Math Refresher

Math Refresher

Learn how to use math to your advantage in everyday life. The lessons in this course are filled with practical exercises and information that you can put to immediate use.

6 Weeks Access / 24 Course Hrs
  • Details
  • Syllabus
  • Requirements
  • Instructor
  • Reviews
$129.00

Select Instruction Type:

$129.00
Self-Guided

Details

Math isn't about plugging numbers into formulas. It's about knowing enough to make the numbers and formulas work for you. Math can be incredibly useful - but only if you understand how and when to apply it in your everyday life.

This course will show you how to use math to your advantage. You won't find any theory or memorization here. The lessons that make up this course are filled with practical exercises and information that you can put to immediate use. You will find out some very interesting things about how calculators work, and then you will discover how best to get a handle on your income and expenses. You will be able to check your paystub, invoices, and bank statements for errors and overcharges and become more skilled at handling money and comparing investment opportunities.

You will learn how to calculate percentages, including the proper amount to pay in tips, commissions, taxes, and discounts. You will find out how to calculate interest rates and you will develop a better understanding of mortgages, credit cards, and other types of loans. You will discover a handy method for converting one type of measurement to another, and you will be able to calculate areas correctly, so you don't overspend on your next home improvement project. You will become adept at interpreting graphs, calculating the probability that something will (or won't) happen, and understanding the statistics embedded in test results, polls, and even news stories.

Syllabus

This lesson will recall childhood memories about math by reviewing some basic number properties. You will learn about integers, exponents, roots, and multiple-step problems. Doing these types of problems just for practice can be tedious, but you're going to take what you learn and put it to use in every other lesson in this course.

Whether it's discounts, taxes, or a tip, most people deal with percentages every day. This lesson focuses on the percentages found in retail from both a consumer and a managerial perspective. You will learn about prices, discounts, and sales tax. Last but not least, this lesson covers tipping, markup, and handling money in the retail work environment.

This lesson is all about income. Are you paid hourly, are you a salaried employee, do you receive a commission, or some combination of these? In this lesson, you will learn how to calculate your paycheck and create a budget plan. In the last part of the lesson, you will learn how to find out where your money goes once you have it.

Now that you have your paycheck, you need somewhere to put it. It's time to talk about financial institutions; banks, credit unions, and savings and loans. In this lesson, you will discover what to look for in an institution and what questions to ask about checking, savings, and other accounts.

Investing is an ominous word for most people. Financial professionals can sound like they're speaking a foreign language. This lesson will unravel some of this terminology and the math that goes with it. You will learn the basics of earning interest and find out what questions to ask the professionals, like types of interest earning investments; bonds, certificates of deposit, and money market accounts.

As you know, you can't just earn interest—you also have to pay interest. Credit cards and loans cost you money in interest and fees. In this lesson, you will study what happens when you pay only the minimum balance on a credit card each month. Then, you will see what happens when you pay as little as $10 or $20 extra each month.

Interested in buying a home, but not sure where to start? There are realtors, attorneys, and loan officers to get you through this process. In this lesson, you will explore the different aspects of a mortgage payment (principle, interest, taxes, and insurance or PITI) and the amount of money you will need up front.

In this lesson, you will find out that you can solve most problems with some sort of ratio and learn to set up ratios and proportions step-by-step. After this lesson, you will be able to convert even the most complicated measurements.

In this lesson, you will learn how to calculate area in different units of measurement and how to convert between them. This will let you figure out how much carpet, paint, or tile you need for those home projects. You should be able to check your measurements and calculations. You will also learn a little about metrics and a very simple conversion method.

You will learn all about probability in this lesson. It's used in the gaming industry, in forecasting weather, and in determining insurance rates. How does the insurance industry know there's a 10% chance you will be in an accident? Or how does a casino predict a 3% chance you will win at blackjack? You have to know which numbers to divide and how to find them.

Society is bombarded with information and statistics all day, every day. This lesson is about statistical data and how it's chosen. You will also learn about the four most commonly used statistical measures: mean, median, mode, and range.

A great way to understand all those statistics you just learned about is to put them on a graph. Graphs can help you look at the big picture by summarizing information. Just as there are different types of information and relationships, there are different types of graphs. Each one is best suited for displaying a particular type of information or relationship.

Requirements

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites to take this course.


Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

  • This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.
  • A basic calculator with the ability to add, subtract, multiply, divide, and calculate square roots.

Software Requirements:

  • PC: Windows 8 or later.
  • Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
  • Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  • Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

  • Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Instructor

Ivy Bishop

Ivy Bishop has been teaching math for eight years. She has worked with a wide range of students at different academic levels. She holds a bachelor's degree in math education, which has allowed her to combine the logic of math with her love of teaching.

Reviews

I haven't taken a math class for nearly 30 years. The professor made this class easy to understand, removed my fear and learning occurred. Thanks a million.

Hands-down one of the best classes I've taken. I've always struggled in math classes but Ivy made some of these same challenges finally be more understandable and solvable. The straight-forward explanations tied to "real world" financial, household, business and education transactions were excellent ! Thanks for all your effort.

I really enjoyed the course and the instructor. It was a nice review for me and I also learned a lot of new terms, too. I will recommend this course to my friends.

There are two kinds of math lessons: (1) Rules & Design[how math is built], & (2) Applications [what does math do]. When I signed-up for the class I assumed it would be the former (1) Rules & Design. In fact it was the latter (2) Applications. The instructor knew the material and did a brilliant job of communicating with me. I enjoyed the class. If I could do anything, it would be to change the course title to: "Everyday Math Applications."

Top of the line, Ivy. I really enjoyed taking this course.

I found this class to be everything it advertised to be, and Ms. Bishop was very professional, knowledgeable and very helpful. She was quick to answer questions and provide helpful feedback/assistance. I would highly recommend this class and look forward to taking more online classes.

Thank you Ivy! Your lessons are extremely helpful and easy to follow. I will keep it handy for my future reference.

I finally understand math and all the things that have been confusing me for years! Thanks so very much!!

I took this class to ease back into coursework to prepare to start school full time in the fall. The material covered was relevant & a great brush-up for my long dormant math skills. The work at your own pace method was great for me. It allowed me to print the materials & continually study without the feeling of pressure & deadlines. I would definitely recommend this or other Ed2Go courses to others.

I was very satisfied with this course. There was a lot of things that I have never saw before. Ms Ivy was very quick in answering my questions. I really enjoyed this class.

Self-Guided Course Code: T9289
Instructor-Moderated Course Code: ewm