Today is Wednesday, February 29, 2012, the last day of February, the leap year day and Pink Shirt Day.Tomorrow is the first day of March. March is Youth Art Month, Music in Schools Month. The 2nd of March is Dr. Seuss's birthday.
The internet said the there is a lotmore celebrations in March but I didn't want to write them down and I couldn't tell which ones people just made up.
_____________________________________________________________________________I lost my mind over multiplying decimals today. It doesn't make sense. Numbers are suppose to get larger when multiplied, why is the answer less! My mind doesn't understand it.
Mom found a website "Ask Dr. Math" where someone asked the same question. Here's what it said:
Multiplying Decimals and Decreasing Answers
Date: 12/02/98 at 21:32:14
From: Danny Graham
Subject: Multiplying decimals
I know that when I multiply, .60 * .75 * .80 = .36.
But what is the .36 telling me? 36/100. It seems I have less than I had
when I started.
I read the questions others have asked, and I understand the process
of multiplying the decimals, I just don't understand what the answer
is telling me.
Thank you,
Danny Graham
Date: 12/03/98 at 17:57:53
From: Doctor Rick
Subject: Re: Multiplying decimals
Hi, Danny. I'm impressed - you're really thinking! Multiplication isn't
just a set of rules you follow to please the teacher. It's supposed to
tell you something. So, what is it telling us?
It is surprising indeed that multiplication can give you a smaller
number than you started with. One student from a foreign country got
really upset at this - his foreign-language dictionary told him that
"multiply" is a synonym for "increase," so how can it make numbers
decrease?
Numbers decrease when you multiply by a number less than one. It works
the same with fractions as with decimals. For instance, if you multiply
any (positive) number by 1/2, the answer is less than you started with.
Let's rewrite your decimal multiplication problem as fractions:
.60 * .75 * .80 = .36
3 3 4 9
--- * --- * --- = ---
5 4 5 25
The answer comes out the same, if you work it out: 9/25 = 0.36. The
only new thing is that it is much easier to see that 0.36 < 0.60 than
it is to see that 9/25 < 3/5. (It is: 3/5 = 15/25, and 9 < 15.)
Multiplying by a decimal less than 1 will always decrease a number.
Multiplying by 0.75 is the same as multiplying by 3/4, and 3/4 of
something is always less than 4/4 of it, which is the whole thing.
I hope this helps you to see what is going on.
- Doctor Rick, The Math Forum I felt better after she read it and stopped crying. It's like a hole was drilled
through the wall my mind put up and I could see the light again. It still bothers me
but now that I know there's a reason I can handle it. Mom said I could have one of her chocolate
covered gluten free wafers if I finished the page.
Today I went to the dentist and ate at the mall. I got a Falafel Supreme Pita from Fit For Life.
