MATH U113 · Drill · openings only · daily till 7 Oct
Start Drill: the First Two Minutes
Eight word problems a sheet, in the shapes the last three mid-sem papers use. You don't solve them. You write only the opening: the letters or random variable, the givens, the target, the formula. Then you compare with the model opening and tick which of the four moves you got. About two minutes each.
Following a solution and starting one are different skills, and starting is the one that hasn't been practised. This drill practises only that, with the arithmetic removed so each rep is quick. After a week of daily sheets the four moves become automatic, and a new question stops feeling like a blank page. The routine itself, shown on eight real questions, is on the how-to-start lesson. Read that first if you haven't.
On paper (or in the box), write four lines per problem:
① Letters: name the events, or the random variable in words ("X = number of …"). ② Givens: every number as a P( ) statement, or the distribution with its parameters and a one-line reason. ③ Target: the question as P( | ) or P(X …), with the exact inequality. ④ Formula: the definition, Bayes, pmf or approximation you'd use.
Then press Compare, tick the moves you got right (be honest: a missing parameter or the wrong side of the bar is a miss), and move on. Don't do the arithmetic. If you want to, "Now finish it" has the answer and a short method.
This sheet's eight openings
Target pace: 16 minutes for the eight (two minutes an opening). Speed isn't the point on day one; getting all four moves down without stalling is.
No sheets scored yet.