Answers to Math Questions
Students love to ask questions! Sometimes you may need to do some brushing up before you can answer them, and sometimes you may want to challenge your students to see if they can find the answer themselves. In either case, our Ask Dr. Math service is a great place to start. It features an archive of around 10,000 previously asked questions and answers categorized by grade level, course, and topic. Search the archive to see if you can find the answer to your question. If you can't, go ahead and ask the Doctor!
What's up with pi? Who thought of that?
Many commonly asked questions are answered on our Frequently Asked Questions page. Each question is answered and other useful links are presented.
Can you explain domain and range of functions?
Other common questions are answered on our Selected Answers page. Relevant links for each question are presented. In essence, this page presents the best results of an archive search for that question.
How else can I find answers if those two pages don't have them?
Your best first step is to search the archives, which you can do from the Dr. Math home page. You can browse by grade level, course, and topic. You can also enter keywords and search the whole archive. A full search will find relevant items from the FAQ and Selected Answers pages as well as from the archives, so this is a good way to start.
That searching sounds like too much work - I'll just ask my question.
We get hundreds of questions submitted each day, so obviously not all of them get answered. Doctors are less likely to answer questions that are already discussed in the archives. Your best bet is to search first, and if you don't find what you want, then ask your question.
Can I get homework help from Dr. Math?
Dr. Math is not a homework service. Doctors will generally not solve a problem all the way for you, but will help get you started and talk about similar problems, then see what you can do. Often a give-and-take conversation ensues.
Ask Dr. Math is chock full of math, from elementary to graduate level questions. In addition to being an invaluable resource for you as a teacher, it's also a great place to send kids who want to do research, pursue some sort of independent project, or just get general math help. Come visit - the doctor is in!
Dr. Math also makes house calls. We have published four books, two on geometry and two on algebra, which follow the topics of traditional courses but are composed entirely of actual questions and answers from the archives. The material is presented in a much more conversational and informal tone than standard text books. Many teachers have found that having a copy as a classroom resource is a great aid, and we've also had a lot of parents tell us that the book is a big help to them when their son or daughter has homework questions. The books are available online by following the links on the Dr. Math home page.