New Product-A Helping Hand

Hotmath.com is a new site that offers guided solutions to math problems found in commonly used high school and college textbooks. Students purchase a subscription ($4 to $9 per month) to use the service evenings and weekends. However, the algebra and geometry areas on the site are free during the school day (precalculus and calculus areas are also available to subscribers). Hotmath.com doesn't offer live online homework help with a tutor; what it does offer are math problems explained step-by-step, including the final answer, so students can learn by example. "[The solutions] include hints, graphs, and Socratic questions," says Chuck Grant, a former high school math teacher who cofounded the site after realizing struggling students might be interested in a place that would help them finish their homework faster.

Hotmath enables students to come to class better prepared to tackle the next level of math lessons, says Grant. The staff of the Kensington, CA–based site includes more than 75 math teachers and professors. "We founded Hotmath because as math teachers, we saw the frustration students have when they get stuck on assignments and cannot accomplish the required homework," Grant says.