Basic Mathematics
Varsity Tutors offers Basic Math tutoring in St. Louis, Chicago and Houston. We'll help you gain a strong understanding of the material through one-on-one tutoring at your home, a library, a café or anywhere that might convenient for you. Your Basic Math tutor understands the importance of strong Basic Math skills and will work with you to make sure you have the skills you need to succeed.
What is a "Basic Math" course?
Basic Math courses teach students the three fundamental skills of counting, comparing, and measuring. Important Basic Math concepts are arithmetic (addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication), estimating, rounding, decimals, fractions, and percentages. Basic Math tutoring through Varsity Tutors will familiarize you with these fundamental concepts, show you how to apply them successfully in real life and on tests, and help you build up your confidence with math, in general.
Why do I need Basic Math skills?
Many students take Basic Math because it is a requirement for taking more advanced math, such as Geometry and Algebra. While Basic Math definitely is the starting point for further studies in math (and mastering Basic Math can make future math courses much easier!) it is also a very practical subject, because it provides students with math skills they will use often in their daily lives. These skills are important because, even though it may not seem that our lives are that "mathematical," they're actually filled with situations which require Basic Math. Basic Math tutoring through Varsity Tutors can give you the math skills you need in order to approach these situations with confidence.
For example, it's probably obvious that almost every career requires Basic Math skills, especially any career involving commerce (i.e., sales), record-keeping (i.e., clerical work), or measurement (i.e., construction). Even careers we may not think of as "mathematical" require some knowledge of Basic Math eventually. Artists may not use calculus in order to create a painting, but they do need arithmetic to measure their frames, buy enough paint, and set prices for the gallery. Wedding caterers may not need trigonometry in order to make a cake, but they do need Basic Math in order to follow their recipes, make enough servings, and calculate their invoices. Preparing for future careers is one reason to make sure your Basic Math skills are as strong as they can be, and tutoring with a Basic Math tutor from Varsity Tutors is an excellent way to develop your math skills so you have the option to pursue such careers.
What's less obvious, however, is how much math we use in our personal lives, from the time we get up to the time we go to bed. For example, if you set your alarm clock last night to give you eight hours of sleep, you used arithmetic to figure out what time you should wake up. You used fractions if you made your breakfast from a recipe, and you used percentages, decimals, and arithmetic when you shopped for the ingredients. In the afternoon, you may have had lunch with a friend; if so, you needed percentages to calculate a tip and arithmetic to split the bill. Finally, if you drove a car to get home, you needed decimals to fill up your gas tank and fractions to follow the road signs. In fact, the number of situations in which you will use your knowledge of Basic Math is enormous, because it includes everything from having fun—i.e., playing video games, watching sports, and planning trips—to more serious situations, such as paying your taxes, managing your money, and taking the correct amount of medicine when you're sick. As you can see, Basic Math is not only a requirement for getting a job or going to school, it's also a requirement for life!
Luckily, Basic Math is an enjoyable subject to study for its own sake, one that will further develop your problem solving abilities, introduce you to the beauty of math, and teach you how to handle many real-life situations with confidence. Studying Basic Math with an experienced tutor is a fun and efficient way to make sure you have the math knowledge you need to succeed.
Call us today to find out more about our Basic Math tutors.
Additional Information
Life Without Math? Impossible.
Math Worksheets, Puzzles, Printables, Problems, Test Prep
Math in Daily Life - Related Resources
Ask Dr. Math: Why is Math Important?
An overview of the history of mathematics
Copyright © 2007-2008 Varsity Tutors LLC. Varsity Tutors and the Varsity Tutors logo are service marks of Varsity Tutors LLC.