silver Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 My son has been using Alcumus for about 2 years now (through all of Pre-Algebra and now mostly done with Algebra). Suddenly the problems have become really hard for him. They require him to know things not taught. For example, in the "Simon's Favorite Factoring Trick" section, he has the problem: For how many integer values of $a$ does the equation $$x^2 + ax + 8a = 0$$ have integer solutions for $x$? The book only teaches how to use this trick for single degree polynomials, not a degree of 2+. He had a problem today in graphing circles that required him to know that a circle internally tangent to another circle has the property that a radius line from the larger circle that passes through the center of the smaller circle will also pass through the point where the two circles touch. How is a student in Algebra 1 supposed to know that? We checked the difficulty level in his settings and it is set to "normal". Any suggestions on how he can get back to problems he is capable of doing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 It sounds like someone at AoPS is doing a poor job of classifying these problems. If you are feeling generous, then you can take a screenshot of these problems and send it to AoPS. I notice there is a "Report Error" feedback button that you can click to alert them. I've used this recently--not on Alcumus but a homework problem--and received an acknowledgement the next day. I tried to replicate by working through the SFFT problems, but I didn't encounter the problems you saw. (I got as far as SFFT with 3 variables before I gave up.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.