Math help(answer)

[buzzlady]

These are problems that my DS had for homework last week and have been marked incorrect - what's your answers.

Write each decimal as a fraction in LOWEST terms.

1. 0.4
2. 0.44
3. 0.67
4. 0.35
5. 0.128

He lost 1pt for each of the above - so some part of it was correct but I'm not sure what the teacher is looking for - directions are pretty straight forward. Maybe I'm missing something.

Write each fraction as a decimal. State whether the decimal terminates or repeats.

4/6

Thanks.

 

[Banzai]

1. 2/5
2. 11/25
3. 67/100
4. 7/20
5. 16/125

 

[danacara]

For the last question - 4/6 = 2/3 = 0.666, decimal repeats infinitely

 

[TheButlerDiditt]

I agree with Banzai.

The answer to the last question, which I believe he didn't answer, is .6 repeating.

 

[buzzlady]

That's exactly what he had for the answers. The only thing I can figure is that she didn't like the way he wrote it out. He wrote out
4/10 - 2/5
44/100 - 11/25
oops - forget that theory because he only has 67/100 and 16/125 and still lost 1pt for them.

I'm really becoming convinced that this teacher is becoming senile.

 

[ebaynut31]

You should do what I do. I write the teacher a note on that paper asking her why they are wrong and what would be the right answers. I explained to her before that if I don't know what's right, how can I help or explain the answers to my DD. We communicate thru papers quite often.

 

[buzzlady]

Originally posted by ebaynut31
You should do what I do. I write the teacher a note on that paper asking her why they are wrong and what would be the right answers. I explained to her before that if I don't know what's right, how can I help or explain the answers to my DD. We communicate thru papers quite often.

That is what I did. I wrote a note on the paper and I can't wait for her reply.

 

[mom2boys]

Please let us know what the teacher says.

 

[damo]

Did he write 4/10 - 2/5 or did he write 4/10=2/5? If he wrote it the first way with a dash (or minus sign) instead of an equal sign, the teacher can take off marks for bad form.

It is a good idea for her to take off marks for bad form in homework so that when he gets to a test he will do it correctly and get full marks.

 

[buzzlady]

Originally posted by damo
Did he write 4/10 - 2/5 or did he write 4/10=2/5? If he wrote it the first way with a dash (or minus sign) instead of an equal sign, the teacher can take off marks for bad form.

It is a good idea for her to take off marks for bad form in homework so that when he gets to a test he will do it correctly and get full marks.

He did actually have the = and not - It was just the way I typed it.

 

[damo]

Hmmm. Then, as a math teacher, I'm confused. It sounds, though, since he just lost part marks, that it was some kind of form thing. Maybe she wanted him to show his work, such as how he reduced (divide numerator and denominator by 2, for example).

 

[tkd lisa]

One of my major gripes with teachers these days. It's more a problem with DS right now than DD (DD had the same teacher last year that has the problem). DS gets things marked partial credit, with no explanation of what else they were looking for!

Also, at the risk of starting a debate, why do they have to have "correct form"? If the child can consistently get the right answer, why should we care how they do it? In the real world, we don't expect people to show all their work, or solve a given problem the same way?

 

[damo]

They have to have correct form because most of the basic math that is done in elementary school leads into more complicated concepts later on. Adding and subtracting fractions turns into adding and subtracting algebraic rational expressions. In order to solve the latter, you need to understand the whole process of solving the former. Those kids who always use poor form will make a lot of errors in high school math for the simple reason that they cannot or will not follow the process because they never had to do it before. As a high school math teacher, I see it all the time. The real problem is with those teachers who do not know why they are teaching certain things and that they are precursors to more complicated processes. They teach these things allowing kids to take way too many shortcuts and then these same kids are totally lost when it comes to algebra. Good math requires good form. Math is way more than just calculations.

 

[buzzlady]

Here is the example that the teacher wrote on his paper

4 .4
------------
10)4.0
4 0
-----
0

Sorry, Ican't get it to line up like a division problem.
What this has to do with the instructions of Write each decimal as a fraction in LOWEST terms is beyond me.

She did give him 4 extra points - not sure for what. You also have to remember that this is the teacher that counts homework as 75% of their final grade.

 

[damo]

I don't get it either. It doesn't make any sense at all to me. So she is saying that 4 divided by 10 is 4.4?

 

[buzzlady]

Originally posted by damo
I don't get it either. It doesn't make any sense at all to me. So she is saying that 4 divided by 10 is 4.4?

I couldn't get the problem to line up as a division problem

This is her actual example.

 

[damo]

She has changed 4/10 into a decimal, not reduced it to lowest terms. Her form is bad. She would get very few marks if I was her teacher

She should have a zero in front of the .4 and she shouldn't have the 4/10 stuck beside the long division either.

You have a very legitimate complaint.