Can you share the names of the textbooks?
The courses the comments refer to are the level 1 courses listed here: http://www.open.ac.uk/courses/maths/all-modules
The text books are the texts for these courses. I don't know if you can get the books from OU without registering for the courses.
I took a Masters in Maths with them and it was brutal. Serious exams are a youngster's game. I got a glimpse into why so many Cambridge wranglers were also serious atheletes.
Second-hand OU books are usually bought from https://www.universitybooksearch.co.uk/
1: https://www.thriftbooks.com/browse/?b.search=MST124#b.s=most...
> Question 1: Sara wants to buy a desk before she starts her Open University course. She has chosen a suitable place for it but needs to measure the space before going to buy it.
> Which of these units is the most suitable for measuring the width of the desk? (a) millimetres, (b) metres, (c) centimetres, (d) kilometres.
Seems pretty arbitrary to me. Okay (d) is arguably out. (b) is maybe out? (c) vs (d) seems a toss up to me. Who cares if it's 1234mm or 123.4cm? How is this even a good question? Not a good sign
Note: the answer they want is (a). I don't think I have a tape measure I could get accurate millimeters on especially given measuring a space where I need to bend the tape at 90 degrees like next to a wall.
Imagine being someone who cannot produce an answer to this question. Who cannot discuss it.
The vast majority of people for whom this entry-level course is aimed at do not think like you. The purpose of the question is not to elicit a correct answer, although I note the effect intended actually worked perfectly on you and the question has been a success in your case. Maybe you are exactly the kind of person this question is aimed at!
The reason is to learn why there is an answer, at which point you can give an opinion as to whether cm/mm are better. You've missed the primary step, and almost certainly are - as others point out - over qualified for this question (which is a precursor to discussions of decimal precision).
Often when helping the kids with homework I find myself answering "well this is the answer they want ... but the real answer is ...".
tl;dr the question is there to make you think, not because there's only one answer.
Not taught courses, took its courses himself, in mathematics.
It went up in my estimations then for sure, because he was already a great teacher, intelligent and knowledgeable in the subject (certainly more than enough for up to 'Further Additional' at A level) and studying for his own interest (or I suppose a career change or further study for all I know).
Of course you get the books when you sign up for the course, but it's way cheaper to get the books and study on your own, and you'll get 90% of the information that way.
I don't know if you'll find the pace quick or not; personally I would say that learning maths is very hard, and the materials you use are unlikely to prove to be the botteneck (spoiler: it's you).