- #1
Jerbearrrrrr
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Sorry if this is the wrong place to post. Kinda wanted to rant.
I just wanted to express something that's been bugging me for a long time.
Where does mathemaphobia really come from? I guess it's from how easy it is to get stuff wrong. If you're asked to discuss a poem, you can write some poop and get half the marks.
Are fractions the root cause of a lot of mathemaphobia? I'm talking about experiences with arithmetic as a kid of age n, for say 10<n<14.
Addition is fine.
Multiplication is fine.
Raising to powers is fine.
Division is not fine. Long divison? Don't even go there. Multiplication by 1/m? What?
Then the child discovers calculators, so this is all irrelevant anyway. Onto the next chapter, where a general number is represented by a letter. Algebraic fractions are like the end of the universe to some people.
2x+3x=5x is fine
2x*3x=15x² is fine.
(2x)²=4x² is usually fine after you tell them to write 2x*2x, which is the defn of square (they won't disagree).
2x/3x=??!??! invariably.
Why is it that people can compute 6/9 = "six ninths" = 2/3, it's such a leap of imagination to do 2x/3x=2/3?
And of course even if that's sorted out, there's the dreaded
[tex]\frac{2x+1}{3x} = \frac{2+1}{3}[/tex]
and the
[tex]\frac{2x}{3x+1} = \frac{2x}{3x}+\frac{2x}{1}[/tex]
And then there's adding fractions...no one knows how to do that. 1/2 + 3/4 is doable, but not 1/2x + 3/4x, god no.
I remember a double maths lesson when I was ten. It was about an hour's worth of cutting paper circles up into pizza slices, and seeing, for example, that two 1/6ths fit on top of a 1/3rd slice.
And from that, the teacher said, we deduce that "we may multiply or divide the top and bottom by the same thing, and the answer is the same". And the next lesson was how to apply this to for example, adding fractions.
That ends up solving 90% of routine algebra in high school.
Why does no one else remember that lesson (or its analogue)?
What is it about fractions that make people's brains turn into mush?
Has anyone else encountered reasonably intelligent people who just can't apply themselves to adding fractions?
Even in calculus problems, people make the same mistakes over and over...
Sorry for the long post. Someone move it to where ever it's meant to be. Not even expecting a reply, just wanted to express frustration.
I just wanted to express something that's been bugging me for a long time.
Where does mathemaphobia really come from? I guess it's from how easy it is to get stuff wrong. If you're asked to discuss a poem, you can write some poop and get half the marks.
Are fractions the root cause of a lot of mathemaphobia? I'm talking about experiences with arithmetic as a kid of age n, for say 10<n<14.
Addition is fine.
Multiplication is fine.
Raising to powers is fine.
Division is not fine. Long divison? Don't even go there. Multiplication by 1/m? What?
Then the child discovers calculators, so this is all irrelevant anyway. Onto the next chapter, where a general number is represented by a letter. Algebraic fractions are like the end of the universe to some people.
2x+3x=5x is fine
2x*3x=15x² is fine.
(2x)²=4x² is usually fine after you tell them to write 2x*2x, which is the defn of square (they won't disagree).
2x/3x=??!??! invariably.
Why is it that people can compute 6/9 = "six ninths" = 2/3, it's such a leap of imagination to do 2x/3x=2/3?
And of course even if that's sorted out, there's the dreaded
[tex]\frac{2x+1}{3x} = \frac{2+1}{3}[/tex]
and the
[tex]\frac{2x}{3x+1} = \frac{2x}{3x}+\frac{2x}{1}[/tex]
And then there's adding fractions...no one knows how to do that. 1/2 + 3/4 is doable, but not 1/2x + 3/4x, god no.
I remember a double maths lesson when I was ten. It was about an hour's worth of cutting paper circles up into pizza slices, and seeing, for example, that two 1/6ths fit on top of a 1/3rd slice.
And from that, the teacher said, we deduce that "we may multiply or divide the top and bottom by the same thing, and the answer is the same". And the next lesson was how to apply this to for example, adding fractions.
That ends up solving 90% of routine algebra in high school.
Why does no one else remember that lesson (or its analogue)?
What is it about fractions that make people's brains turn into mush?
Has anyone else encountered reasonably intelligent people who just can't apply themselves to adding fractions?
Even in calculus problems, people make the same mistakes over and over...
Sorry for the long post. Someone move it to where ever it's meant to be. Not even expecting a reply, just wanted to express frustration.
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