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Do you use the computer for your math homework? Probably not much.

Maybe you played some math games on your computer or the school computers when you were younger, but chances are, you don't use your computer much when it comes to math. That's crazy because your computer is an all-round mathematician. It can help you check the answers to your homework, make graphs, create spreadsheets, print equations neatly, animate and simulate math ideas and functions, create mathematical presentations, take you to sites that teach math skills, teach you how to do math problems, or just plain calculate.

Almost every computer has a calculator of some sort, so you'll want to investigate just what's available on yours. Take a look through the applications/programs on your hard drive, and you are sure to find programs such as calculators that you aren't using. Put what you find on your desktop or in the strip or dock that contains aliases/quick pathways for your most-used programs.

If your computer doesn't have a calculator or it doesn't have the type of calculator or converter you need, you're sure to find the perfect one online. There are lots of sites that might meet your calculation, formula, and math conversion needs. Consider these:

1. Convertit (time, distance, basic and higher level math.)
   http://www.convertit.com/Go/ConvertIt/Calculators/
   
   
2. Online Calculators (scientific calculator, basic calculator, quadratic equations, square root, perimeter, area, radius, prime number, percentages, and more)
   http://www.math.com/students/calculators/calculators.html
   
   
3. Math Formulas and Tables
   http://www.math.com/tables/index.html
   
   
4. Sample Problems (calculators, plotters, converters for length, area, liquid, volume, energy, acceleration, mass, pressure, velocity, number base, etc.)
   http://www.math.com

Okay, we know you are are probably thinking that you can't do your math homework on the computer because the keyboard doesn't have the symbols you need. To the rescue comes Power to Learn's own Professor Jim Lengel, who has lots of suggestions for helping you use your computer for math. The first thing you should do, he advises, is to install the Equations Editor that comes with Microsoft Office software. To see if it's on your computer, open a new document in Word or PowerPoint and look under the Insert menu. If you don't see Microsoft Equation, you'll need to go back to the Microsoft Office CD and install it. Once you have Microsoft Equation available, you'll be able to open it and select the template for the type of math you want to do, whether it involves something as simple as elementary school fractions to very complex math equations. It won't do your work for you, but it will enable you to put your equations, complete with the correct math symbols, into the computer.

Another of Professor Lengel's math tricks is to use the drawing tools in Microsoft Word to create plots for an x, y axis. The plots you create can be labeled as your teacher wants, and the size can be adjusted as necessary.

For additional information on Equations Editor, how to use Microsoft Word drawing tools in plotting, and lots of other great math suggestions about graphing, using table and diagrams, creating spreadsheets and spreadsheet simulations, you'll want to check out Professor Lengel's articles on Power to Learn. Although the articles are directed to teachers, you'd be wise to use his advice, too. So don't forget to go to Teaching With Technology (http://www.powertolearn.com/articles/teaching_with_technology/index.shtml). There you'll not only find articles relating to mathematics, but to other computer uses as well.

If you haven't come across the site Hot Math (http://www.hotmath.com) in your Internet explorations, you'll want to be sure to head there. Hot Math is a site that has the answers to all the odd-numbered problems in just about every math textbook. Okay, we know you are saying, my math book lists the odd-numbered answers, so why do I need Hot Math? Because Hot Math tells you how to solve the problems in your textbook. There's a fee for using the Hot Math site, but it's very reasonable for students in Grades 6 up. Before signing up, however, check to see if your math text is among the list of textbooks.

For some students, math is a problem not because they can't do the problems, but because they think they can't do them. If you are one of those kids who gets the jitters when taking a math test or when you see a complicated problem, there's help for you at Math.com (http://www.math.com/students/advice/anxiety.html) and Studying for a Math Test (http://euler.slu.edu/Dept/SuccessinMath.html#studytest). You might also want to ask Dr. Math a question at the Math Forum. Don't expect an immediate answer to what you need for homework, for you won't get one. But you might find what you need in Dr. Math's previously answered questions. If you are willing to wait for your answer, try Ask Doctor Math (http://mathforum.org/dr.math/) for questions that include levels from elementary through advanced mathematics.

There are so many areas of math, that we may not have covered what you are looking for. If so, you might find what you need on one of these sites:

1. Math Forum's Library
   http://mathforum.org/library/
   Not all of the links work, but many, you'll find, should be helpful to you.
   
   
2. A Maths Dictionary
   http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/jeather/maths/dictionary.html
   Learn what math terms such as axis, factor, polygon–mean)