How can I most effectively use an MP3 player to study math for the GRE?

October 23, 2009 12:07 AM

How can I use an MP3 player to study math for the GRE?

Can I use podcasts and other audio tools to prepare for the math portion of the GRE? For 8 hours every day, I am physically occupied but can use an MP3 player. I plan to do written problems during the other parts of the day, but are there podcasts or audio tools that would help make use of this listening time and get my skills up to speed? Is there anything else you'd suggest?

I am looking for tools that will increase math skills and ideally provide a refresher of high school math in order to prepare for the GRE. More generalized math podcasts are all right, too, or something along the lines of Berkeley's online lectures.

Assume that I can't use my hands or look at a book.

(This question is similar to the one requesting assistance in studying for the vocabulary portion of the GRE: How can one study for the GRE during their commute?)

posted by ramenopres to Education (3 answers total)

Hmmm... It's a tough one. The best way to prepare for a math test is generally to just sit down and do problems. BUT, that said, I find it very effective to have a set of problems that I haven't solved simmering on the back burner. I think about them as I walk from place to place, and occasionally have ideas that wouldn't have come about with paper in front of me. And then I scribble them down once I get where I'm going.

So I would recommend keeping a list of problems you weren't able to solve during your written practice time, and thinking about them during your daily routine.

Failing that, you might also try working on fast mental arithmetic. It's not directly applicable to the GRE, but being able to calculate quickly and ballpark calculations often gives an edge in attacking a problem.
posted by kaibutsu at 12:33 AM on October 23, 2009

I used flash cards ad nauseum for both the vocab and math sections of the GRE. What you could do is record yourself, with a voice recorder or something similar, reading the flashcards with various formulas and triangle rules and then upload it on to your MP3 player.

A search on podbean, a podcast hosting service, comes up with a few free and possibly helpful Math podcasts : http://www.podbean.com/search?k=all&v=GRE+math .

Definitely seconding the arithmetic practice, don't use calculators until you take the test to improve your mental math speed.
posted by goodnight moon at 11:44 AM on October 23, 2009

Response by poster: Thanks. I've been doing mental math and it's making a difference already. And I recite the times tables -- if I find an MP3 of them I'll post a link. My MP3 player has voice recording, so recording the formulas is a great idea!
posted by ramenopres at 6:18 PM on October 25, 2009