A VERY BRIEF HISTORY OF NUMBERS One knows who invented numbers, but it’s fun to think that some early caveman named Oog did it when he said “uhn,” “uhn uhn,” and ‘uuuuuuhhhn” which meant “one.” “two.” and “lots.” Tallying The earliest written numbers were most likely tallies simple lines that cache represent one object. You …
A PROBABLE CAUSE You might be surprised to know that probability is a relatively new area of math. Probability began to be studied in the mid-1600s. That may seem like a long time ago, but remember that people have been doing geometry for thousands of years. Probability is involved any time we do something where …
GROWING BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS You learned that multiplication is simply repeated addition. But did you know That there is an operation that substitutes for repeated multiplication? Here is an example: 3x3x3x3x3 = 35 = 243. The 3 here is called the base, the 5 is the exponent, and the answer 243, is the power. …
MEASURING UNITS Measurement is a very important part of everyday life. We measure all sorts of things. Here are just a few of them: • Size and distance: How tall you are;how far away your school is. Weight: How much do you weigh; howheavy is your backpack. Area: How large is your apartment. Volume: How much water is …
A PROBABLE CAUSE You might be surprised to know that probability is a relatively new area of math. Probability began to be studied in the mid-1600s. That may seem like a long time ago, but remember that people have been doing geometry for thousands of years. Probability is involved any time we do something where …
MIGHTY MULTIPLICATION Multiplication is nothing more than a shortcut to addition. Let’s say you have five baskets with apples, and each basket contains seven apples. If all you know is addition, you will have to do the following problem: 7 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 7. Or, if you know how to multiply, …
ARITHMETIC ACTIVITIES Rithmetic is doing calculations with numbers, especially addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. If you already know most of your basic arithmetic facts, you are ready to try the following activities and puzzles. Clock Math Arithmetic is full of surprises! Don’t believe it? Try this question on a friend: When does 10 + 4 …
There was an old lady who lived in a shoe. She had so many children , she didn’t know what to do. Well, one day, she just couldn’t stand it anymore. Jamie was fighting with Orville, Wilbur wanted a snack, Oscar and Ophelia were drawing crayon pictures on the walls, and Hortense was crying because …
Arithmetic is full of surprises! Don’t believe it? Try this question on a friend:When does 10 + 4 = 2? He’ll probably think you are crazy, but you’re not. This question has a perfectly sensible and important answer: When it is 4 hours after ten o’clock. Adding and subtracting on a clock doesn’t always work …
