Please keep in mind that any notes, videos, and calculators provided on this page are no substitute for attending class. These resources are here to supplement the information from your instructor and textbook. First and foremost please be sure to follow any directions and use any resources your teacher provides.
Math support FAQ
Any YCCC student enrolled in a math (MAT) class or taking a course that involves math—yes, even if it’s just entering a crazy formula in Microsoft Excel!
Math tutoring covers any MAT course as well as support for any student using Microsoft Excel to perform calculations. Tutoring for dosage calculations is also available with Karissa Cole.
Please note: classes coded as ACC, BUS, and FIN are not specifically covered under Student Success Commons math tutoring. Math tutors will help the best we can, but if you need support with any of these classes please reach out to your instructor and student success coach.
Our tutoring schedule is always available on our tutoring page. If you have additional questions about how and when you can get math support, please email Karissa.
Not at all! Tutoring is for everyone—whether you're trying to catch up, keep up, or level up.
Math tutoring at the SSC is walk-in friendly—just stop by during our open hours and a tutor will be happy to help you. You don’t need an appointment! Whether you can only stay for 10 minutes, or 4 hours, drop-in tutoring is here to fit your schedule.
Drop-in tutoring isn’t the same as a study group or a class. You’re welcome to work with friends, but it’s not required. Tutoring takes place in an open space, but your tutor will always give you one-on-one attention.
Tutors won’t lead a session like a teacher would. Instead, they’ll work with you on whatever concepts you need help with—at your pace and level. Since drop-in tutoring is student-driven, be sure to bring questions or topics you’d like to go over!
If you can't make it in person, you can also email us with questions or to connect with a tutor. And don’t forget—our website has a collection of helpful online resources, including videos, guides, and practice tools you can use anytime.
Your tutor will answer any questions, explain tricky concepts, help with practice problems, review assignments, and build your confidence. You won’t just get answers—you’ll learn how to find them.
Yes! While they won’t do your work for you, tutors can walk you through similar problems and show you strategies to tackle questions on your own.
That’s exactly why we’re here. Our tutors create a judgment-free zone where questions are always welcome, and mistakes are part of the process.
Take a deep breath—the Student Success Commons is here to help! Whether you're stuck on a math problem, stressed about a class, or just feeling overwhelmed, you don’t have to figure it all out on your own. Please email the SSC. Please include any information you think will help, such as your class and concerns, to ensure you're connected with the right resource for you.
Note: This is a tutorial using the TI-30X, but every scientific/graphing calculator will have its own way for converting between decimals and fractions in a similar fashion
Note: This is a tutorial using the TI-30X, but every scientific/graphing calculator will have its own way for converting between decimals and fractions in a similar fashion
These "mini math tutoring" (MMT) videos have been put together by math tutors just for YCCC quantitative reasoning students. If you have a question you'd like seen in a mini math tutoring video just let us know!
With the unit price calculator, you find find the unit price for a single item or you can compare two items with different price per pound, price per ounce, or any other weight or volume unit.
This link brings you to a list of fraction calculators such as:
• Fraction to percent
• Decimal to fraction
• Percent to fraction
• Ratio calculator
and more!
Follow this 3-step guide to help you solve word problems!
UNITS
• The units of a quantity describe what the quantity measures or counts. Units provide crucial context. For example, if you ask a car mechanic how long it will take to have your radiator fixed and they say "5" you need the units to fully understand their meaning. Is it 5 minutes, 5 hours, 5 days, 5 weeks, 5 months?
• Unit analysis (also called dimensional analysis) is the process of working with units to help solve problems.
• You generally cannot add or subtract numbers with different units, but you can combine different units through multiplication, division, or raising to powers. Always perform all operations on both numbers and their associated units.
• You can cancel units that appear in the top and bottom of one fraction, or in the top of one fraction and in the bottom of another as long as the two fractions are being multiplied (see the Unit analysis (cancelling units) PDF)
KEY WORD
MATHEMATICAL MEANING
EXAMPLE
per
division
"miles per hour" can be written mathematically as "miles ÷ hours" or "mi/hr"
of
multiplication
"50% of 10" can be written mathematically as "0.50 × 10" (Note: in almost all cases, percentages must be written as their decimal equivalents. To convert a percent to a decimal you must divide the percent by 100 and drop the % symbol.)
is
equals
"The price is $30" can be written mathematically as "price = $30"
what
an unknown value (a variable), usually represented by a letter like x
"What is 50% of 10" can be written mathematically as "x = 0.50 × 10"
"Tracy spent Saturday afternoon selling flowers in the park. Roses sold for $4.00 each, while carnations sold for $2.00. By the end of the day, she had earned $97.00. How many roses and how many carnations did she sell? List all possible solutions."
This PDF walks you through how to solve this kind of problem.
Note: Find total amount paid by multiplying calculated monthly payment by 12 then multiplying by the number of years. Find total interest by subtracting total paid by original amount.
These "mini math tutoring" (MMT) videos have been put together by math tutors just for YCCC quantitative reasoning students. If you have a question you'd like seen in a mini math tutoring video just let us know!
This calculator uses the compound interest formula to find principal plus interest. It uses this same formula to solve for principal, rate or time given the other known values.
Use this loan calculator to determine the monthly payment, interest rate, number of months or principal amount on a loan. You can also create a loan amortization table!
Use this online APY calculator to easily calculate the APY (Annual Percentage Yield) of a deposit based on the simple annual interest rate and the compounding period.
"Mini math tutoring" (MMT) videos have been put together by math tutors just for YCCC quantitative reasoning students. If you have a question you'd like seen in a mini math tutoring video just let us know!
Make sure you know the difference between qualitative data and quantitative data, can differentiate a population and a sample, and understand the different types of statistical studies.
Look at example problems to help you identify the population, sample, bias type, and qualitative vs. quantitative data.
SAMPLE VS. POPULATION
POPULATION: The population is the complete set of people or things being studied.
SAMPLE: The sample is a subset of the population. The population is usually too large to look at in its entirety, so a sample that represents the population must be chosen and data can be gathered from the sample.
SAMPLE STATISTICS: Sample statistics are numbers describing characteristics of the sample. This data is gathered directly from the sample.
POPULATION PARAMETERS: Population parameters are specific numbers of interest that describe certain characteristics of the population. The population parameter is usually based on the sample statistic.
For example:
A YCCC student wants to know how many U.S. community college students have pets. She gathers information from 698 community college students and found that 422 of them have pets.
In this example:
• the population is all U.S. community college students.
• the sample is the 698 U.S. community college students that were surveyed.
• the sample statistic is the 422 out of 698 U.S. community college students who have pets, which is about 60.5%.
• the population parameter is the number of all U.S. community college students who have pets. Note that it is not expressly stated, but if the statistical study was performed properly, we can estimate that about 60.5% of all U.S. community college students have pets.
BASIC STEPS IN A STATISTICAL STUDY:
1. State the goal(s) of the study. Determine the population you want to study and what kind of information you want.
2. Make sure a sample is chosen that represents the population.
3. Collect data from the sample and find the sample statistic of interest.
4. Use the sample statistic(s) to infer the population parameter(s).
5. Draw conclusions. Determine what you learned and how it addresses your goals.
MAJOR TYPES OF BIAS
Selection bias occurs whenever the researches select their sample in a way that would tent to make it unrepresentative of the population. For example, if a researchers wants to gather information on all U.S. college students but only chooses males, the sample will not be representative of the whole population.
Participation bias occurs whenever people choose whether to participate. For example, if people must take action to participate in a study rather than being chosen at random, those who feel more strongly about the survey issue are more likely to participate.
SAMPLING METHODS
TYPE
MEANING
NOTES AND EXAMPLES
Simple random
This is when the sample is chosen in such a way that every sample of the same size has an equal chance of being selected.
Examples:
Names are put in a hat and randomly picked.
Every item in the population is assigned a number and numbers are randomly chosen by a computer program
Systematic
This is when the sample is chosen according to some kind of mathematical pattern.
Example:
Every 10th person on the list is surveyed.
Convenience
This is when a sample is chosen because it is convenient.
Examples:
Every person who comes out of the post office is surveyed.
People watching a certain television show are asked to call in to cast their vote.
People are asked to mail in their response to a survey in a magazine.
Note: This type of sampling can often lead to bias.
Stratified
For this sampling method we must first define different subgroups, called strata, within the population, then we must select a sample from each of the subgroups.
Researchers use stratified sampling to ensure specific subgroups are present in their sample
Examples:
The population of a town is broken down into different age groups, and 30 people are chosen from each of the different age groups
The plants in a nursery are separated into groups based on the amount of sun they require.
"Mini math tutoring" (MMT) videos have been put together by math tutors just for YCCC quantitative reasoning students. If you have a question you'd like seen in a mini math tutoring video just let us know!
This PDF contains the formulas needed to calculate:
• the grains of wheat on a specific chessboard square
• the total grains of wheat on all squares up to a specific square
• the weight of the grains in pounds or in tons
• the total money made from the "magic penny" after a given number of nights
...and examples for each of these types of questions!
