Wednesday, 18 August 2010
Test to Review the Basic Math Operations
If the Check Answers above doesn't work, just kindly send your answers as comments below.
I'll get back to you within an hour.
Thank you very much.
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
Simple Test For Concrete Fractions
Write the correct fractional expression for each of the following picture below:
Kindly post your answers to the comment space below.
Thank you very much.
Good luck!
Kindly post your answers to the comment space below.
Thank you very much.
Good luck!
Sunday, 15 August 2010
Illustrating Fractions Concretely
In this tutorial, let's use apple to illustrate fractions more concretely. We could use the same fruit (banana) as before, but I was reminded of a very sad and actual experience in my few years of teaching Algebra to one of my Engineering classes.
In all of my examples in our lessons about fractions, I had used the same kind of fruit over and over again to illustrate fraction concretely in the class. My students were doing very well. They could easily answer all questions, and of course using the same fruit as in the example. However, when I had given them simple examination on fraction using another fruit, instead of banana, I used apple, there were some students who used to answer my questions very loudly, were not able to answer it.
The funny thing was, they told me "You give us banana before and now you're asking us about apple." So, to avoid the same result from occuring again, let's use another fruit this time to illustrate the same thing - fraction.
This time, we have an apple in the first picture above cut equally into six pieces as shown in the second picture.
Now, let's put all the six pieces together to form the whole apple again, and then removing one of them to give us picture like the one as shown in the third picture below.
In this picture, we can express two fractions: for the right part, we have 1/6 and for the left part, we have 5/6.
On the right side of each of the succeeding pictures,except for one of them which you need to send your answer by posting your comment below, is the summary of the corresponding fractional expressions as described briefly.
Left: 5/6
Right: 1/6
Left: 4/6 or 2/3
Right: 2/6 or 1/3
Left: 3/6 or 1/2
Right: 3/6 or 1/2
Left:?
Right:?
Left: 5/6
Right: 1/6
Left: 4/6 or 2/3
Right: 2/6 or 1/3
Left: 3/6 or 1/2
Right: 3/6 or 1/2
We will discuss more on this part, especially on the reduction of fraction into its lowest expression when we have finished discussing our tuturials on the four basic mathematical operations: addition, subtraction, division and multiplication.
In all of my examples in our lessons about fractions, I had used the same kind of fruit over and over again to illustrate fraction concretely in the class. My students were doing very well. They could easily answer all questions, and of course using the same fruit as in the example. However, when I had given them simple examination on fraction using another fruit, instead of banana, I used apple, there were some students who used to answer my questions very loudly, were not able to answer it.The funny thing was, they told me "You give us banana before and now you're asking us about apple." So, to avoid the same result from occuring again, let's use another fruit this time to illustrate the same thing - fraction.
This time, we have an apple in the first picture above cut equally into six pieces as shown in the second picture.Now, let's put all the six pieces together to form the whole apple again, and then removing one of them to give us picture like the one as shown in the third picture below.
In this picture, we can express two fractions: for the right part, we have 1/6 and for the left part, we have 5/6.
On the right side of each of the succeeding pictures,except for one of them which you need to send your answer by posting your comment below, is the summary of the corresponding fractional expressions as described briefly.
Left: 5/6
Right: 1/6
Left: 4/6 or 2/3
Right: 2/6 or 1/3
Left: 3/6 or 1/2
Right: 3/6 or 1/2
Left:?
Right:?
Left: 5/6
Right: 1/6
Left: 4/6 or 2/3
Right: 2/6 or 1/3
Left: 3/6 or 1/2
Right: 3/6 or 1/2
We will discuss more on this part, especially on the reduction of fraction into its lowest expression when we have finished discussing our tuturials on the four basic mathematical operations: addition, subtraction, division and multiplication.
Saturday, 14 August 2010
Simple Test For Fraction
In each of the following pictures below, please kindly select the best answer. This is avery simple check-up test, so please read and follow each instruction very carefully to avoid any mistake.
Friday, 13 August 2010
The Easiest Way to Understand Fraction
In this post, let's learn and understand what is meant by a fraction.
By a simple definition, a fraction means a part of a whole thing. A whole thing can be anything. It can be yourself in which your head is just a part or a fraction of your whole body.
It can be an earth where an ocean is just a fraction or part of it, or an African continent which is just a part of the whole dry land on it.
It is normally express mathematically as a ratio between the part or parts of the whole thing and the whole thing itself and is given by this simple expression: part/whole thing. For example: 1/10 means one out of ten, or one-tenth.
But, let's make things very simple and easy in order for you to understand it easily and qickly.
Now let's consider the picture beside. It's a small bunch of banana taken from the whole-big bunch which is not shown here.
From this bunch, let's take only one piece out of it for our further explanations of what a fraction really is. But before going down to the next pictures, let's understand that this one piece of banana shown in the picture below is just a fraction of the small bunch.
This small bunch contains 13 pieces of bananas if you count it properly. If we relate the second picture (one banana) to the first picture (bunch with 13 pieces of bananas), then we can say that 1/13 is the fractional expression of the relationship of the two pictures with respect to the small bunch with 13 pieces of bananas.
To simplify this explanation further, let's consider another picture - the third one below.
Now, our reference is no longer the bunch, but a piece of a banana as shown in this second picture.
If you look at the third picture, a piece of banana is sliced, thus, dividing it into two equal parts. Either part is called a fraction of the whole piece of banana which is now composed of two equal parts. We can express this single part mathematically as 1/2 (read as one-half).
Either the one part on the left or the one part of the right is said to be one-half (or mathematcally expressed as 1/2).
So, at least this time you already have an idea of what is meant by a fraction and how to express it mathematically.
The fourth picture shows the same piece of banana, but this time, it's divided into four equal parts. The whole piece of banana is now composed of four equal parts.
So, if you take one part, as shown in the left side of the fifth picture, then that part is called one-fourth, expressed as 1/4, and the remaining parts that is shown in the right side of the fifth picture is called three-fourth, or mathematically, expressed as 3/4.
We can also make other fractional expression like, 2/4 as shown in the sixth picture, taking 2 part from the whole four equal parts.
The fraction 2/4 is just the same as 1/2. To find out why, that would be one of the most important topics that I am going to teach you in the other separate post later.
However, one of the required skills to easily handle fractions is your ability to do the basic operations: addition, subtraction, division and multiplication.
If you don't have any problem on these basic mathematical operations, then surely, it's easy for your to do the same with fractions.
Once, fractions are fully understood, doing the basic operation is not a problem.
So, before going forward, I would like you to answer some basic questions in the next post here, to help us determine whether you have already understood all about fractions that we have just discussed above.
If you have any comment/suggestion on the above tutorial on fractions, please kindly leave your comments below.
I will get back to you within 24 hours.
Thank you very much.
By a simple definition, a fraction means a part of a whole thing. A whole thing can be anything. It can be yourself in which your head is just a part or a fraction of your whole body.
It can be an earth where an ocean is just a fraction or part of it, or an African continent which is just a part of the whole dry land on it.
It is normally express mathematically as a ratio between the part or parts of the whole thing and the whole thing itself and is given by this simple expression: part/whole thing. For example: 1/10 means one out of ten, or one-tenth.
But, let's make things very simple and easy in order for you to understand it easily and qickly.
Now let's consider the picture beside. It's a small bunch of banana taken from the whole-big bunch which is not shown here.From this bunch, let's take only one piece out of it for our further explanations of what a fraction really is. But before going down to the next pictures, let's understand that this one piece of banana shown in the picture below is just a fraction of the small bunch.
This small bunch contains 13 pieces of bananas if you count it properly. If we relate the second picture (one banana) to the first picture (bunch with 13 pieces of bananas), then we can say that 1/13 is the fractional expression of the relationship of the two pictures with respect to the small bunch with 13 pieces of bananas.
To simplify this explanation further, let's consider another picture - the third one below. Now, our reference is no longer the bunch, but a piece of a banana as shown in this second picture.
If you look at the third picture, a piece of banana is sliced, thus, dividing it into two equal parts. Either part is called a fraction of the whole piece of banana which is now composed of two equal parts. We can express this single part mathematically as 1/2 (read as one-half).
Either the one part on the left or the one part of the right is said to be one-half (or mathematcally expressed as 1/2).So, at least this time you already have an idea of what is meant by a fraction and how to express it mathematically.
The fourth picture shows the same piece of banana, but this time, it's divided into four equal parts. The whole piece of banana is now composed of four equal parts.
So, if you take one part, as shown in the left side of the fifth picture, then that part is called one-fourth, expressed as 1/4, and the remaining parts that is shown in the right side of the fifth picture is called three-fourth, or mathematically, expressed as 3/4.We can also make other fractional expression like, 2/4 as shown in the sixth picture, taking 2 part from the whole four equal parts.
The fraction 2/4 is just the same as 1/2. To find out why, that would be one of the most important topics that I am going to teach you in the other separate post later.
However, one of the required skills to easily handle fractions is your ability to do the basic operations: addition, subtraction, division and multiplication.If you don't have any problem on these basic mathematical operations, then surely, it's easy for your to do the same with fractions.
Once, fractions are fully understood, doing the basic operation is not a problem.
So, before going forward, I would like you to answer some basic questions in the next post here, to help us determine whether you have already understood all about fractions that we have just discussed above.If you have any comment/suggestion on the above tutorial on fractions, please kindly leave your comments below.
I will get back to you within 24 hours.
Thank you very much.
Counting of Numbers
Since this site is really for young children, please allow me to review one of the easiest ways to handle numbers.
We know that numbers are very useful in our lives. We use it for many purposes, and one of them is for counting. You may be counting numbers now, but in the future, surely, you will be counting many things, and that includes money.
So, let's begin counting with few numbers now!
Thank you very much.
Surely, many will say that it's not necessary to start with it for it's a very easy and basic things. This is where many of the so called "teachers" missed the point.
Oftentimes, almost all educators always make an assumptions that his/her students/pupils already knew something, thus going directly to his/her main objective when he/she begins his/her lessons of the day. My approach is different: I will always begin with a review to make sure that the needed skills are there. Otherwise, I have to do something to avoid failure to achieving my lesson's goals and objectives.
In the next post, let's study about fractions.
We know that numbers are very useful in our lives. We use it for many purposes, and one of them is for counting. You may be counting numbers now, but in the future, surely, you will be counting many things, and that includes money.
So, let's begin counting with few numbers now!
| 1 (One) | 2 (Two) | 3 (Three) | 4 (Four) | 5 (Five) | 6 (Six) | 7 (Seven) | 8 (Eight) | 9 (Nine) | 10 (Ten) |
|---|
Thank you very much.
Surely, many will say that it's not necessary to start with it for it's a very easy and basic things. This is where many of the so called "teachers" missed the point.
Oftentimes, almost all educators always make an assumptions that his/her students/pupils already knew something, thus going directly to his/her main objective when he/she begins his/her lessons of the day. My approach is different: I will always begin with a review to make sure that the needed skills are there. Otherwise, I have to do something to avoid failure to achieving my lesson's goals and objectives.
In the next post, let's study about fractions.
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