Welcome to Fundamental Mathematics Book Six.

You have the skills you need to be a strong student in this class. Your instructor knows this because you have passed the Fundamental Math Level Five class, or you have been assessed into this level.

Adult math learners have many skills. They have a lot of life experience. They also use math in everyday life. This means that adult math learners may already know some of what is being taught in this book. Use what you already know with confidence!

How to Use this Book

This textbook has:

• A Table of Contents listing the units, the major topics and subtopics.
• A Glossary giving definitions for mathematical vocabulary used in the course.
• A Grades Record to keep track of your marks.

The textbook has many exercises; some are quite short, but others have a great number of questions. You do not have to do every single question!

• Do as many questions as you feel are necessary for you to be confident in your skill. It is best to do all the word problems.
• If you leave out some questions, try doing every second or every third question. Always do some questions from the end of each exercise because the questions usually get harder at the end. You might use the skipped questions for review before a test.
• If you are working on a difficult skill or concept, do half the exercise one day and finish the exercise the next day. That is a much better way to learn.

Self-tests at the end of most topics have an Aim at the top. If you do not meet the aim, talk to your instructor, find what is causing the trouble, and do some more review before you go on.

A Review and Extra Practice section is at the end of each unit. If there is an area of the unit that you need extra practice in, you can use this. Or, if you want, you can use the section for more review.

A Practice Test is available for each unit. You may:

• Write the practice test after you have studied the unit as a practice for the end-of-chapter test, OR
• You might want to write it before you start the unit to find what you already know and which areas you need to work on.

Unit Tests are written after each unit. Again, you must reach the Aim before you begin the next unit. If you do not reach the aim, the instructor will assist you in finding and practising the difficult areas. When you are ready, you can write a B test to show that you have mastered the skills.

A Final Test is to be written when you have finished the book. This final test will assess your skills from the whole book. You have mastered the skills in each unit and then kept using many of them throughout the course. The test reviews all those skills.

Grades Record

You have also been given a sheet to write down your grades. After each test, you can write in the mark. This way you can keep track of your grades as you go through the course. This is a good idea to use in all your courses.

Grade Record – Book 6

Unit	Practice Test	Date of Test A	Test A	Date of Test B	Test B
Example		September 4, 2020	25/33	September 7, 2020	25/33
1
2
3
4
Final Test

Math Anxiety

Math anxiety, or the fear of math, is something many people experience. It is a learned habit and can be unlearned. Math anxiety can happen for a few different reasons:

• Feeling anxious when writing tests
• Negative experiences in a past math class
• Embarrassment in a past math class
• Social pressures and expectations to not like math or not do well in math
• The want to get everything right
• Negative self-message (“I don’t know how to do it,” or “I hate math”)

Everyone can learn math. There is no special talent people are born with that make them better at math. There are some people who are better at math than others, but even those people had to learn math to be good at it.

Do You Suffer from Math Anxiety?

Read the list below and put a check mark beside the ones you feel when thinking about or doing math.

• Are your palms moist?
• Is your stomach fluttering?
• Do you feel like you can’t think clearly?
• Do you feel like you would rather do anything else than learn math?
• Are you breathing faster than normal?
• Is your heart pounding?
• Do you feel cold?
• Do you feel sweaty?

If you answered yes to two or more of these items, you may have math anxiety.

How to Deal with Math Anxiety

Anyone can feel anxiety that will slow down learning. The key to learning is to be the “boss” of your anxiety.

One way to take control of your anxiety is to understand test taking anxiety.

There are four reasons people are anxious when writing tests. Any of the four reasons listed below might be the reason a person might feel anxious in a test-taking situation.

1. Not feeling prepared for the test
2. Not sure how to write the test in the best way
3. Feeling too much mental pressure
4. Poor health habits before writing a test

Here is an explanation of each reason and how to work your way out of the anxiety you may feel during tests.

1. Not feeling prepared for the test

Many students feel anxiety about taking math tests because they do not feel prepared for the test. To feel prepared, a student needs to have studied the work and know that they can do the problems they will be given. Get help from your classmates, friends or your instructor to find out how you can improve your study habits.

When you know a test is coming up, check to find out what is on the test and how long it will be. In this course, you have practice tests that look the same as the real test. This makes it easy to know what will be on the test. In future math courses, you may not get a practice test. You can ask your instructor for a test outline, which will give you a pretty good sense of what is on the test. Once you know all about what will be on the test, you can prepare for it better.

2. Not sure how to write the test in the best way

Here are some tricks students should know about how to write a test to do the best as possible on it:

• Before the Test
  1. Arrive early. Get out all the supplies you need to do the test (pencils, ruler, calculator, watch, etc.).
  2. Be comfortable, but alert. Choose a good spot in the room, and make sure you have enough space to work. Maintain a comfortable posture in your seat, but don’t “slouch.”
  3. Stay relaxed and confident. Keep a good attitude. If you find yourself anxious, take several slow, deep breaths to relax. Don’t talk about the test to other students just before entering the room: their anxiety can be contagious.
• During the test.
  1. Read the directions carefully. This may be obvious, but it will help you avoid careless errors.
  2. Look through the test for an overview. Note key terms, job down brief notes. Mark the test with comments that come to mind.
  3. Answer questions in a strategic order.
     • Answer the easy questions first. This will help to build confidence and score points. It may also help you make connections with more difficult questions.
     • Then answer the difficult questions. Work on these harder questions with all the energy of the easier ones.
  4. Review. Resist the urge to leave as soon as you are done writing. Spend as much time as you can going over your test to see if you:
     • Answered all the questions.
     • Wrote the answers in right.
     • Did not make simple mistakes.

3. Feeling too much mental pressure

There are many reasons why a student may feel mental pressure when writing a test. Listed below are a few main reasons:

• Negative beliefs about one’s math abilities
• Low self-esteem when it comes to math
• Too high expectations of success
• Fear that failure or low grades will affect the future
• Feelings of pressure of not wanting to let down family members

When students feel this kind of pressure, it is very hard to feel calm and relaxed about a test. The key to success in a math test is to keep the anxiety at a manageable level. You can do this in two ways:

1. Change negative self-talk. Any time a negative thought creeps into your head, it will make it harder to stay positive and relaxed about your test. If you have a negative thought like “I can’t do it”, try to replace it with a positive thought like “I can do this”.
2. Use relaxing and calming techniques. Use the calming breathing taught in earlier books of fundamental math. This will help you keep calm. Also, do not study in the last half hour before the test. You will be calmer by spending time relaxing and breathing deeply in that last half hour.

4. Poor health habits before writing a test

When your body and mind are healthy, you will have a better chance of doing well on a test. Eat well, drink plenty of water and get daily exercise. The better you feel, the better you can perform (and a test is a performance!).