDS WE GET ARE PROLOGUE; EPILOGUE; DIALOGUE; CATALOGUE; ZOOLOGY (ANIMAL STUDY); PSYCHOLOGY (MIND STUDY); THEOLOGY (GOD STUDY); LOQUACIOUS.
OKAY! OKAY! ENOUGH ALREADY, RIGHT? I'M BEING TOO LOQUACIOUS. I JUST KIND OF LOVE TO TALK AND WRITE. GOOD LUCK ON YOUR VOCABULARY BUILDING. NOW, ONE, TWO, THREE, -- I'LL SHUT UP AND YOU DO THE LEARNING. KEEP WRITING KIDDONET - FOR THE FIRST AND LAST WORD IN VOCABULARY! DESIST!
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About Poetry
Question: How should I understand poetry?
Answer:
I want to give you an answer you can bite your teeth into. Please take the time to read this carefully and maybe save and print it out for future use. By the way, if all you want are the technical terms, skip to them below, starting with ALLITERATION and ending with VERSE. But, it you're really interested in poetry, then keep reading, from start to finish....
To start out, someone once described poetry in this way:
Words
dreaming in a bed
of language
...Before we talk about words a poet would use, I want to explain some FALSE notions about the MEANING of poems -- and then how REALLY to read a poem so you get a lot of personal meaning from it.
SOME FALSE NOTIONS:
1. Poems have no meaning. (Only a person who, through careless reading, lack of exposure to poetry, or deep skepticism, has never found personal meaning in a poem would dare to say this.)
2. Poems can mean anything you want them to. (This is really the same falsehood as the first, with the added belief that in the absence of obvious external meaning, one's private feelings are of ultimate importance. You can use your mother's fried chicken for a doorstopper, too, if you feel like it, but you won't get much nutrition that way.)
3. Every poem should have one basic meaning which can be stated in a sentence. (If the meaning of a poem could be stated in a sentence, all good poets would quit. Each good poem is the shortest way of saying ALL that is says.)
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Question: How do you read a poem so you stay awake?
Answer:
1. READ SLOWLY, syllable by syllable. You wouldn't comb your hair with a garden rake; don't speed-read a poem.
2. READ ALOUD (except in the library). Ignore the smirks of strangers.
3. READ A POEM OVER AND OVER AGAIN, once to let the strangeness wear off, again to recognize the form [see the terms below], a third time to assimilate ("soak up") the themes and images, a fourth time to hear the music of the language, and as many times as you wish to probe the questions raised by the earlier readings. The best poems will give back far more than you ask of them.
4. TRY TO CATCH THE "ARC" OF THE WHOLE POEM rather than stopping at individual lines as if they could stand by themselves. The drift or the whole poem may provide a clue to some of the difficult phrases.
Conventional forms like the sonnet or ballad often have conventional "arcs," but when you have recognized the familiar pattern, pay special attention to any notable variations from that pattern. Remember, too, that blank spaces may also be informative parts of the structure.
5. LISTEN FOR VOICES. A poet will sometimes purposely mimic the speech of other types of people. If you miss the false voice, you'll miss the irony of the poet's technique, and you may get the meaning of the poem just backwards.
6. When you encounter imagery appealing to the senses ("bee-loud glade"), CALL UP YOUR OWN PAST SENSATIONS; do not treat images as slot-filling pieces of data. Feel the smallness of the bees, hear the electric energy of their buzzing; sense the sheltered coolness of a glade, and finally sense the poet's seeming pleasure (or other emotion) in the whole scene.
7. TAKE PLEASURE IN THE ARTFULNESS OF POETIC LANGUAGE, even if the poem is about suicide, lost love, or some hopeless state of affairs. Poetry always has two faces; one face may look on life's ugliness and despair, but the other always looks hopefully on the power of language to express the theme in fitting form. THIS SECOND FACE CAN ALSO BE CATHARTIC: that means it can clear up a lot of confusion and get rid of psychological pain when you are able to "figure things out" by working carefully with you own words or those of other poets.
8. USE YOUR MEMORY. First, use memory to hold the early lines of a poem in mind as you pass on to the succeeding ones; doing so is necessary if you want to catch patterns as they develop. Second, use your memory to recall any feelings you have had similar to those presented in the poem; doing so will place you in a dialogue with the poem, a technique guaranteed to improve comprehension of whatever you read.
9. TRUST THE POET, even if you do not immediately grasp the poem's meaning. If there is any doubt that the poet is in control of his or her words and ideas, give the poet the benefit of the doubt. If after the 352nd reading, however, the poem still makes no sense, you may begin to suspect that the poet doesn't understand it either. (And don't be afraid to say so, if you are reviewing a poem for an assignment. Be honest in your criticism, but back it up.)
10.ANTICIPATE, IN TWO WAYS. First, as you read the poem, try to play the role of poet and guess where the poem will go next. You will then be reading creatively, even if the poem completely reverses your expectations. Second, approach the poem with the expectation that as a result of reading it, you may learn to view some aspect of life in a whole new way. Not to read with that sort of openness is not to appreciate fully the power of poetry.
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Question: How do you write poetry?
Answer:
Writing good poetry is like stepping into a land of mystery. No one knows exactly how good poems are written, not even poets. Without a doubt, however, the best preparation for writing poetry is reading good poetry. A few hours of deep communion with a short poem by Shakespeare, Emily Dickenson, or W.B.Yeats, for example, will teach you more than twenty-seven afternoons with a poetry manual. Nevertheless, a few hints may help.
NEED IDEAS ON CHOOSING A SUBJECT? TRY THESE:
Anything looked at closely is worth seeing! In fact, anything looked at closely, from a drop under a microscope to a galaxy in deep space, is worth writing a poem about.
1. Try making "found poetry" by searching pamphlets, newspapers, magazine ads, etc. for snatches of prose which, when yanked out of context and cut into poetic lines, make a new kind of sense.
2. Think of an animal that impresses you and try to write about it in such a way that your language mirrors the animal's manners.
3. Think of an important event in your life but try writing a poem about the moments just prior to it or just after.
4. Think of a subject that "eats way at you" but write a poem about it in the form of a newspaper account that gets more and more out of hand.
5. Write a poem celebrating a time, place, or thing that no one else seems ever to have noticed (the oil spot under your car, or the moment after the dishwater has drained from the sink but the suds remain, talking to you).
6. Write a poem about something you love but in the voice of someone who hates it.
7. Write a poem in the form of a dialogue between two inanimate (not really alive) objects. This uses the technique of PERSONIFICATION: attributing human characteristics to them.
8. Write a poem in which each line has exactly nine syllables.
9. Look up, in your mind, at something much bigger than you and write a poem addressing it.
10.Write a poem about a time when you felt slightly crazy, using language that is slightly crazy.
NOTE: If in the course of writing these or any other poems you discover that something larger is at stake, let the poem expand to take it in. Many poems are truly discovered in the process of writing another one. It may be worth starting a horrendously bad poem just so you can shake the good one out of your grey matter.
OKAY, NOW FOR A COUPLE OF TIPS ON TECHNIQUES TO HELP YOU WRITE A GOOD POEM!
1. If your poem is about overly sentimental subjects like puppies, kittens, little birdies, or pretty flowers, avoid writing it if you can.
2. If you spot a cliche anywhere in your poem - a tired phrase like "raining cats and dogs," "green with envy," "happy as a lark," or "sweetie pie" - cross it out and approach the idea from a new angle.
3. Avoid overused, cute forms such as last lines that
step
down
like
this.
4. Whenever a poet uses more words than necessary, the poetry in the poem dies at that point. Poetry is motion.
5. Don't overuse alliteration. What's that? See below.
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Question: What terms are used when talking about poetry?
Answer:
ALLITERATION is the repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words as in "rough and ready." Many poetic examples of alliteration can be found in today's songs. "...though the TANGLED TRAILS OF TIME have led us astray, the memory seems to stay" (from "Lonely People," Harry Chapin).
ASSONANCE is the repetition of vowel sounds without the repetition of consonants as in "...my words like silent raindrops fell...") from "Sounds of Silence," Paul Simon).
BALLAD is a poem which tells a story and usually rhymes every other line.
CONSONANCE is the repetition of consonant sounds, especially in poetry. Consonance is similar to alliteration except that it is not limited to the first letter of each word as is alliteration. "...and high school girls with clear skin smiles..." from "At Seventeen," Janis Ian.
ELEGY is a formal poem mourning the death of a certain individual.
EPIC is a long narrative (story) poem which tells of the deeds and adventures of a hero (one of the most famous is the ancient Greek poet Homer, who wrote "The Odyssey," which is a long journey full of sea-faring experiences, or the Italian poet Dante, who wrote "The Inferno," about descending into the secret, lower worlds.).
FOOT is a unit of meter which denotes the combination of stressed and unstressed syllables:
Iambic: an unstressed followed by a stressed syllable (repeat)
Anapestic: two unstressed followed by a stressed syllable (interrupt)
Trochaic: a stressed followed by an unstressed syllable (older)
Dactylic: a stressed followed by two unstressed syllables (openly)
Spondaic: two stressed syllables (heartbreak)
Pyrrhic: two unstressed syllables (very rare)
HAIKU is a form of Japanese poetry which has three lines; the first line has five syllables, the second has seven syllables, and the
third has five syllables. The subject of the haiku has traditionally been nature as in:
Behind me the moon
Brushes shadows of pine trees
Lightly on the floor.
LIMERICK is a light, humorous verse of five lines with an aabba rhyme scheme:
There was a young lady from Maine
Who was as thin as a cane;
When her bathing was done
And the water did run,
She slid through the hole in the drain.
LYRIC is a short verse which is intended to express the emotions of the author; quite often these lyrics are set to music.
METAPHOR is a comparing of two unlike things in which no words of comparison (LIKE or AS) are used: "That new kid in our class is really a squirrel." (This is a literary term, not just for poetry.)
METER is the repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.
ODE is a lyric poem written to someone or something with a serious tone. It may be very sentimental and full of nostalgia.
ONOMATOPOEIA (pron. on-oh-mah-toe-PEE-ah)is the use of a word whose sound suggests its meaning, as in clang, buzz, twang, and hush.
PARADOX is a statement which at first seems contradictory but which turns out to have a profound meaning as in Bob Dylan's lyric: "I was so much older then; I'm younger than that now."
PASTORAL is a poem that deals with rustic life or in general rural, rather than city life.
REFRAIN is the repetition of a line or phrase of a poem at regular intervals, especially at the end of each stanza. The refrain in a song is called the CHORUS.
RHYMED VERSE is the similarity or likeness of sound existing between two words. Sat and cat are perfect rhymes because the vowel and consonant sounds are exactly the same.
SIMILE is a comparison of two unlike things in which a word of comparison (LIKE or AS) is used: "She eats like a bird." (This is a literary term, not just for poetry, but all kinds of writing.)
STANZA is a division of poetry named for the number of lines it contains:
Couplet: two-line stanza
Triplet: three-line stanza
Quatrain: four-line stanza
Quintet: five-line stanza
Sestet: six-line stanza
Septet: seven-line stanza
Octave: eight-line stanza
VERSE is a metric line of poetry and is usually found in one of three forms:
RHYMED (see RHYME defined above); BLANK (unrhymed, usually with every other syllable, beginning with the second, stressed; mostly used in very long poems); and FREE VERSE, which does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme.
SO THAT'S IT. IF YOU NEED ADDITIONAL HELP, KIDDONET IS HERE
FOR YOU. PLEASE, JUST ASK! WE CERTAINLY HOPE THAT THIS "LESSON"
ON POETRY HAS HELPED YOU - BOTH TO UNDERSTAND POETRY A BIT BETTER
AND TO GO FORWARD IN WRITING YOUR OWN POEMS AND SHARING THEM.
POETRY IS A GREAT WAY TO EXPRESS YOURSELF -
TO YOURSELF AND TO OTHERS.
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Social Studies
Question: Why are teachers so strict about social studies?
Answer:
Maybe you got a "turkey" or maybe the discipline is exactly what you need. Please explain further and of course if you have Social Studies questions, write to me at Homework Helper. We also have Language Arts (English) and Math and Science help for you.
I'd look at your teacher's strictness as just another part of life, part of the deck you've been dealt - but which you can learn from. Maybe your teacher's just bored with his or her work BUT don't judge too quickly; maybe this teacher is going to be the best thing for yo because he or she has so much interesting and relevant (usable) information to share with you that strictness is required --otherwise precious time may be "awasted."
I don't want to sound preachy but make the most of EVERY chance to learn; there are still kids your age working in sweat shops or in the fields for 15 hours a day who would give anything to have your opportunity to go a school with ANY teacher, strict or otherwise.
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Question: Can you please tell me why we must learn social studies?
I'm horrible at that subject. Can you give me some tips?
Answer:
Hi - Good question, actually.
What can I say. 'Sorry you're so down on social studies because it can be as interesting as anything else.
Why so interesting?
Because it involves things like psychology, sociology, anthropology, history, and geography -- which give you the basic facts & opinions about what "earth people" are, have been, and will be about: including YOU! That means you can learn about yourself, too. And think about it; if you watch TV at all or talk to friends or family, then what is that but social studies?
Tips? Well...
Maybe your teacher is half-asleep or bored or you and your teacher are half-asleep or bored BUT TIME IS AWASTING SO TRY TO UNBORE YOURSELF AND GET INTO IT. IF YOU'RE HORRIBLE AT IT, THEN SPEND MORE TIME ON IT AND IF YOU WANT HELP WITH SOME OF THE INFORMATION THEN W R I T E U S B E C A U S E W E W A N T T O H E L P!
We're on your side if you are serious about learning!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Question: I have to do a report on the Bill of Rights. Will you help me?
Answer:
Yes!
Here's lots of information on the Bill of Rights, which as you know is part of the original Constitution - included on the end of it. Many other amendments, such as abolishing slavery and giving women the right to vote, have been added since then and continue to be added on - up to the present time - which makes the Constitution a LIVING DOCUMENT.
You may want to save, then copy this information and print it out. Then for your report, please try to put the material in your OWN words and maybe include the Bill of Rights hand-printed so it looks like the original - or at least use a type font on your word-processed report that looks "old-fashioned" for the actual Bill of Rights. The extra little work could be fun and help your grade.
The Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, safeguarding fundamental individual rights against usurpation by the federal government and prohibiting interference with existing rights. The precedents for these stipulations came from three separate English documents: the Magna Carta, the Petition of Right, and the Declaration of Rights. Virginia, in 1776, and Massachusetts, in 1780, had incorporated bills of rights into their original constitutions, and these two states, with New York and Pennsylvania, refused to ratify the new federal Constitution unless it was amended to protect the individual. In 1790, Congress submitted 12 amendments, 10 of which were adopted in 1791 as Articles I through X.
Amendments to the Constitution
When the first U.S. Congress convened on March 4, 1789, before it were 103 amendments to the Constitution submitted by the states, 42 amendments proposed by minority groups within the states, and bills of rights submitted by Virginia and by New York. After deliberating on these proposed amendments, Congress reduced them to 12, which were submitted to the states. Two failed of ratification; the others became the first 10 amendments. They were ratified on December 15, 1791, and are known as the Bill of Rights. In general the 10 amendments are sweeping prohibitions against government abridgment or destruction of fundamental rights. The 10th Amendment, reserving to the states, or the people, those powers not delegated or prohibited to the federal government, established a basis for subsequent judicial interpretations of the Constitution, thereby limiting the power of the federal government.
Amendments to the Constitution
(The first ten Amendments were ratified Dec. 15, 1791, and form what is known as the Bill of Rights.)
Amendment 1
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment 2
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment 3
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed
by law.
Amendment 4
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment 5
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment 6
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
Amendment 7
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment 8
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment 9
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment 10
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
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Math
Addition
Question: How do I add two 2-digit numbers, like 59+86?
Answer:
To do this problem, you write it as
59
+
86
----
First, we add the digits in the ones place, namely 9+6=15. 15 ones means we have 1 ten and 5 ones.
We put the 5 in the ones place of our answer, and carry the 1 ten to the tens column.
1
59
+
86
----
5
Now, we add the digits in the tens place, namely 1+5+8=14. 14 tens mean we have 1 hundred and 4 tens.
We put the 4 in the tens place of our answer and the 1 in the hundreds place of our answer.
1
59
+
86
----
145
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Question: How do I do subtraction when I need to borrow?
Answer:
There are no short cuts in doing subtraction questions that involve carrying.
Let's do the example 56-28.
The number 56 means we have 5 tens and 6 ones.
56
-
28
-----
Or, we can represent it like
**********
**********
********** ******
**********
**********
We look at the ones place of our question, namely we want to take 8 away from 6. But, we can't do that, so we borrow a "10".
**********
********** **********
********** ******
**********
Now, in the tens place of the number 56 we now only have 4 tens, but we have 16 ones.
416
56
-
28
-----
So, now we take 8 away from 16. 16-8=8. We write this 8 in the ones place of our answer.
4
56
-
28
-----
8
Now, we subtract the digits in the tens place, namely 4-2=2.
We write this 2 in then tens place of our answer.
56
-
28
-----
28
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Multiplication
Question: How do I learn my multiplication table?
Answer:
The person who could come up with an easy way to learn the multiplication table would make a fortune.
Unfortunately, the only way to learn the table is through hard work and lots and lots and lots of practice.
Learning multiplication tables can be hard until you figure out your own personal style of memorizing. Some people learn by just looking, some by listening, some by writing over and over. Do you know how you learn best?
If you learn by writing over and over, then you should write the multiplication facts over and over until you know them by heart.
If you learn by hearing, then you should say the facts out loud over and over until you know them.
If you learn by sight, You can use flash cards to help you memorize them. Get yourself a stack of 3x5 cards or cut up paper into small cards. For every times that you need to memorize, write the problem on one side and the answer on the other.
For example
7x8 on one side
56 on the other side
Once you have made the cards, Just keep practicing. If you see 7x8, you say your answer, and then check by flipping the card over to find the answer.
If you get it right, put it in a separate pile of multiplication facts you know. If you get it wrong, keep that card in your pile for practicing. You keep practicing until you don't have any cards in your "don't know, yet" pile.
Don't always do the cards in the same order. Mix them up.
Or you could just keep saying the multiplication facts to yourself. Or you could write over and over again the multiplication facts.
Here's a times table to help you:
|
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
| 2 |
4 |
6 |
8 |
10 |
12 |
14 |
16 |
18 |
29 |
22 |
24 |
| 3 |
6 |
9 |
12 |
15 |
18 |
21 |
24 |
27 |
30 |
33 |
35 |
| 4 |
8 |
12 |
16 |
20 |
24 |
28 |
32 |
36 |
40 |
44 |
48 |
| 5 |
10 |
15 |
20 |
25 |
30 |
35 |
40 |
45 |
50 |
55 |
60 |
| 6 |
12 |
18 |
24 |
30 |
36 |
42 |
48 |
54 |
60 |
66 |
72 |
| 7 |
14 |
21 |
28 |
35 |
42 |
49 |
56 |
63 |
70 |
77 |
84 |
| 8 |
16 |
24 |
32 |
40 |
48 |
56 |
64 |
72 |
80 |
88 |
96 |
| 9 |
18 |
27 |
36 |
45 |
54 |
63 |
72 |
81 |
90 |
99 |
108 |
| 10 |
20 |
30 |
40 |
50 |
60 |
70 |
80 |
90 |
100 |
110 |
120 |
| 11 |
22 |
33 |
44 |
55 |
66 |
77 |
88 |
99 |
110 |
121 |
132 |
| 12 |
24 |
36 |
48 |
60 |
72 |
84 |
96 |
108 |
120 |
132 |
144 |
Do you know how to read the table? There is a column of numbers 2 through 12 and a row of numbers 2 through 12.
To find the answer to 5x7. Find the 5 on the column and move your finger to the right until you meet your other finger
that is going down from 7 on the row. Your two fingers should meet at 35.
Good luck learning your multiplication facts!
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Question: How do I do 2-digit multiplication?
Answer:
25
X
45
-----
125
+
100
--------
1125
If what you wanted was to see this worked out, then we are done.
If you want to understand better why you do it this way, let's look at two related, but simpler, "1 by 2" problems for review.
2 5 2 5
x x
4 5
------ ------
In the left one you start with the "units" or "ones" place, which has an 5 in it, and multiply that by 4 to get 20. The number 20 is 20= 20 + 0 which is 2 tens plus 0 ones.
You write the 0 in the ones column of the answer. We must REMEMBER THE 2 TENS.
Now we look in the tens place to see what is there.
We find a 2 there, but that doesn't mean plain 2, it really means 2 tens, since the two is the twenty from 25 and 20= 2 times ten. If you multiply that 2 tens by 4 you get 8 tens.
But wait! Is that all there is?
No, we had to REMEMBER the 2 tens from before. Now we have 8 tens plus 2 more tens, making 10 tens, so that is what we write
down. That's how we get the answer 100.
In the right question, we start with the 5 in the ones place, multiply it by 5 to get 25, 25=20+5. We write the 5 in the ones place of the answer, and REMEMBER the 2 TENS of 20.
Next, we multiply the 2 in the tens position of 25 by the multiplier 5 to get 10 tens. But wait! Remember the 2 tens from the first step,
so 10 tens plus another 2 tens is 12 tens. But, twelve tens=1 hundred + 2 tens.
So, we put the 2 in the tens place of our answer and the 1 in the hundreds place of our answer.
Why when we multiplied 25x45 did we move and answer to 25x4 over one space to the left.
We were really multiplying 24x40, which is the same answer as 25x4, but multiplied by (which
adds a zero on the end). Since 25x4=100, we know that 25x40 must be 1000.
So, the answer to our question 25x45 is the same as taking 25x40+25x5.
25
x
45
--------
120
+
1000
--------
1120
When we originally did the problem instead of writing down 1000, we did 25x4 and wrote the answer shifted to the left 1 place which yields the same thing.
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Question: What is division?
Answer:
Division is the reverse of multiplication.
To figure 16/2 out, you ask yourself what do I multiply 2 by to get 16 as an answer.
If you don't know the answer to that right away, you try figuring it out.
2x2=4 not it!!!
2x3=6 not it!!!
2x4=8 not it!!!
2x5=10 not it!!!
2x6=12 not it!!!
2x7=14 not it!!!
2x8=16 YEAH!!!
Since 2x8=16, then 16/2 is 8.
To learn division it's very helpful to know your multiplication tables well.
Let's try another example of 72 divided by 4.
To write 72 divided by 4 or 4 into 72,
____
we write 4|72
Now, does 4 go into the 7? Yes!!!
How many times does 4 go into 7? 1 time
1___
So, we write 4|72
Now, we multiply the 4x1=4, and write that 4 right below the seven and subtract.
1___
4|72
-4
----
3
Now, we bring down the 2.
1___
4|72
-4
----
32
Once we do that we ask ourselves does 4 go into 32? Yes?
How many times? 8
So, we write the 8 above the 2 in the number 72.
18___
4|72
-4
----
32
Now, we multiply the 4X8=32, and write that 32 right below the 32 and subtract.
18___
4|72
-4
----
32
- 32
----
0
You should always do a check to make sure your answer is correct. Does 4*18=72?
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Question:How do I do long division?
Answer:
To do 4-digit division like the following example we use a process called long division. We suggest using a pencil
and paper as you go through the answer to your question.
To write 300487 divided by 4 or 4 into 300487,
________
we write 4|300487
We ask ourselves does 4 go into the 3? No!!!!
Now we ask ourselves, does 4 go into 30? Yes!!!
How many times does 4 go into 30? 7 times.
So, we put the 7 above the first 0 in 300487.
7______
4|300487
We multiply the 4X7=28, and write that 28 right below the 30 and subtract.
7______
4|300487
-28
----
2
We bring down the second 0.
7______
4|300487
-28
----
20
Now, we ask ourselves does 4 go into 20? Yes, 5 times. So, we put the 5 over the second 0 in the number 300487.
75______
4|300487
-28
----
20
We multiply 4x5=20, and put it below the 20 and subtract.
75______
4|300487
-28
----
20
- 20
----
0
Now, we drop the 4.
Does 4 go into 4? Yes, once. So, we write the 1 above the 4 in 300487.
751______
4|300487
-28
----
20
- 20
----
04
Multiply 4x1=8 and subtract this 4 from the 4.
751______
4|300487
-28
----
20
- 20
----
04
- 4
----
0
Now, we drop the 8. Does 4 go into 8? Yes, twice. So, we write the 2 above the 8 in 300487.
7512______
4|300487
-28
----
20
- 20
----
04
- 4
----
08
Multiply 4x2=8 and subtract this 8 from the 8.
7512______
4|300487
-28
----
20
- 20
----
04
- 4
----
08
- 8
----
0
Now, drop the 7. How many times does 4 go into 7? Once!!! So, write the 1 above the 7 in 300487.
75121______
4|300487
-28
----
20
- 20
----
04
- 4
----
08
- 8
----
07
Multiply 4x1=4. Subtract this 4 from the 7. We get a remainder of 3.
So our answer is 75121 remainder 3.
We could also write our answer as 75121 and 3/4.
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Fractions
Question: How do I simplify fractions?
Answer:
To reduce a fraction to simplest form, you need to find the largest number that divides evenly into both the numerator(top) and denominator (bottom).
Let's do an example:
15
----
20
What's the largest number you can think of that divides into both 15 and 20? Let's try 5.
15 5x3 3
---- = ----- = ---
20 5x4 4
We can cancel the 5/5 because that's equal to 1, so our fraction in simplest terms is three fourths.
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Question: How do I add and subtract fractions?
Answer:
In general, to add and subtract fractions you need to have a common denominator (bottom).
Once both fractions are written with the same denominator, to add fractions, simply add the
numerators (top) and use the common denominator as your denominator. To subtract fractions,
simply subtract the numerators and use the common denominator as your denominator.
We'll do the example:
5 1
--- + ---
8 6
These do not have a common denominator. So, we take the larger
of the two denominators, namely 8.
6 does not go evenly into 8x1=8.
Does 6 go evenly into 8x2=16? NO!!!
Does 6 go evenly into 8x3=24? Yes because 6x4=24.
Now we have found our common denominator of 24. We must rewrite each fraction with the denominator of 24. Since
we multiply 8 by 3 to get 24, we must also multiply the numerator by 3.
5 5x3 15
--- = --- = ----
8 8x3 24
1 1x4 4
--- = -----= ---
6 6x4 24
Now, we can rewrite our example as
15 4
---- + ---
24 24
We add the numerators, and leave the denominator as 24.
Our answer is 19
----
24
Let's change that question to a subtraction question,
5 1
--- - ---
8 6
First, we need to find equivalent fractions with our common denominator. We've already done this, so our question becomes:
15 4 15-4 11
---- - ---- = ------ = ----
24 24 24 24
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Question: How do I multiply fractions?
Answer:
To multiply fractions, your answer is
product of numerators
-----------------------
product of denominators
So, 1 16 1x16 16
--- x ----- = ------ = -----
2 25 2x25 50
You can simplify your answer since 2 is a factor of the numerator and denominator.
16 2x8 8
----- = ------ = ----
50 2x25 25
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Question: How can I make my writing more interesting?
Answer:
What makes writing more interesting is using specific details instead of generalities. You can start with a topic sentence, but then GET INTO DETAILS. Try to write from your own experiences or interests if possible. Vary the length of sentences and use
synonyms, rather than the same words all the time. Use quotations, if you can -- in other words, quote what other people are saying. AND READ a variety of other's writing to see what you admire. Then even imitate the style of a writer you like, but make the story your own.
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Question: How do I divide fractions
Answer:
To divide fractions like
3 5
--- divided by ---
8 7
The question becomes the same as multiplying the dividend (in our case 3/8) by the reciprocal (flip) of the divisor (in our case 5/7).
So, our question becomes
3 7 3x7 21
--- x --- = ----- = ----
8 5 8x5 40
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Question: How do I change a decimal to a fraction?
Answer:
To change a decimal, think about what that decimal is in words first. That will give you a clue on how to write it as a fraction.
0.7 is 7 TENTHS
Seven Tenths means that for our fraction, our numerator is 7
and denominator 10
So,
7
0.7 = ---
10
0.68 is 68 HUNDRETHS
Sixty Eight hundreths means that for our fraction, our numerator
is 68 and our denominator 100.
So,
68
0.68 =----
100
0.154 means 154 THOUSANDTHS.
That means our numerator is 154 and our denominator 1000.
154
0.154=-----
1000
Let's look at a more complicated decimal namely 0.34582
This number is 34,582 HUNDRED THOUSANDTHS.
So, our numerator is 34,582 and our denominator 100,000.
34,582
0.34582 = -----------
100,000
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Question: How do I write a fraction as a decimal?
Answer:
If we read the fraction 67/100 we get 67 hundredths, which is the decimal 0.67.
If you had a fraction like 8/25, we would have to write an equivalent fraction with a denominator of 100 or 1000 or 10,000.
So, let's write 8/25 as a fraction with denominator 100.
What would we have to multiply 25 by to get 100? 4x25=100.
So, we multiply numerator and denominator of 8/25 by 4.
8 8x4 32
--- = ----- = ----
25 25x4 100
Now, we can read our fraction as 32 hundredths, and write the equivalent decimal 0.32.
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Question: How do I add decimals?
Answer:
It's important to understand that
10 thousandths=1 hundredth
10 hundredths=1 tenth
10 tenths=1 one
just like 10 ones = 1 ten
10 tens=1 hundred
10 hundreds=1 thousand
Let's try adding 23.67+85.463
To add decimals, you line the numbers you want to add up vertically with the decimal points lined up one on top of other:
23.67
+
85.463
--------
.
Line the decimal point up in the answer as well. We start by adding the digits in the thousandths place, namely 0+3=3 thousandths. Write the 3 in the thousandths place of our answer.
23.67
+
85.463
--------
. 3
Now let's add the hundredths place, namely 7+6=13 hundredths or 1 tenth and 3 hundredths.
Write the 3 in the hundredths place of our answer and carry the 1 tenth to the tenths column.
1
23.67
+
85.463
--------
. 33
Now, let's add the tenths, namely 1+6+4=11 tenths or 1 whole unit and 1 tenth. Write the 1 tenth in the tenths place of the answer and carry the 1 one to the ones column.
1 1
23.67
+
85.463
--------
.133
Add the ones digits, namely 1+33+5=9 ones and write the 9 in the ones place of the answer.
1 1
23.67
+
85.463
--------
9.133
Lastly, add the digits in the tens place, namely 2+8=10 tens or 1 hundred and 0 tens. Write the 0 tens in its place of the answer and the 1 hundred in its place.
1 1
23.67
+
85.463
--------
109.133
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Question: How do I subtract decimals, like 8.0-4.55?
Answer:
Subtracting decimals is almost the same as subtracting whole numbers (numbers without decimals).
To set up subtracting a decimal from a decimal, you line the decimal points right above each other.
8.0
-
4.55
------
Now, put the decimal point in the same place in the answer. In our case, the two decimal parts of the numbers are not the same length. Fill in the shorter one with zeros.
8.00
-
4.55
------
.
Now, subtract as you would have with whole numbers.
Let's start with the hundreths place, but we can't take 5 away from 0. So, we look to the tenths place of 8.00
to try to borrow 1 tenth, which equals 10 hundreths. But, there are no tenths, so let's
borrow 1 whole, which is equal to 10 tenths.
7
8.00
-
4.55
------
.
Now, we have 7 ones instead of 8, and 10 tenths instead of zero. We can now borrow 1 tenth...
that means we have 9 tenths and 10 hundredths.
7 910
8.00
-
4.55
------
.
Now, let's subtract the hundredths, namely 10-5=5 hundredths. Write the 5 hundredths in the
hundredths place of the answer.
7 910
8.00
-
4.55
------
. 5
Now, let's subtract the tenths digits, namely 9-5=4 tenths. Write the 4 tenths in the tenths place of the answer.
7 910
8.00
-
4.55
------
.45
Lastly, let's subtract the ones digits, namely 7-4=3 ones. Write the 3 in the ones place of the answer.
8.00
-
4.55
------
3.45
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Question: How do I multiply decimals?
Answer:
When multiplying decimals you follow this simple rule. Multiply the numbers totally disregarding the decimal points - that is, treat the numbers as if they were whole numbers. Then, after you have done the multiplication, count the number of digits to the right of the decimal in each of the numbers. ADD these numbers together and then count off (from the right) this number of places in the answers and put the decimal point there.
An example: 3.89x4.96.
First Multiply 389X496, which is 192,944. Now, in the first number there is TWO places to the right of the decimal and in the second number there are TWO digits to the right of the decimal. TWO plus TWO = 4. Therefore, count four places in from the right of the answer. The answer is 19.2944.
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Question: How do I divide decimals?
Answer:
To divide a decimal number by a decimal, you follow the following procedure.
________
For example 34.56|193.536
Move the decimal point in the DIVISOR to the right until the number becomes a whole number.
That's our number 34.56. so we need to move our decimal point TWO places to the right.
Then move the decimal point in the dividend (that our number 193.536) the SAME NUMBER of places.
Then you use your method of long division. The decimal point in the answer lies directly above the decimal point in the dividend.
____ 5.6_
3456|19353.6
-17280
-------
20736
-20736
-------
0
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Question: What is a percent?
Answer:
A percent is just a fraction with denominator 100!!!
So, we need to find equivalent fractions with denominator 100
to be able to figure out percents.
Let's do a few examples, and hopefully that will help.
3
--- =
4
What do we have to multiply 4 by in order to get 100?
25, so we multiply numerator and denominator by 25.
3 3x25 75
--- = ----- = ---- So, you get 75%
4 4x25 100
Let's try
5
---
8
What do you have to multiply 8 by in order to get 100 (you may want to use your calculator to find that by 100/8)?
12.5!!! So, we multiply numerator and denominator by 12.5
5 5x12.5 62.5
--- = ------- = ------ = 62.5%
8 8x12.5 100
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Question: What are percent questions?
Answer:
There are different kinds of percent questions.
In general you should know that 37% is the same as 0.37 or
37
----
100
One type of problem would be:
What is 40% of 120?
We could do that problem as
0.40x120=???
or
40 120
---- x ----- =???
100 1
Either way you do the problem, you should get 48.
Another type of question might be what percent is 35 of 50?
35
That means ------= x%
50
x% means
x 35
----- = ----
100 50
We can rewrite the fraction 35/50 as an equivalent fraction
with denominator of 100 by multiplying the numerator (top)
and denominator (bottom) by 2.
x 35 35x2 70
----- = ---- = ------ = ----
100 50 50x2 100
So, x=70 and our answer is 70%.
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Question: How do I prime factor a number?
Answer:
Let's figure out how to prime factor the number 24.
First, do you know what a prime number is? It's a number
whose only factors are 1 and itself. The first prime number is
2.
Here's a list of some of the prime numbers:
2,3,5,7,11,13,17,19,23,29,31,37,....
Okay, now that we know what prime numbers are.
Let's figure out how to prime factor a number. We'll do the
example 24.
What's the smallest prime number that divides evenly into 24?
It's 2!!!
So, 24=2x12.
What's the smallest prime number that divides evenly into 12?
It's 2 again!!!
So, 24=2x2x6
What's the smallest prime number that divides evenly into 6?
It's 2 again
So, 24=2x2x2x3
3 is a prime number, so we've written 24 as a product of prime
factors.
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Question: How do I find mode, median and mean?
Answer:
We'll explain mode, median and mean through an example. First of all, you need a set of data
to find these central tendency statistics.
Let's say we have the following test scores on an 8th grade math test:
45, 90, 85,70,70,90,65,75,70
The mode is the piece of data that appears most frequently.
In this example, which test score appears most often? 70
The median is the middle piece of data when the data has been arranged from
lowest to highest (or highest to lowest).
So, first we must re-arrange the data:
45, 65, 70, 70, 70, 75, 85, 90, 90
When there is an ODD amount of data, we find the middle term exactly.
In our example, the middle term is 70, so the median is 70.
If we had an EVEN amount of data, we find the middle TWO terms. We find the sum of the
middle two terms and divide by 2...that gives us the median.
To find the mean, we add up all the data, and divide by the numbers of data pieces.
So, in our example,
45+ 65+ 70+ 70+ 70+ 75+85+90+ 90 660
------------------------------------ = ----- = 73.333....
9 9
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Question: What are negative numbers
Answer:
We're going to think of positive and negative numbers in the following way. We have a shovel. When we take three shovels full of dirt out of the ground and make a hole that represents -3.
If we take 3 shovels full of dirt and build a mound above the
ground that is +3. If we take our hole of three scoops, namely, -3 and add the three scoops from the mound, namely +3 we fill the hole completely to ground level. Ground level with no holes or mounds is 0.
Every number has an opposite. 5 and -5, 29 and -29, 3049 and -3049. A number and its opposite added together are always 0.
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Question: How do we add positive and negative numbers?
Answer:
We already know how to add two positive numbers.
Let's do a case of two negative numbers, namely -3+-5.
Okay the first -3 means we have a three-scoop hole. Now, we need to take another 5 scoops from the ground, so we end up with a hole 8 scoops or -8.
Let's do a case of 5+-3.
5 means we have a mound of 5 scoops. Now, we take 3 scoops away from the mound, and we're left with a mound of 2, so 5+-3=2
Let's do -4+7
-4 means we have a hole of 4 scoops. Now we add 7 scoops to the hole, we fill the hole and make a mound 3 scoops high, so -4+7=3
Subtraction is defined to be adding the opposite. So, we change all subtraction problems to addition problems.
-4-10=-4+(-10) since -10 is the opposite of 10
-3-(-5)=-1+ 5 since 5 is the opposite of -5
7-12=7+ -12 since -12 is the opposite of 12
5- (-11) = 5+11 since 11 is the opposite of -11
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Question: How do I solve for x in an inequality like 9x-20>61?
Answer:
The process for solving inequalities is the same as solving equations EXCEPT for one very important fact. When you multiply or divide any inequality by a NEGATIVE number the inequality changes--- the direction of the inequality symbol changes.
Let's look at an example -2<3
Now multiply both sides by -5. We get 10 -15, which way does the inequality go 10>-15 (notice the inequality symbol changed directions).
Armed with that IMPORTANT information, let's proceed with the example
9x-20>61
Let's first figure what we did to x to get 9x-20. First, we multiply x by 9 and then subtract 20.
We want to get the x by itself so we must undo the multiplying by 9 and then the Subtracting of 20 by reversing the process.
First we add 20 to both sides.
9x-20+20>61+20
9x>81
To get the x by itself, we must divide by +9. We are dividing by a positive number, so the direction of the inequality stays the same.
x>81/9
x>9
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Question: How do I solve a system of linear equations?
Answer:
An example of a system of linear equations is
2x-y=5
3x+y=10
Solving a system of linear equations is trying to find out what
point(s) in common the two lines have.
Two lines can either:
1. intersect at one point
2. intersect at every point because they are in fact the same line
3. never intersect because they are parallel lines.
Let's try to solve the example
2x-y=5
3x+y=10
To solve this, we'll use the addition method. Since we notice we have -y in the first equation and +y in the second equation.
Let's add the two equations together.
2x-y=5
3x+y=10
---------
5x =15
If 5x=15, then x=3.
What is the corresponding y value? To figure that out, we put x=3 into either the first or the second equation, and solve for y. We should get the same answer regardless of which question we put it in.
We'll use the first
2*3-y=5
6-y=5
6-5-y=5-5
1-y=0
1-y+y=0+y
1=y
or y=1
So, the answer to this system is (3,1)
Let's try another example
2x-y=5
2x-y=7
Again we'll use the same method. This time we'll try to get rid
of a variable by subtracting the two equations.
2x-y=5
2x-y=7
--------
0=-2
Notice we get a statement that is not true. 0 is not equal to -2.
This means we have no solution to our system and that the
lines must be parallel.
Let's try a third example:
2x-y=5
-4x+2y=-10
We'll use the same method. This time, we'll multiply the first equation by 2
and then add the equations together
4x-2y=10
-4x+2y=-10
--------------
0=0
This answer means that all values of x will work because the
two equations represent the same line.
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Question: How do I find the square root of 100?
Answer:
Before I answer your question about square roots, I think it would be best to first talk about perfect square numbers. Do you know what a perfect square number is? A perfect square number is what you get when you multiply a whole number by itself. For instance, since 3 x 3 = 9, 9 is a perfect square number.
Here is a table for helping you remember perfect square numbers.
1x1=1
2x2=4
3x3=9
4x4=16
5x5=25
6x6=36
7x7=49
8x8=64
9x9=81
10x10=100
11x11=121
12x12=144
13x13=169
14x14=194
15x15=225
20x20=400
25x25=625
Taking the square root of a number is the opposite operation (in math lingo it is called the "inverse") of squaring a number. What that means is that to find the square root of a number, you ask yourself what number times itself will give you that number.
To find the square root of 100, you ask yourself what do I multiply by itself to get 100. The answer is 10.
So, the square root of 100 is 10.
But there is also another square root... -10 because -10x-10=100. So -10 is also a square root of 100.
If you don't know about negative numbers yet, don't worry about this answer.
If we try to find out square roots of numbers that are not perfect squares, then our question becomes a bit messy. But the idea behind the problem is exactly the same.
To find a square root of a number that is not a perfect square, we can either approximate it using a calculator or use the square root sign and leave the square root sign in the reduced form of the number. Have you seen the square root sign before? The one thing you can do pretty easily without a calculator is to simplify square roots.
For instance, the square root of 24 is 2 times the square root of 6, since 24 = 4 x 6 and 2 squared is 4.
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Science
Question: What is the solar system?
Answer:
The word solar means sun. So if we translate, we are talking about the sun's system. This Solar System consists of:
1.The sun itself, which is an enormous star and forms about 99% of the solar system.
2. All of the 9 planets which orbit the sun, including of course, our earth and all of their moons, asteroids and comets.
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Question: Where can I get information and find the names of the nine planets?
Answer:
The best way for you to find out is to go to the Subjects in the Homework Helper. Here you can choose "space" under the Science List."
Now choose "Star Child.
There you will find beautiful pictures of the planets. and in the section on the Planets, you will find out their names as well as also other information.
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Question: Are there other planets besides the ones in our solar system, and if so what are they called?
Answer:
We live in one of the millions of galaxies. And it is known that the structure of the different galaxies are similar. So if in our solar system there are planets, it is obvious that there are other solar systems with planets elsewhere in the universe. These planets are known as extra-solar planets. There are many research projects studying these right now. Generally these planets are named for the star around which they orbit. You can find more information at Astronomy sites on the internet.
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Question: How can a baby be made?
Answer:
In order to create a "baby" of any kind, an egg cell from a mother is needed to combine with a cell called a sperm cell, from a father. When the two cells fuse, they produce a new cell which then grows by dividing into hundreds and hundreds of new cells, by a process called cleavage. These cells take shape finally, as tissues and organs of the newly developing baby. In this process of development it is called a "fetus".
In humans, the growing fetus gets its nutrition from the mother, while it grows inside her uterus (the womb.) It is also protected from harm inside her body.
Today scientists are finding about different ways of doing this, and you may have heard of "test tube babies". The egg and sperm from the mother and father are put together in a "test-tube and only when it has grown a bit, the doctors put it back in the mother's body to finish growing normally. This is done when the parents had medical problems in "making" a baby.
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Question: What are the tools used in Science?
Answer:
Science uses so many different tools that it would be difficult to mention all of them here. I will give examples of a few types.
Many of the tools are for the MEAUREMENT of different properties of substances. For example thermometers of different kinds measure temperature, a barometer measures pressure and an ammeter measures electrical currents. (Note the suffix meter in a word indicates that it is related to measurement! Though not always). A balance is a tool which measures the mass of a substance. Some tools are used to help us see things which are very small: the microscope. Others see things which are very far away: the telescope.
There are other tools which have certain functions which can help a scientist, for example: a thermostat, which regulates temperature and keeps it constant,
a dessicator which helps take the moisture out of chemical substances and keeps them dry.
A tool may also be a substance;
For example "biological stains" which are colored dyes
are used to stain different parts of cells, to make them visible,
or indicators used to show if a substance is acidic or basic.
Even small objects which the scientist uses,
such as droppers, test tubes and bunsen burners are tools.
So it is obvious that there are many scientific tools,
and I suggest you try now to find others to add to the list.
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Question: What is Science?
Answer:
It is very important to know what Science is. Science is the way in which new knowledge and information about the universe is gained and the ways in which we learn to understand this knowledge.
Scientists do this by making observations, asking questions, and developing tools and processes to try and answer these questions. Many of the answers to Science questions are tested and obtained by carrying out controlled experiments.
There are many different branches to science.
Life Science studies all about living things,
Earth science studies all about our planet.
Chemistry is a study of the structure of matter and how it reacts.
There are many other fields of study in Science, and each of these can be divided into yet smaller branches.
For example Life Science has branches like Zoology, Genetics, Botany,
Biochemistry, and Physiology, to name but a few.
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