Certified Tutors From North Central Texas College

The student and I reviewed some challenging problems which covered surface areas between two intersecting shapes. We discussed those problems, then reviewed several problems which dealt with finding perimeters after she had already found the areas of a variety of shapes. Lastly, we went over a set of homework problems which covered areas and perimeters, but in word problems, applications, and general graphical problems.

The student and I reviewed similar triangles, congruency, transformations, and finding the distance between points on a figure. In addition, we worked on setting up a schedule to plan for finals. We completed at least 25 practice problems that involved understanding proportions and solving for unknown variables.

We began today's session tutoring Student A in Math. We covered GCF, LCM, prime factorization and ordering numbers, fractions and decimals from least to greatest. Student N joined the tutoring session half way through. We reviewed math for the rest of the session.

Yesterday we covered redox reactions, and how to recognize them. We learned that in a redox reaction, one element is always being oxidized while another is being reduced. We can identify these processes by assigning oxidation states to each atom based on the oxidation state rules. The student knows these rules pretty well. I shared the mnemonic "OIL RIG" with him to help him determine whether an atom is being oxidized or reduced (Oxidation Is Loss of electrons, Reduction Is Gain of electrons). We also looked at how to write a net ion equation, and how to use a solubility chart to determine if a solid precipitate will form during a reaction. They key to solubility is learning the general rules and using a comprehensive solubility chart. It is also important to remember that elements in the same column of the periodic table share similar chemistry. The student now understands all of this well and just needs practice working through the concepts.

For this session, the student and I went through some of the math practice sections in her prep book, and we went through the problems that she needed help with. She is feeling more comfortable with the material on the SAT and has a good attitude towards success. We went over the idea of problem recognition during the exam. She is going to complete her final practice test before our next session.

Today, the student and I reviewed his goals for tutoring time, and he identified math as his biggest problem. We spent most of our time reviewing his Geometry project, and I helped him complete the first section. I guided his responses, but he wrote them. We used Google to research some of the information. I was able to use this activity to help him see how much time he needed to allot to the rest of the project. We also looked at his entire week, and I left a time management sheet for him to fill in with time spent doing homework, studying for tests, and working on projects. We plan to meet next Saturday to review the time management plan, discuss study time for finals, and work on any assignments that are giving him problems. I promised to bring some algebra review materials as well since he said he has the most problems with Algebra.