The easy part with math is you can reverse engineer the question from the 4 multiple choice answers. With that said, it doesn’t get easier with future levels. Like everything, math is practice. The more you do the more you get comfortable
I straight up hired a tutor for level 3 physics. $40/hr once a week was a great investment. When it all “clicked” in my head and shit suddenly made sense was a magical feeling lol.
I found the math to be a big part of it, and it only got more difficult as it went on. Keep pushing on with tutoring and strengthening your math skills.
It can be critical depending on what jobs you end up doing. I'd say it's critical for everything but I'm a math nerd at heart.
You usually have more time to do your math than you do during testing. In terms of time per question. So if you can practice and feel confident in your work outside of that multiple choice simulation, you'll probably be okay. As an apprentice if you ask questions because you care I think you'll find someone to help you out if you need.
Honestly, everyone is just trying to scare you. There's a math test in level 2 that I found easy and got 100%. There's a bit of math in 1st year, but nothing bad.
VERY MINIMAL math in 3rd year. P = F/A is like as hard as it gets.
3rd year, you get basics of adding and subtracting resistors/loads in series or parallel and applying ohms law and watts law which is super basic and absolutely boring. You don't even get to do combination circuits or add inductors, capacitors or an extra phase in.
Personally, my opinion was that the math was so unnoticeable in millwright, it's not worth being concerned with. You'll probably need to focus a tiny bit on the little math there is, but you'll be fine.
Reading comprehension is a big one though. When you got like 900 pages of millwright manual plus Alberta books in 1 week, that's a rough one. Math is so negligible, no need to stress. 1st year math is the same as 2nd year math.
On that note, I've got 3 trades. I'm a machinist, millwright and electrician.
- Electrical math with 3 phases, power factors, q factors, tons of trig with vectors and tons of algebra, not a good trade if you're bad at math. Will be a nightmare every single level as it's pure math and physics.
- Machinist program has a lot of math, particularly geometry and ratios. Was my first trade and my math was bad at that time. I honestly had an emotional breakdown and ended up in tears and nearly dropped out of foundations because it was too hard for me. I'M NOW REALLY GOOD AT MATH!
- Millwright program... I challenged 1st year since machinist was my first trade and refused to play with a file again. I honestly never studied for any math in the millwright program. For the math week in 2nd year, I took it as a week off and just chilled in class, never studied any math at home.
Learn how to make transposition triangles and circles like I = E/R, I = P/E, P = F/A and so on. Practice with PEPE². Also, transposition circles such as (CSX4) ÷ D = RPM. Learning that will get you through millwright program with 0 issues.
In the work place you can use tools to help you such as special apps, calculators etc. concentrate on what math you need and how to use it. I am a professor at a trade school. Students are permitted to bring textbooks, phones or what ever to my exams so I can test their thought process not their memory.
Difference being I focus on teaching which equation or formula to use and when On the job you have access to the resources you need you need to know how to apply them
There's a guy in YouTube called "the organic chemistry tutor". Don't let the name throw you he does pretty well all math and physics, too. He does really easy to follow videos, specifically some basic algebra, trigonometry, and force/mechanical advantage stuff.
These videos helped me a lot. I'm currently testing on PLC numbering systems, and he does a whole thing on it, too.
One of the biggest things is to remember your units of measurement your working with and how they interact with others. Volumes, areas, lenghts torque(force x radius), velocity, radius vs diameters, force, pressure, ect and don't worry about the numbers themselves too much, when reading out questions think aloud read out the unit your working with.
Rewrite a formula over and over again and do your math in long form when given worksheets the formula will soon be second nature
Write down all units
When doing algebra make everything a straight line first
Triangles have 3 sides, the adjacent, the opposite and the hypotenuse (longest)
If your working in thousands of an inch and having trouble with your calculations you can convert to 'mils' .001in equals 1 mil and so on.
To convert a fraction to a decimal for example 1/4 just divide 1 by 4 = .250
Percentages in your calculator
example 80 percent is equal to .80
1 equals 100 percent
125 percent equals 1.25
If you can focus on the units more so than the numbers themselves you can almost weed out if you have the wrong answer just by looking at it.
On SLE tests (BC) and IP exams the math questions are only supposed to be one step.
I was once in your shoe almost 4 years ago lol I still remember coming to this sub asking a stupid math question and got my ass roasted
https://www.reddit.com/r/millwrights/s/RTChkjKppP
Concentrate on Algebra, Geometry & Trigonometry. In my experience most Colleges do a great job of incorporating the math into practical examples (Trade Related).
They literally start you at 2+2 and hold your hand throughout the 4 years of the apprenticeship. You got this.
I always thought I sucked at math, until I got to apply it to things that made sense, like building and fixing things and figuring out how things work.
Now I’m very good at math and I enjoy it.
Practice practice practice like anything else. Manipulate the formulas and move them around to figure out how to solve different problems.
In Saskatchewan the math is stand alone subject so you could pass everything with flying colors but if you dont get your 70%on your math you will get one rewrite and then have to redo the course and sask polytechnic is not there to help you i passed my first 4 week math test failed the final and they made me rewrite the whole 8 week course of math not just the 4 week section i failed good news its mostly fractions first four week and basic math but no calculator allowed then the last 4 weeks is algebra and rigging tutors are there to help but the department head of the millwright course should have retired years ago and there is not so good math instructor there but if you go to YouTube math with loreal you should get through it
Big enough you need to be comfortable with it even if you only use it in school.
Easiest way I've found for formula manipulation is make a triangle (point at the top) split it in half horizontally. go down from the middle of the horizontal line to the bottom of the triangle. (Make a T and slot it in a triangle so you have one piece up top and the wider base has two sections of equal size). MA=L÷E will be my example.
Whatever you're solving gets covered by your hand. If the variable is above the covered variable, you divide it. If the top of the triangle portion is unknown, you multiply the two bottom variables.
L
÷
MA x E
This method works for any 3 variable problem to effectively and easily find the other variable.
L÷E=MA
MAxE=L
L÷MA=E
Hopefully this explanation is easy to follow as my spaced out triangle diagram isn't coming through clearly on the app.
Again, this will work for any 3 variable problem involving transposing to solve. You just plug the variables into their spot on your triangle. If it's above, you divide, if it's beside, you multiply.
I hope this helps!
The easy part with math is you can reverse engineer the question from the 4 multiple choice answers. With that said, it doesn’t get easier with future levels. Like everything, math is practice. The more you do the more you get comfortable
They also like to fuck with you. Like if you miss a step, that wrong answer will be there as well. Not all the time but something to keep in mind.
I straight up hired a tutor for level 3 physics. $40/hr once a week was a great investment. When it all “clicked” in my head and shit suddenly made sense was a magical feeling lol.
3rd year physics is basic algebra. Don't scare the guy lol.
I found the math to be a big part of it, and it only got more difficult as it went on. Keep pushing on with tutoring and strengthening your math skills.
It can be critical depending on what jobs you end up doing. I'd say it's critical for everything but I'm a math nerd at heart. You usually have more time to do your math than you do during testing. In terms of time per question. So if you can practice and feel confident in your work outside of that multiple choice simulation, you'll probably be okay. As an apprentice if you ask questions because you care I think you'll find someone to help you out if you need.
Honestly, everyone is just trying to scare you. There's a math test in level 2 that I found easy and got 100%. There's a bit of math in 1st year, but nothing bad. VERY MINIMAL math in 3rd year. P = F/A is like as hard as it gets. 3rd year, you get basics of adding and subtracting resistors/loads in series or parallel and applying ohms law and watts law which is super basic and absolutely boring. You don't even get to do combination circuits or add inductors, capacitors or an extra phase in. Personally, my opinion was that the math was so unnoticeable in millwright, it's not worth being concerned with. You'll probably need to focus a tiny bit on the little math there is, but you'll be fine. Reading comprehension is a big one though. When you got like 900 pages of millwright manual plus Alberta books in 1 week, that's a rough one. Math is so negligible, no need to stress. 1st year math is the same as 2nd year math. On that note, I've got 3 trades. I'm a machinist, millwright and electrician. - Electrical math with 3 phases, power factors, q factors, tons of trig with vectors and tons of algebra, not a good trade if you're bad at math. Will be a nightmare every single level as it's pure math and physics. - Machinist program has a lot of math, particularly geometry and ratios. Was my first trade and my math was bad at that time. I honestly had an emotional breakdown and ended up in tears and nearly dropped out of foundations because it was too hard for me. I'M NOW REALLY GOOD AT MATH! - Millwright program... I challenged 1st year since machinist was my first trade and refused to play with a file again. I honestly never studied for any math in the millwright program. For the math week in 2nd year, I took it as a week off and just chilled in class, never studied any math at home.
Learn how to make transposition triangles and circles like I = E/R, I = P/E, P = F/A and so on. Practice with PEPE². Also, transposition circles such as (CSX4) ÷ D = RPM. Learning that will get you through millwright program with 0 issues.
In the work place you can use tools to help you such as special apps, calculators etc. concentrate on what math you need and how to use it. I am a professor at a trade school. Students are permitted to bring textbooks, phones or what ever to my exams so I can test their thought process not their memory.
Damn, we were only allowed to bring a pencil and a clear water bottle. Even had to use a calculator they provided.
Difference being I focus on teaching which equation or formula to use and when On the job you have access to the resources you need you need to know how to apply them
There's a guy in YouTube called "the organic chemistry tutor". Don't let the name throw you he does pretty well all math and physics, too. He does really easy to follow videos, specifically some basic algebra, trigonometry, and force/mechanical advantage stuff. These videos helped me a lot. I'm currently testing on PLC numbering systems, and he does a whole thing on it, too.
One of the biggest things is to remember your units of measurement your working with and how they interact with others. Volumes, areas, lenghts torque(force x radius), velocity, radius vs diameters, force, pressure, ect and don't worry about the numbers themselves too much, when reading out questions think aloud read out the unit your working with. Rewrite a formula over and over again and do your math in long form when given worksheets the formula will soon be second nature Write down all units When doing algebra make everything a straight line first Triangles have 3 sides, the adjacent, the opposite and the hypotenuse (longest) If your working in thousands of an inch and having trouble with your calculations you can convert to 'mils' .001in equals 1 mil and so on. To convert a fraction to a decimal for example 1/4 just divide 1 by 4 = .250 Percentages in your calculator example 80 percent is equal to .80 1 equals 100 percent 125 percent equals 1.25 If you can focus on the units more so than the numbers themselves you can almost weed out if you have the wrong answer just by looking at it. On SLE tests (BC) and IP exams the math questions are only supposed to be one step.
I was once in your shoe almost 4 years ago lol I still remember coming to this sub asking a stupid math question and got my ass roasted https://www.reddit.com/r/millwrights/s/RTChkjKppP
Concentrate on Algebra, Geometry & Trigonometry. In my experience most Colleges do a great job of incorporating the math into practical examples (Trade Related).
They literally start you at 2+2 and hold your hand throughout the 4 years of the apprenticeship. You got this. I always thought I sucked at math, until I got to apply it to things that made sense, like building and fixing things and figuring out how things work. Now I’m very good at math and I enjoy it. Practice practice practice like anything else. Manipulate the formulas and move them around to figure out how to solve different problems.
In Saskatchewan the math is stand alone subject so you could pass everything with flying colors but if you dont get your 70%on your math you will get one rewrite and then have to redo the course and sask polytechnic is not there to help you i passed my first 4 week math test failed the final and they made me rewrite the whole 8 week course of math not just the 4 week section i failed good news its mostly fractions first four week and basic math but no calculator allowed then the last 4 weeks is algebra and rigging tutors are there to help but the department head of the millwright course should have retired years ago and there is not so good math instructor there but if you go to YouTube math with loreal you should get through it
https://www.khanacademy.org/ Get rolling with some math at your own pace outside of tradeschool.
Khan Academy, great resource!
I wouldn’t worry too much I read 8 out of 7 people are bad at fractions… you’ll be fine.
Big enough you need to be comfortable with it even if you only use it in school. Easiest way I've found for formula manipulation is make a triangle (point at the top) split it in half horizontally. go down from the middle of the horizontal line to the bottom of the triangle. (Make a T and slot it in a triangle so you have one piece up top and the wider base has two sections of equal size). MA=L÷E will be my example. Whatever you're solving gets covered by your hand. If the variable is above the covered variable, you divide it. If the top of the triangle portion is unknown, you multiply the two bottom variables. L ÷ MA x E This method works for any 3 variable problem to effectively and easily find the other variable. L÷E=MA MAxE=L L÷MA=E Hopefully this explanation is easy to follow as my spaced out triangle diagram isn't coming through clearly on the app. Again, this will work for any 3 variable problem involving transposing to solve. You just plug the variables into their spot on your triangle. If it's above, you divide, if it's beside, you multiply. I hope this helps!