Many people I know are like *grimmacing face* "Ugh! Math!" (or "Math?") when they hear the word Math. The subject is often held in contempt and the are persons who will do imaginative things to avoid it.
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If the problem on the blackboard made your scalp itch, look at this:
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Now, if you can pronounce the word "multiplication", then this one is a no brainer. It's easy to find the cost of any number of oranges because you know the cost of 1 orange and you know how to multiply (at least by 10).
Think. If you knew the cost of 1 apple wouldn't it be just as simple to find the cost of 5?
Now read this very s l o w l y. If 8 apples cost 72¢, then to find the cost of 1 apple you must divide the cost of 8 apples ( 72¢) by 8. Please, make sure you understand why you are dividing by 8.
Good. Now that you have the cost of 1 apple, the cost of 5 apples is...
Those of you who could afford to skip through that green stuff have probably already grasped the concept. The question never asked you to find the cost of 1 apple. But you will realise that it is an essential step in coming up with the solution.
In programming, and in life generally (by the way, life is good; get one!), many times you will be faced with similar problems. You know what you want the outcome to be but you cannot jump to that result in a single bound. Often, there are many intermediate steps that the problem must be broken down into. And the result of each step is needed to get to the next step. A truly great programmer is one who can easily break down a large problem into simple steps.
*sigh* Okay. If you really think that reading this has helped you then you are ready to become a programmer *pat, pat, pat on your head*! Now go on to the front page, pick a programming language and start creating things!
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