Mathematical thinking is something that can be developed. With the advent of maths learning apps, learning how to handle equations or solve problems has become much easier and more fun.
Using the appropriate free math apps, you can take a picture of an example and get a ready-made solution. Derivatives, trigonometry, logarithms, a simple one-click app will do it all. The importance of mathematical applications can hardly be overestimated, both for learning and for work. In this article, we take a look at a selection of the most efficient and useful mathematical applications.
Mathway
Mathway is a very noteworthy app that can help you with your math assignments. The app is a kind of problem-solving tool that covers calculus, statistics, trigonometry, linear algebra and even chemistry in addition to school maths. If you have ever used the web version of Mathway service, you will immediately recognize the look and functionality of this application. It's practically the same messenger-like interface, with all the action taking place as if in dialogue with a virtual assistant.
It's worth noting that this particular application, of those reviewed in this article, is one of the most interesting in terms of the quality of the solution. You'll love the fact that you get probably the most detailed step-by-step solutions to problems, plus the clear Russian language. It's a little strange that the description says you have to pay a subscription to see the step-by-step solution, although all of the application's features are completely free. Mathway will help you not only with solving equations, inequalities and other complex expressions, but can also plot graphs and find the number of molecules in a mass body.
Mathway for Android also solves problems with the device camera, but this feature is not implemented in the best way. There are several good reasons for this conclusion. Firstly, the camera interface in the program is extremely minimalistic, for some reason it doesn't even have a recognition area. You'll have to get used to having the expression in the centre of the screen and no other inscriptions next to it, otherwise the app will give you the wrong decision. Often in practice the camera has only captured part of the application, hence the errors. The camera is also automatically set to macro mode, so the recognition algorithms often fail and give the wrong answer. Sometimes it was much easier and quicker to enter the task manually. Besides, the app has awesome features for this. The thing is that the sliding side menu allows you to access as many as 10 sections, each of which has its own calculator with certain symbols, operators, constants and other functions. Very convenient and practical.
Mathway prompts the user to choose the way to solve the problem, and this can vary the results. If one of the methods is not suitable, it is enough to tap on the mathematical expression again and choose another solution. Let's face it, if you want a quick and fast answer to a problem, Mathway is not the right one for you. But if you want accuracy and completeness of the answer, and you have the patience to enter the mathematical symbols and signs yourself, then this application is very good for you.
Mathpix
Mathpix is the first application that allows you to solve and visualise solutions by recognising handwriting, including complex formulas. Mathpix aims to replace expensive and outdated graphing calculators to provide a free and interesting learning tool for mathematics students around the world.
It's one of the long-established applications for solving mathematical problems. It was able to recognise handwritten mathematical problems much earlier than Photomath. It is worth noting that the essence and principle of both applications are very similar, but the Mathpix service as a whole is designed for an older audience. It can solve simple and not very simple quadratic equations, easily solves problems with fractions, roots, logarithms, integrals, derivatives, etc. In other words, pretty much everything that high school and first year university students have. But I would especially mention the ability to graph functions, thanks to the integration with Desmos' advanced graphing calculator. This is something that none of the other applications out there have, and it's very important for solving algebra and the beginning of analysis problems.
You will love how Mathpix's text and condition recognition algorithms work. It scans and reads the conditions in almost seconds. Immediately, it sends the condition data to the server and produces an answer almost instantly. But errors do occur, though quite rarely. At the same time, the user has the tools for working with problems in graph mode: editing input data, adding tables, notes and additional functions for multiple graphs.
But it is worth noting that it only copes well with uncomplicated tasks. If still with the construction of elementary graphs, the application coped with more complex tasks, which include trigonometric and logarithmic equations, inequalities, as well as equations with a module, there were big problems. The app simply ignored their solutions. So the developers still need to work on the capabilities of their program.
Most users won't like the fact that there is no detailed description of how to solve the problems. The app itself is a bit difficult to use, and the controls are inconvenient on a smartphone with a small screen. I got the impression that this is a web version of the app. But the decision is still up to you.
In conclusion, I would like to say that although the above apps will help you with your math assignments, don't forget that it is just a program. It is meant to help you, not to add to your knowledge. But once again, these apps are not a panacea for solving problems. For example, it will not cope with some tasks at all. In addition, they are sometimes wrong in the simplest of cases. That is why you should not trust them completely, but rather learn maths.