Mastering the Fundamentals of Mathematics

This introductory episode starts with Professor Sellers’ overview of the general topics and themes you’ll encounter throughout the series. Then, plunge into an engaging review of the addition and subtraction of whole numbers, complete with several helpful tips designed to help you approach these types of problems with more confidence.

Continue your quick review of basic mathematical operations, this time with a focus on the multiplication of whole numbers. In addition to uncovering the relationship between addition and multiplication, you’ll get plenty of opportunities to strengthen your ability to multiply two 2-digit numbers, two 3-digit numbers, and more.

Turn now to the opposite of multiplication: division. Learn how to properly set up a long division problem, how to check your answers to make sure they’re correct, how to handle zeroes when they appear in a problem, and what to do when a long division problem ends with a remainder.

Mathematics is also filled with “parts” of whole numbers, or fractions. In the first of several episodes on fractions, define key terms and focus on powerful techniques for determining if fractions are equivalent, finding out which of two fractions is larger, and reducing fractions to their lowest terms.

Fractions with the same denominator. Fractions with different denominators. Mixed numbers. Here, learn ways to add and subtract them all (and sometimes even in the same problem) and get tips for reducing your answers to their lowest terms. Math with fractions, you’ll discover, doesn’t have to be intimidating. It can even be fun!

Continue having fun with fractions, this time by mastering how to multiply them and reduce your answer to its lowest term. Professor Sellers shows you how to approach and solve multiplication problems involving fractions (with both similar and different denominators), fractions and whole numbers, and fractions and mixed numbers.

Professor Sellers walks you step by step through the process for speedily solving division problems involving fractions in this episode filled with helpful practice problems. You’ll also learn how to better handle calculations involving different notations, fractions, and whole numbers, and even word problems involving the division of fractions.

What’s 29.42 + 84.67? Or 643 + 82.987? What about 25.7 – 10.483? Problems like these are the focus of this helpful episode on adding and subtracting decimals. One tip for making these sorts of calculations easier: making sure your decimal points are all lined up vertically.

Investigate the best ways to multiply and divide decimal numbers. You’ll get insights into when and when not to ignore the decimal point in your calculations, how to check your answer to ensure that your result has the correct number of decimal places, and how to express remainders in decimals.

Take a closer look at converting between percents, decimals, and fractions, all of which are areas of basic mathematics many people have a hard time with. After learning the techniques in this episode and using them on numerous practice problems, you’ll be surprised at how easy this type of conversion is to master.

Use the skills you developed in the last episode to better approach and solve different kinds of percentage problems you’d most likely encounter in your everyday life. Among these everyday scenarios: calculating the tip at a restaurant and determining how much money you’re saving on a store’s discount.

How do ratios and proportions work? How can you figure out if a particular problem is merely just a ratio or proportion problem in disguise? What are some pitfalls to watch out for? And how can a better understanding of these subjects help save you money? Find out here.

Explore a fifth fundamental mathematical operation: exponentiation. First, take a step-by-step look at the order of operations for handling longer calculations that involve multiple tasks, complete with invaluable tips to help you handle them with ease. Then, see where exponentiation fits in this larger process.

Improve your confidence in dealing with negative numbers. You’ll learn to use the number line to help visualize these numbers; discover how to rewrite subtraction problems involving negative numbers as addition problems to make them easier; examine the rules involved in multiplying and dividing with them; and much more.

In this episode, finally make sense of square roots. Professor Sellers offers examples to help you sidestep issues many students express frustration with, shows you how to simplify radical expressions involving addition and subtraction, and reveals how to find the approximate value of a square root without using a calculator.

What happens when you have to raise numbers to a fraction of a power? How about when you have to deal with negative exponents? Or negative fractional exponents? No need to worry! Professor Sellers guides you through this tricky mathematical territory, arming you with invaluable techniques for approaching these scenarios.

Grab some graph paper and learn how to graph objects in the coordinate (or xy) plane. You’ll find out how to plot points, how to determine which quadrant they go in, how to sketch the graph of a line, how to determine a line’s slope, and more.

Continue exploring the visual side of mathematics with this look at the basics of two-dimensional geometry. Among the topics you’ll focus on here are the various types of triangles (including scalene and obtuse triangles) and quadrilaterals (such as rectangles and squares), as well as methods for measuring angles, area, and perimeter.

Gain a greater appreciation for the interaction between arithmetic and geometry. First, learn how to recognize and approach large polygons, including hexagons and decagons. Then, explore the various concepts behind circles (such as radius, diameter, and the always intriguing pi), as well as methods for calculating their circumference, area, and perimeter.

Shift gears and demystify number theory, which takes as its focus the study of the properties of whole numbers. Concepts that Professor Sellers discusses and teaches you how to engage with in this insightful episode include divisors, prime numbers, prime factorizations, greatest common divisors, and factor trees.

In this second episode on the world of number theory, take a closer look at the relationships between even and odd numbers, as well as the rules of divisibility for particular numbers. By the end, you’ll be surprised that something as intimidating as number theory could be made so accessible.

Get a solid introduction to statistics, one of the most useful areas of mathematics. Here, you’ll focus on the four basic “measurements” statisticians use when gleaning meaning from data: mean, media, mode, and range. Also, see these concepts at work in everyday scenarios in which statistics plays a key role.

Learn more about probability, a cousin of statistics and another mathematical field that helps us make sense of the seemingly unexplainable nature of the world. You’ll consider basic questions and concepts from probability, drawing on the knowledge and skills of the fundamentals of mathematics you acquired in earlier lectures.

Professor Sellers reviews the importance of math in daily life and previews the next logical step in your studies: Algebra I (which involves variables). Whether you’re planning to take more Great Courses in mathematics or simply looking to sharpen your mind, you’ll be sent off with new levels of confidence.