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Achievement Objectives
NA4-1: Use a range of multiplicative strategies when operating on whole numbers.
Specific Learning Outcomes

Use divisibility rules for 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9.

Description of Mathematics

Number Framework Stage 7.

Activity

Intuitively many students (and adults) think division by 0 produces an answer of 0. This is understandable because division by 0 occurs so seldom in real world situations.

Using Number Properties

Problem: “Make up a word problem for 0 ÷ 34 and solve it.”  (Possible answer: Marie thinks about dividing nothing into 34 pieces. Answer: 0.)

Examples: Work out: 0 x 456,  0 ÷ 89,  89 x 0,  0 ÷ 789 093,  345 x 567 x 0, 0 ÷ 834 ÷ 2 345

Understanding Number Properties:

If letters stand for any numbers, find:
a x b x 0,  0 ÷ a,  a x 0 ÷ b,  a x b x c ÷ d x 0

Hard Problem: “Find 34 ÷ 0 on a calculator. What does the “E” in the display indicate? Why is division by 0 impossible?”

(Brief answer: Consider this problem: There is a queue of people. Jill has 34 apples  and she gives out 0 apples to each person in the queue. So in a sense, she can give out  apples to an infinite number of people.  So 34 ÷ 0 = ∞ .Because mathematicians have a strong aversion to sayign 34 ÷ 0 = ∞, they prefer to say 34 ÷ 0 is undefined).

 

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Level Four