Attached are 4 discussion post. Basic honestly more of myths, and perspective. IT IS NOT ACTUAL MATH PROBLEMS.  I will also place 2 classmate post for a response. Unable to post until I post my initial post. Please be aware I will also need responses to post POST 1 If my learning path in ALEKS is any indication, transcription errors seem to be my biggest problem, followed by the occasional interpretation error. Several of my failures to clear a topic without providing an incorrect answer are the result of either typing/clicking the wrong number or symbol (a malfunctioning mouse isn’t helping) or seeing a word problem like one I’ve just completed and failing to catch one of the variables in the word problem was changed. You’d think by now I’d realize I won’t see the exact same problem twice! As a result, I’ve learned I need to double-check my entries before I hit submit, and make sure I pulled the right numbers out of a word problem. Since starting this course, my confidence level has risen slightly. I attribute this in large part to ALEKS and how it approaches introducing topics. I find myself making it through probably 80-90% of the problem sets it throws at me without making any errors. The learning path and explanation buttons seem to be all I need in most cases - I’ve really only opened the textbook when doing the problem sets to see how my assigned problem lines up with the examples listed. Classmates for response Week3: Ryan 1. Agree or disagree with one of the Math Myths listed above. Find a link to one article on the Internet to support your response. I agree with all of the myths listed except for myths 1 and 5. I do believe that the most important thing in math (as far as the U.S. education system appears to be concerned with) is getting the correct answer. In addition, I believe that math is a very logical and calculating field that often requires a keen analytical mindset. I do not agree with the statement that men are better than women at math in natural sense as this could be blamed on a societal construct versus anything from nature. For example, teachers often underestimate the ability of females to perform math functions, leading many of them to abandon the idea of pursuing a professional career in the field by the 8th grade (AAUW 2). While this is obviously a hot-take that is not true in the slightest, it is easy to see this being the case from a historical point of view. However, times have changed and this is no longer the case. Women have pursued careers in this field at a much higher rate; so much so that I can say that I’ve only had 1 or 2 male math teachers in my entire life versus dozens of female teachers. In addition, I am not above admitting that I am not that great at math and I am sure there are plenty of women within this class and outside of here that are much better at math than me. This statement, while dated and continuously evolving, is simply incorrect. 2. Share your own current or former feelings of math anxiety. Explain how you plan to deal with it in this course. This is the first time I’ve heard this phrase before and I can genuinely say that I have a pretty rough case of math anxiety. When I first registered for classes at UMGC, I contacted my advisor and told her to tell me what the simplest math class is because I am “too stupid for anything else”. Part of that is just my sense of humor but another part of that is because I have always struggled with math and I was just saying how I felt albeit lightheartedly. Preparation is my key to getting through this anxiety; ensuring I stay ahead of the work and don’t have to rush through everything at a later date to avoid the feeling of being overwhelmed will help me avoid these thoughts. After all, I’ve made it this far by doing this and I can make it through this class by keeping this up. Works Cited: AAUW. The Myth of the Male Math Brain. American Association of University Women. No Date. https://www.aauw.org/resources/article/the-myth-of-the-male-math-brain/ Daniel I'll address Math Myth #1: Aptitude for math is inborn. I disagree with the statement - to a point. However, there a certain stereotypes associated with math that have elements of truth which tie in to this myth. I recall listening to a podcast a couple years ago which broke down the "Asians are good at math" stereotype and why it often appears to be true. Perhaps the thing I found most intriguing was discussion of a Chinese language (I don't recall if it was Cantonese, Mandarin, or both) and how it is constructed in such a way that numbers can be communicated much more efficiently than in English. Rather than having weird linguistic constructs like "eleven, "twelve", "fourteen" and "thirty-seven", the Chinese language(s) use mono-syllabic words to say "one ten and one", "one ten and two", "one ten and four", and "three tens and seven". Additionally, aspects of culture play into approach to learning as well. So, aptitude for math isn't inborn, but some people are exposed to things at an early age and given tools that enable them to excel at math. The article I found supports both points of view, and basically concludes that certain abilities related to mathematics, such as pattern recognition, may be inborn; however, crunching numbers isn't can't exist without numbers and a way to write and say them. dissenting viewpoint addresses precisely what I described in the previous paragraph. Article Link: http://www.scienceclarified.com/dispute/Vol-2/Do-humans-have-an-innate-capacity-for-mathematics.html

Week Three - Application AssignmentAnswer the following questions in a Word document and upload the document to the appropriate drop box.1) A museum borrows $2,000,000 at simple annual interest to purchase new exhibits. Let x represent the amount borrowed at 7%, y represent the amount borrowed at 8.5%, and z represent the amount borrowed at 9.5%. Set up a system of linear equations to determine how much is borrowed at each rate given that the total annual interest is $169,750 and the amount borrowed at 8.5% is four times the amount borrowed at 9.5%. You do not have to solve the system.2) At a local store, the numbers of gallons of skim milk, 2% milk, and whole milk sold over the weekend are represented by a matrix A. Skim 2% Whole Friday 40 64 52 Saturday 60 82 76 Sunday 76 96 84The selling prices per gallon and the profits per gallon for the three types of milk are represented by B. Selling price Profit Skim $3.45 $1.20 2% $3.65 $1.30 Whole $3.85 $1.45 a) Compute AB and interpret the result. b) Find the store's total profit from milk sales for the weekend3) A florist is creating 10 centerpieces. Roses cost $2.50 each, lilies cost $4 each, and irises cost $2 each. A customer plans on spending $300 on 10 centerpieces with each centerpiece containing 12 flowers, with twice as many roses as the number of irises and lilies combined. a) Write a system of linear equations that represents the situation. Then write a matrix equation that corresponds to your system. b) Find the number of flowers of each type that the florist can use to create the 10 centerpieces.4) One hundred liters of a 50% solution of a chemical mixture is obtained by mixing a 60% solution with a 20% solution. Using a system of linear equations determine how many liters of each solution are required to obtain the 50% mixture. Solve the system using matrices.