What each part of the prompt does
- Words before symbols
- Describing probability as "how often this happens out of all the ways things could go" before writing P(A) gives the symbols something to attach to. Students who skip this step often memorise formulas they cannot apply.
- A similar problem, not yours
- Working a near copy with different numbers shows the method while leaving your own problem for you. You get the explanation and still do the practice that makes it stick.
- The common trap
- Each topic has a classic slip: dividing by a variable that might be zero, mixing up "and" with "or" in probability, forgetting the negative root. Naming it in advance is cheaper than discovering it in an exam.
- Answers at the end
- Keeping answers under their own heading lets you scroll only as far as the questions, try them, and then check. Seeing an answer first makes a question feel easier than it is.
Variations to try
Same idea, one thing changed.
Exam shortcut version Act as a patient math teacher. Explain the topic below so that I can solve problems on it by myself afterwards. Topic or problem: [MATH TOPIC] My level and course: [LEVEL] What confuses me: [CONFUSION] Structure your answer like this: 1. The idea in plain words: two or three sentences with no symbols, using an everyday situation as the picture. 2. The notation: introduce the symbols and the formula only after the plain version, and say what each symbol stands for. 3. One worked example, step by step. Number every step and say why you did it, not only what you did. 4. The fast method: one shortcut or mental-math trick that works in timed exams for this topic, and when it fails. 5. The common trap: the mistake students at my level make most often on this topic, and how to spot it. 6. Check yourself: three practice questions that get slightly harder. Put the answers at the very end, under a heading "Answers", with one line of working each. Rules: - If I gave a specific problem, use a similar problem with different numbers for the worked example, so I still solve mine myself. - Write math in plain text (x^2, sqrt(x), 3/4) unless I ask for LaTeX. - If my confusion suggests a gap in an earlier topic, name that topic in one line before you start.
Explain for a parent helping a child Act as a patient math teacher. I am a parent helping my child with homework. Explain the topic below so that I can explain it to my child in the way their school teaches it. Topic or problem: [MATH TOPIC] My level and course: [LEVEL] What confuses me: [CONFUSION] Structure your answer like this: 1. The idea in plain words: two or three sentences with no symbols, using an everyday situation as the picture. 2. The notation: introduce the symbols and the formula only after the plain version, and say what each symbol stands for. 3. One worked example, step by step. Number every step and say why you did it, not only what you did. 4. The common trap: the mistake students at my level make most often on this topic, and how to spot it. 5. Check yourself: three practice questions that get slightly harder. Put the answers at the very end, under a heading "Answers", with one line of working each. Rules: - If I gave a specific problem, use a similar problem with different numbers for the worked example, so I still solve mine myself. - Write math in plain text (x^2, sqrt(x), 3/4) unless I ask for LaTeX. - If my confusion suggests a gap in an earlier topic, name that topic in one line before you start.
If the result isn't right
- Write [CONFUSION] as precisely as you can, for example "I don't get why we multiply the probabilities"; Gemini will aim the plain-words step at that point.
- Cover the Answers section with your hand or scroll carefully, and write your working on paper before checking.
- If the explanation still does not click, ask for "a different everyday picture for the same idea"; a second analogy often works where the first did not.