How to prevent making stupid mistakes in calculations??

[upandgo]

one of my weaknesses is making really small errors when solving equations (eg, leaving out a minus sign)  are there any tips on how to overcome this? thanks in advance!

[YellowTongue]

Here are a few tips my teacher gave me:

1. Work at a "workable" speed. In tests/exams/SACS, it is quite easy to rush through things due to the stress you experience. But you don't need to work at the fastest speed that you can write at; work slowly (though be sensible about it) and take the time to be certain that you are doing everything correctly.

2. Try to be neat. When you are solving math's problems, it's quite easy to neglect you handwriting and things can become unreasonable very quickly. Certain letter can blend together (q and p, o and u, m and n, v and u, i and j, d and b) and this can lead to really stupid mathematical errors. Plus, sometimes teachers design questions to use these pronumerals together based on their similarity; they make it hard for you. Don't let them win!

3. Don't take on an indifferent attitude. This may not be something that all people experience, but it's something I feel when I'm stressed. I may not understand the first question on an exam or I may take too long on one question; then my brain freaks out, and I keep telling myself that it doesn't matter if I do well and rush through all of the questions carelessly. Try to avoid taking on an attitude like this; care about everything that you write down and care about doing well.

4. Be careful when you type things into your CAS. It's relatively easy to make mistakes when doing this, so take your time and be sure that your calculations have been entered correctly.

[upandgo]

Here are a few tips my teacher gave me:

1. Work at a "workable" speed. In tests/exams/SACS, it is quite easy to rush through things due to the stress you experience. But you don't need to work at the fastest speed that you can write at; work slowly (though be sensible about it) and take the time to be certain that you are doing everything correctly.

2. Try to be neat. When you are solving math's problems, it's quite easy to neglect you handwriting and things can become unreasonable very quickly. Certain letter can blend together (q and p, o and u, m and n, v and u, i and j, d and b) and this can lead to really stupid mathematical errors. Plus, sometimes teachers design questions to use these pronumerals together based on their similarity; they make it hard for you. Don't let them win!

3. Don't take on an indifferent attitude. This may not be something that all people experience, but it's something I feel when I'm stressed. I may not understand the first question on an exam or I may take too long on one question; then my brain freaks out, and I keep telling myself that it doesn't matter if I do well and rush through all of the questions carelessly. Try to avoid taking on an attitude like this; care about everything that you write down and care about doing well.

4. Be careful when you type things into your CAS. It's relatively easy to make mistakes when doing this, so take your time and be sure that your calculations have been entered correctly.

these tips are great! thankyou 

[Alter]

The above tips are great.

My methods teacher from last year is a pretty keen bloke when it comes to educational processes and learning mechanisms. He once explained the concept in the below article in an attempt to help my class when it came to silly mistakes.

https://theconversation.com/why-students-make-silly-mistakes-in-class-and-what-can-be-done-48826

Essentially, the article suggests that we can only process so many pieces of information at once. If we have too many foreign pieces, our brain becomes overloaded with new tasks and we slip up on a basic skill we otherwise would not have made a mistake on. In order to fix this, the article purports that practising to a point where the tasks become 'automatic' is the best approach. This involves continuously mastering your basics (e.g. do tons of exercises in the textbook).

[upandgo]

The above tips are great.

My methods teacher from last year is a pretty keen bloke when it comes to educational processes and learning mechanisms. He once explained the concept in the below article in an attempt to help my class when it came to silly mistakes.

https://theconversation.com/why-students-make-silly-mistakes-in-class-and-what-can-be-done-48826

Essentially, the article suggests that we can only process so many pieces of information at once. If we have too many foreign pieces, our brain becomes overloaded with new tasks and we slip up on a basic skill we otherwise would not have made a mistake on. In order to fix this, the article purports that practising to a point where the tasks become 'automatic' is the best approach. This involves continuously mastering your basics (e.g. do tons of exercises in the textbook).

thanks for the link!  i agree, 'practise makes perfect' as they say!

[HopefulLawStudent]

The best advice I ever got was this:

Spoiler

Breathe. The more stressed you are, the more inclined you are to rush and the more likely you are to make a dumb mistake. In Unit 1 & 2, I made so many dumb mistakes that my teachers referred to it as "pulling a *insert my name here* " and everyone knew what that meant. It was an ongoing class joke that in every test, SAC or assignment, there would be one negative sign or simple calculation that I screwed up and lost marks for. (At some point, I even did 10 - 7 = -3 and lost 3 marks for that moment of stupidity) It was an ongoing issue for me. In Unit 3 & 4, my teacher sat me down, taught me breathing exercises to calm me and stop me from stressing too much and I made less stupid mistakes.

[qazser]

Should have seen some of mine, lost 35% in 1 test all due to silly mistakes like simple arithmetic

[acinod]

If you have time, try doing the question another way. There is usually always more than one way to solve a problem in maths and science subjects.

Also check if your answer makes sense, commonly known as a 'sense-check'.
For example, if you had to find the total area of two areas and the total area is less than one of the areas, then you might have done something wrong.

[illfightvcaa]

If you really do struggle, SET IT OUT.
I know it can be easy to skip steps if you feel confident, but set the steps out. That way, you won't accidentally put a plus instead of a minus when you're factorising things etc. Until you get really used to it, don't jump over half the steps in the question.

If you haven't, use the cas. I don't mean use it for everything, so much that you forget how to do it with your own brain. But the ability to use a cas quickly and under pressure will play a huge role in whether you finish assessments or not. You should know how to use shortcuts, jump between pages and where the common symbols are without stopping to remember it.