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Based in the Seattle Area.

Free study guides and discussions about various topics in Mathematics. Thanks for stopping by!

My Math Teacher is Terrible! (I can help.)

Oct 20
Oct 20 An implicit differentiation problem

Phil Petrocelli

Implicit differentiation is very useful in a number of tricky situations. Here, we'll use implicit differentiation twice to solve a tough problem, noting some important choices we make along the way.

Aug 30
Aug 30 Change this one thing about how you solve absolute value problems!

Phil Petrocelli

You were great at solving absolute value equations at one time, but now that you're working with absolute value inequalities, you can't get the right answer. Make the change!

Aug 10
Aug 10 Using trigonometric identities to solve an area problem

Phil Petrocelli

Applications of trigonometric identities are sup er useful in this triangle area problem.

Aug 2
Aug 2 An interesting similar triangles problem

Phil Petrocelli

Using a little insight, we can make a problem that looks to have difficult calculations a little easier.

Jul 19
Jul 19 When managing the path to solution is really important: A tricky 3rd derivative question

Phil Petrocelli

It took me several tries to get the differentiation correct! This is a tough one that demonstrates how keeping organized - somehow - can be an important part of problem solving.

Jun 22
Jun 22 Interesting exponents question with cool trick

Phil Petrocelli

A great example of how using a little bit of a trick avoids a whole lot of work. Nimble algebra is where it's at!

Jun 19
Jun 19 Rules of Exponents, Part 3: More advanced methods & finer points

Phil Petrocelli

Let’s tie everything together and check out all the rules in action as we make sense of our gibberish problem!

Jun 10
Jun 10 Rules of Exponents, Part 2: Roots

Phil Petrocelli

Calculating roots is up next. Simplest radical form, n-th roots, prime factors. Next steps!

Jun 5
Jun 5 Rules of Exponents, Part 1: The very basics

Phil Petrocelli

The gibberish question: simplifying some morass of exponents, roots, rational expressions, etc. Lots to manage; all can be dealt with using simple rules. Dig in.

May 21
May 21 The Ellipse-Hyperbola Connection: Graphing made easy!

Phil Petrocelli

A recent student of mine pointed out the ellipse-hyperbola connection and made it way more specific than a previous connection I noticed.

May 18
May 18 The King property of integration - discussion and 3 examples!

Phil Petrocelli

One of the coolest tricks I’ve seen. Seriously.

May 15
May 15 Applying more than one integration technique to solve a single integral

Phil Petrocelli

Sometimes we need some combination of multiple integration techniques to solve an integration problem. Here is one such case, featuring a rational function.

May 15
May 15 Calculus Thinking: A definition I use over and over with my students

Phil Petrocelli

Apr 29
Apr 29 FOILing and factoring - not just for polynomials!

Phil Petrocelli

A really cool factoring application and a really cool FOIL trick. Faster calculations! No letters! No variables!

Apr 29
Apr 29 A geometry problem involving proportions

Phil Petrocelli

A classic problem about framing a photograph.

Apr 20
Apr 20 A geometry problem with a system of equations

Phil Petrocelli

Systems of equations are not always linear, as we see in early Algebra classes. The techniques are mostly the same for other kinds of systems.

Apr 17
Apr 17 Do you know rhombus?

Phil Petrocelli

This problem is all about how the definitions of basic geometric figures often imply many things to help us solve problems!

Mar 25
Mar 25 Daylight hours and trigonometry

Phil Petrocelli

Anything that is intrinsically periodic can be described by trigonometric functions. Here is an interesting one. And no, the Earth isn’t flat. Read on.

Mar 23
Mar 23 Crazy integration! Odd functions! Even functions! Calculus Thinking!

Phil Petrocelli

This one took some work and some insight. The detours were fun and interesting. Read all about it!

Mar 11
Mar 11 An interesting limit involving trigonometry

Phil Petrocelli

An interesting one to flex our muscles on some limit rules and limit calculations.

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