Re:Can 1/3 and 1/3 = 2/6? It seemed so
by TeMPOraL on Tuesday May 26, 2020 @05:54PM
(#23316882)
Not sure if this is at the level of comprehension of these kids, but I'd explain it this way: "kids at table A" and "kids at table B" are both "kids", but different amount of kids. You can treat them as the same only if you have a conversion factor. So, if you know that there are 12 kids at table A, and 20 kids at table B, you can multiply your variables by these amounts, and now both expressions have the unit "kids", and you can add them together. But if you don't know the conversion factor, they're like Bottles and Pencils.
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> you can multiply your variables by these amounts, and now both expressions have the unit
In grade school where these kids are, they won’t understand the concept of an “expression”, a “variable”, and barely the importance of “units”.
Since numbers are usually introduced to children in terms of quantities of things (e.g. 3 apples), I think it might suffice to stress the importance of keeping these things always attached to those numbers. In general, numbers very rarely go alone.