Since I love chocolate, I loved the activity that we did in math class the other day. I think that anytime a teacher brings multiple bags of candy to class, the students eyes light up, no matter what their ages are. We used the candy to demonstrate one of the concepts of division of whole numbers.
The definition of division of whole numbers is: For any whole numbers r and s, with s not equal to 0, the quotient of r divided by s, written r÷s, is the unique whole number k, if it exists, such that r=s×k.
For example: 15÷3=5 because 3×5=15.
15 is the dividend, 3 is the divisor, and 5 is the quotient
Check out this link: http://www.ltcconline.net/greenl/courses/187/a/WholeNumberDivision.htm
We used candy bars to demonstrate the sharing/partitive concept of division. Lets say that you have 20 candy bars and you want to share them equally with 4 of your friends. How many does each friend get? You may start by taking the 20 candy bars and dividing them into 4 equal groups. Soon you will realize that each friend gets 5 candy bars. So, 20÷4=5.
Then we examined the measurement concept of division. In this concept you use repeated subtraction, each time "scooping" away an equal part.
Example: 15÷3=5 This is equal to 5 "scoops" of 3.
Personally, I like the sharing/partitive concept. Which do you like better?
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