If you’re trying to get help with your math homework or helping your kid with their math homework and the AI isn’t giving you great results, it might be because of how you’re asking the question! Vague or unclear prompts make it hard for the AI to give you the specific, helpful answers you need. Here’s my suggested process to get better results, but first, let’s look at some typical questions people ask and why they don’t work well.

🙂 Examples of Vague Questions and Why They Fail

Can you solve this problem? This question is too vague because it doesn’t tell the AI what the problem is, what kind of math is involved (algebra, calculus, etc.), or what you need (just the answer, steps, or an explanation). Without details, the AI might guess wrong or give a generic response that’s not helpful.

What’s the answer to this? This assumes the AI can magically see your problem (it can’t unless you share it clearly, like with text or a photo). It also doesn’t say if you want the answer explained or just the final result, so the AI might skip the teaching part you need.

Help me with my math homework! This is super broad! The AI doesn’t know what topic, what grade level, or whether you want a solution, a lesson, or something else. It might overwhelm you with irrelevant info or miss the mark entirely.

The problem with these questions is they lack context, don’t specify the goal (solving, teaching, or both), and don’t give the AI enough to work with. You end up with answers that are too general, incomplete, or just plain wrong, especially for tricky math like advanced algebra or calculus.

To get the AI to teach math properly, whether it’s for you or your kid, follow this process. It’s designed to make the AI understand the problem, explain the concepts, solve it step by step, check its work, and help you learn. Here’s how it works:

Handle the Photographic Input Since you might have a photo or screenshot of the problem, the AI needs to analyze the image and turn it into text. This ensures it understands the problem before starting.

Focus on Teaching, Not Just Solving The AI should identify the key math concepts (like factoring or derivatives) and explain them in simple terms. It should break the solution into steps, explain why each step works, and use examples or analogies to make it clear.

Ensure Correctness with Verification Math can be tricky, and AIs sometimes mess up advanced problems. The AI should double-check its work by redoing calculations, using a different method (like graphing instead of algebra), or ensuring everything makes sense.

Reinforce Learning After solving, the AI should summarize the key concepts, highlight common mistakes to avoid, and give tips for similar problems so you can apply what you learned later.

Keep It Clear and Comprehensive The prompt should be easy for the AI to follow but cover everything: interpreting the problem, teaching, solving, verifying, and summarizing.

The Prompt to Use

Here’s the exact prompt I recommend. Paste it into your AI tool (like ChatGPT) along with a photo or screenshot of the math problem:

Step 1: Interpret the Problem Please analyze the provided image of the math problem (a photo or screenshot) and describe it in text form. Include all details, such as equations, diagrams, or instructions, exactly as shown. If anything is unclear, state your assumptions and ask for clarification if needed.

Step 2: Identify Key Concepts Identify the main mathematical concepts needed to solve this problem (e.g., quadratic equations, derivatives, integrals). Briefly explain what these concepts are and why they apply here, in simple terms a student can grasp.

Step 3: Solve and Teach Step by Step Provide a detailed, step-by-step solution to the problem. For each step:

Clearly explain what you’re doing and why it works.

Connect the step to the concepts you identified, showing how they’re used.

Use simple language and add an example or analogy (e.g., “This is like climbing a ladder, one step at a time”) to make it easier to understand. Focus on teaching the process, not just giving the answer.

Step 4: Double-Check the Solution After solving, verify your answer is correct by:

Rechecking all calculations for errors.

Making sure each step follows logically from the last.

If possible, using a different method (e.g., graphing instead of algebra) to confirm the result.

Tell me how you verified it and confirm the answer is right.

Step 5: Summarize the Lesson Finish by summarizing the key concepts and techniques used. Highlight:

What should be learned from this (e.g., “Always check your factors”).

Common mistakes to avoid (e.g., “Don’t forget the chain rule”).

A tip for solving similar problems later.

Extra Note: Since this might involve advanced math like algebra or calculus, where AI can mess up, be extra careful. If you spot a potential error, correct it and explain why.

Why This Prompt Works Better

Understand the problem (from a photo or screenshot).

Teach the concepts so you or your kid actually learn.

Solve it step by step with explanations, not just the answer.

Double-check for accuracy, avoiding those pesky AI math mistakes.

Summarize the lesson for future use.

Unlike simple prompts that might get you a wrong or unhelpful answer, this one forces the AI to be thorough, clear, and focused on learning. Try it out, and you’ll see how much better your math help sessions go!