apps-for-mathDuring one of my Jumpstart orientations, I was told that MATH 100 is one of the hardest first-year courses at UBC. Mathematics is, indeed, difficult for many students because of its exponential growth in difficulty as you go deeper into topics. But that shouldn’t stop you from studying the subject; here are 3 apps that’ll help you as you do math problems inside and outside class.
Math 42:
Have you ever wondered how a function would look on a graph? Or how you should take a derivate of a complicated function (considering you already know the rules of differentiation)? Math 42 is for you: it graphs functions, calculates derivatives and even shows you the steps.
en_2_stepsgraph_math_42
In the app, you can also save certain functions that you find particularly difficult so that you can go back and revise before an exam. Math 42 also has a paid premium mode wherein it can solve metrics and integrals (and more).
I personally love this app because
  1. it has one of the best keyboards to type math into
  2. the UI is beautiful, and graphs show all the important points – including roots of the function and inflexion points.
  3. No ads on the free version!
Get Math 42 on iOS
Symbolab:
Symbolab is another app that does almost the same job as math42, but the app is crammed with ads (unless you buy the premium). However, I highly recommend Symbolab for web use, on your laptop or computer.
screen-shot-2016-10-07-at-11-41-07-am
I like Symbolab because
  1. it provides detailed steps to answers
  2. it is very easy to type into, thanks to its function pad
Learning Centre:
Umm… this one is not an app. Sorry for the misleading title of this post, but I consider the UBC Math Learning Centre to be a great place to ask questions and gain clarity on math topics.
While the above apps will help you solve difficult problems, they aren’t always the easiest to use, and they do not clarify your doubts! If you find math hard (or you are stuck on multiple problems of the same topic), head to the Learning Centre and get your doubts clarified. This will definitely help you in your exams! Remember – you aren’t using your smartphone while writing your exam.
Hope this helps, fellow math students!
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