Why is math so hard?

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I am a junior and I don't know why but I feel so dumb because I failed algerbra 1 and I was a junior in a lower math class. I did well on the finals but everything else I sucked at. I have ASD and I thought kids with ASD where supposed to be smart and not be bad at algerbra. I took it for half of the school year and than I was out of that class not going to do math for the rest of the school year. I feel like an idiot when this happened to me and I don't know why I get so annoyed when people ask me what math class I had and I don't like it when they say "Um don't you need like 4 credits of math in order to graduate?" and I am always making up excuses when they ask me this. I hate it when people have to remind me what to do in school like they make it a big deal when it is none of their business and I get mad at them. I would like to know am I the only one like this with math? I feel really stupid right now and I want to deal with this problem. I have self confidence issues and self esteem problems when I was in that class so I got really mad when someone pulled me out. But I would like to know why is math so hard?

Math takes practice. You need repetition to be good at math. I would suggest looking through your textbook for example problems and just repeating them until they become as easy as walking. This may look like an over-simplified strategy, but oh boy does it work well. Start with the simple problems, and gradually work your way up. Sitting through lectures to understand concepts never helped me at all; I found that practicing on my own was much more productive.

Math is hard because it's taught by people who have always been good at math...in fact frequently it's the only thing they were good at.

I can help you with math. Don't hesitate to PM me with questions.

Concerning algebra, it might clarify the subject a bit if you know a few key concepts.

1. Algebra can be done with shapes instead of numbers because it's just a collection of rules on how to move things around to get what you want by itself.

2. There is an order of operations.
0. Simply an expression from left to right.
1. Calculate what's in parenthesis first, if they exist.
2. Multiple and/or dividing, where applicable comes next.
3. Adding and/or subtracting, where applicable comes after that.

3. What you do to one side of the equation, you do to the other. The reason for this is, you can think of each side of the equation like gold coins on different sides of a balance scale.

Let's say you had one 10lb gold coin on one side and two 5lb gold coins on the other. The scale is balanced. If you add a 2lb gold coin to one side, to keep it balanced, you have to add a 2lb gold coin to the other side. Alebraic equations are no different.

This balancing act, is what is going on behind the scenes when you move things from one side of an equation to the other.

For example, say you had...

x-1=5 and we wanted to solve for x (get x by itself)

If we can get rid of the -1 on the left side, x would be by itself.
We can get rid of the -1 by adding 1 to it. But to keep the scale (equation) balanced, we have to add 1 to the right side too. Otherwise it will tilt.

x-1+1 = 5+1 since -1+1=0 we have...

x = 5+1

Without going through it step by step it kind of looks like we just moved the 1 to the other size and made it positive.

We can simplify this more to x=6 btw.


Some other things....

Powers: -x^2 does not mean the same thing as (-x)^2
-x^2 means -(x*x). If x were 4 then -(4*4) = -16
(-x)^2 means (-x)*(-x).If x were 4 then (-4)(-4)= 16 since a negative times a negative is a positive.

Powers with like bases add when the bases are multiplied:
x^2 * x^5 becomes x^7 since 2+5 =7

If you want to know more, ask me.

Math does take practice and yes, many teachers know it like the back of their hand and forget that their students sometimes do not. I've had a few like that for various subjects. I know how frustrating that can be.

Chronos' advice made good sense. You can PM me too if you like.

Just remember the order of operations, BEMDAS

Brackets,
Exponents,
Multiplication,
Division,
Addition,
Subtraction.

Then, practice a lot of simplistic algebra.

As for stuff like Calculus, and intermediate Algebra (Complex Numbers, Eigenvalues...), try to get an intuition. If you don't understand the subject, you are screwed, and if you do you'll adore the subject.

I can't stand Math! Yes, I can do basic arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division), but that's it. Fractions baffle me. I love doing essay questions, though.

I didn't understand fractions until I learned algebra because before you know algebra they just skip steps and I always found that very confusing because there seemed to be no logic to it.

I also didn't understand when people would claim thing like 2/4=1/2 because I read it very literally and 2 is a different number than 1 and 4 is a different number than 2.

They should have said "2/4 is just another way of saying 1/2 just like four quarters is another way of saying a dollar"

I can explain fractions to you if you like.

I am incapable of math. I can barely count correctly. I have to count things several times before I feel like its the right number. I did however get my math credits done in school but only cuz they used construction paper and other "physical" ways of explaining things. I don't understand numbers because they aren't real. You can't see a 1 or a 5 you can only see what represents them therefore I cannot grasp the concept of math. Algebra was illogical to me and so was geometry. I just can't do it. I've even had tutors get angry with me cuz I just don't understand. So ya, I feel your pain.