Mal ,'Safe'
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
My instructor was showing us how to teach long multiplication on paper. She maintains that not putting in place-holding zeros is the Right and Proper Way.
Mathy people, particularly, does that seem right to you?
Obviously, you can do it that way, but is it particularly encouraged not to?
I think she's being a hardass, Debet. The zeroes aren't necessary for the algorithm, but they sure as hell help to give you a visual check that you've got the columns lined up right. Especially when you have third-grade not-yet-too-lined-up handwriting to contend with.
She maintains that not putting in place-holding zeros is the Right and Proper Way.
If I'm understanding you correctly, that's the way I was taught.
We're using graph paper, so it's less of a concern, and they've got the idea of Tens times Units starts at Tens. It just still seemed odd.
It may be something akin to Tom Lehrer's line about "If you're under thirty-five or went to a private school, you say '7 from three is six,' but if you're over thirty-five and went to a public school, you say '8 from 4 is six.'"
FWIW, I never had problems lining up the columns. In fact it never even occurred to me that someone would put zeroes there until this morning.
Yeah, I thought it might be a generation gap thing.
Mmm... graph paper...
I don't remember having problems either, but then again, my elementary-school self viewed any such crutches as a sign of weakness and needing to be culled from the herd. I was not a particularly nice child.
I should also point out that when Games publishes those puzzles where the numbers in a multiplication problem have been replaced by letters, they don't include no steenkin' placeholders.
I should also point out that when Games publishes those puzzles where the numbers in a multiplication problem have been replaced by letters, they don't include no steenkin' placeholders.
Of course not. In a puzzle, it would give away too much.
It may be something akin to Tom Lehrer's line about "If you're under thirty-five or went to a private school, you say '7 from three is six,' but if you're over thirty-five and went to a public school, you say '8 from 4 is six.'"
Whuzzah? I don't understand what that means. It it a base-8/base-10 thing?