![wolframalpha summation wolframalpha summation](https://i.stack.imgur.com/dPCIB.png)
Below is a sample induction proof question a first-year student might see on an exam: However, it demonstrates the type of question/answer format that proofs represent. I am not at all suggesting that the above example would be a fun alteration to Clue in fact, it would likely kill the fun of the game (bad joke). Therefore, you might win the game by stating something along the lines of, “Since I have all of the weapon cards besides the revolver, and Joe has all the location cards except the dining room, and I know neither of you have Colonel Mustard based on your cards played, I have proved the proposed murderer to be true.” Based on your own cards and conclusions made from information being revealed throughout the game, you should eventually be able to prove using logic why the information you were told at the beginning of the game must be true. The goal now is then not to determine the conclusion (since you were already told it) but instead figure out why this is true. Someone would therefore win by stating something along the lines of, “Colonel Mustard with the revolver in the dining room.” Now imagine instead of trying to figure out this information, you were told who the murderer was, the weapon used, and the location of the crime at the very beginning of the game.
![wolframalpha summation wolframalpha summation](https://i.stack.imgur.com/rFuLS.png)
The goal of the game is to determine who the murderer is, the weapon used, and the location of the crime. The goal of a proof is to logically show why something is true.Ĭonsider if you were playing the game Clue (a.k.a. In fact, the “answer” actually is the steps. If a student was solving an equation on a test, they might use five lines to show their steps, and then at the very end they would likely have the final answer written in the form “ x = 21.” Mathematical proofs, however, don’t work that way. It’s weird to think of a math problem that doesn’t have a nice, simple, clean answer at the bottom of the page. Proofs don’t have a single final answer.The same set of rules can’t be applied to every question. This topic was completely different than anything I had previously been taught in math, for a couple reasons: The topic being taught was proofs by principle of mathematical induction, which I will give a brief background on. The problem, though, is what about topics that are not computation based? More specifically, how do students study and practice questions for math topics that don’t have a limited set of rules or approaches? I encountered this problem as a student in a first-year discrete math course.
Wolframalpha summation how to#
Similar to learning how to calculate derivatives of functions, once a student has gained experience with all the necessary “derivative rules,” answering these questions is a matter of repeatedly applying those rules. This is because computation-based questions are generally consistent in the approaches used to solve them. Once a student has mastered the limited steps and rules associated with one of these topics, they should be able to handle just about any problem that is thrown at them on an assignment or an exam related to that topic. Topics that can be solved computationally can often be done so using repetitive approaches. steps) in order to obtain a final result.
Wolframalpha summation series#
Determine the roots of the following equationĬomputation questions typically involve performing a series of calculations (i.e.This means questions on tests and exams are often in the following form: In fact, one of the most common responses I receive from students when I explain my role with Wolfram|Alpha is, “OMG, that site saved me during calculus.” This is usually a reference to the differential equation solver, or derivative and integral features of Wolfram|Alpha.Ī majority of math topics that are taught at the high-school and first-year level are computation based, similar to the features listed above. It is no secret that Wolfram|Alpha is a well-used tool for math students, especially those taking first-year college and university math courses.
Wolframalpha summation generator#
An idea, some initiative, and great resources allowed me to design and create the world’s first online syntax-free proof generator using induction, which recently went live on Wolfram|Alpha.