Answer by J.-E. Pin for How to understand operations with negative numbers in...
The approach with my children was to use temperatures to introduce negative integers (it works better with Celsius degrees, since negative temperatures in Fahrenheit are uncommon). For instance,the...
View ArticleAnswer by Calum Gilhooley for How to understand operations with negative...
I've never tried teaching anybody maths (and I'd be absolutely hopeless at it!), but what I myself find intuitive, in a seemingly naive way, are the ideas of: (a) an invertible operation; and (b)...
View ArticleAnswer by Michael Hardy for How to understand operations with negative...
Negative numbers probably originated in accounting. If your bank account balance is positive, you have money there; if it is negative, then you owe money. If you owe one person $\$300$ and another...
View ArticleAnswer by MPW for How to understand operations with negative numbers in a...
For addition and subtraction, think of walking forward and backward along a straight line without turning around. You measure from your starting point (origin).
View ArticleHow to understand operations with negative numbers in a simple, intuitive way?
I have to teach my $29$ year old brother math. He remembers basic arithmetic from school, but he always hated math, which is why I want to start him from the beginning with intuitive explanations for...
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