11 minutes ago, redghostx said:

Perhaps the reason the teacher gets the answer wrong is because he/she is a math teacher and failed English. This helps explain the poor comprehension of the problem.

I am enjoying reading all of the replies on this subject.

There you are! Now we just need @MathBuilder to chime in.

We shouldn't get into English and comprehension, I have things to do today!!

10 hours ago, Alpinemaps said:

Not sure if I should direct this to Common Core Math or my daughter's second grade teacher.

This weekend, we struggled with a math problem.  I thought it went one way, but then decided it went another way.

It's not the "show your work" part that I'm annoyed with.  I understand the concepts behind what they are doing and how they have to show the work, and I understand why Common Core is set up the way it is.

No, my real issue is with the problem that she had to solve.  Just doing the problem in my head, I know the correct answer.  But the answer the teacher came up with is completely different.  I didn't cheat and look up the answer over the weekend, but now that it's come back, I looked it up; and discovered I was correct!

So I'm pretty annoyed that the teacher worked it out wrong, and is confusing my daughter.  Especially because I'm already paying for a math tutor for her.  My daughter is an advanced reader, great speller, comprehends a lot.  But math just trips her up.  I don't need her teacher confusing her even more.

So, dear reader, I put the question out there to you.  You don't have to show the work, just tell me the answers:

- 38 fewer girls attended summer camp than boys.  79 girls attended.

1. How many boys attended summer camp?
2. How many kids attended summer camp?
 

Interesting read. I would tend to agree with red that the problem here is an "english" problem rather than an arithmetic problem... 

The key word here is 'fewer' changing the meaning of fewer changes the answer. As greg put it in a simple and elegant answer 38 fewer girls than boys is equivalent to 38 more boys than girls then just simply add the numbers to get boys (117). Add girls once again to this to get total (196).

The teacher apparently interpreted the problem as "38 less boys than girls" so he/she forgot to invert the meaning of fewer at some point in her logic. If this is a recurrent thing, I would be very concerned about this teacher... though it is possible that she was just having a really bad day/was completely distracted by something else going on.

   

don't even get me started on common core math.  ...and my kid is just in 1st grade.

If it was presented exactly as you've written (- 38), it would come down to whether you interpreted that minus as part of the problem, or not.  If it's in, negative 38 fewer  girls than boys is positive 38 more girls than boys.  That would make 41 boys and a total of 120 campers correct. 

 

6 minutes ago, jcamdenlane said:

If it was presented exactly as you've written (- 38), it would come down to whether you interpreted that minus as part of the problem, or not.  If it's in, negative 38 fewer  girls than boys is positive 38 more girls than boys.  That would make 41 boys and a total of 120 campers correct. 

 

If your observation is true, this this sentence is even worse from an English standpoint because the question uses a double negative.

 

Edit to add that what really matters is for the OP (who is that, it was so many pages ago!) to tell his/her child that the process he or she used to solve the question is correct and not to worry about the one mark.

Edited May 10, 20169 yr by redghostx

18 minutes ago, jcamdenlane said:

If it was presented exactly as you've written (- 38), it would come down to whether you interpreted that minus as part of the problem, or not.  If it's in, negative 38 fewer  girls than boys is positive 38 more girls than boys.  That would make 41 boys and a total of 120 campers correct. 

 

They don't teach negative numbers in the second grade, so I suspect that it was either Alpine abbreviating the problem or as red says, the written English (or the teacher's ability to interpret it) is absolutely awful if the minus symbol is part of the problem.

38 minutes ago, jaisonline said:

don't even get me started on common core math.  ...and my kid is just in 1st grade.

I'm lucky, my first grader is doing Saxon math. It's more straightforward I think.

Yeah sorry it was a poor choice of identifying where the question started. I typed it in as is from the homework sheet.

When I send the teacher a note I'm not going to be accusatory. I'll will ask her to explain it me as I'm a dummy and don't quite get it

5 minutes ago, Alpinemaps said:

Yeah sorry it was a poor choice of identifying where the question started. I typed it in as is from the homework sheet.

When I send the teacher a note I'm not going to be accusatory. I'll will ask her to explain it me as I'm a dummy and don't quite get it

The mathematically inclined people on here, myself included, don't quite get it either.

Could have also just been read quickly and not much thought put into the wording.

Reminds me of a simple question which is often answered incorrectly.

 

A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?

15 minutes ago, lego rules said:

Could have also just been read quickly and not much thought put into the wording.

Reminds me of a simple question which is often answered incorrectly.

 

A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?

ball = $0.05, bat = $1.05

I agree the wording could be improved, but if you slow down and read it properly the answer should be obvious. If you're rushing or careless, it's easy to make mistakes.

Funny enough, that's why in math you ALWAYS show your work and write neat and tidy. It is _sooooo_ hard to teach that to an 8 year old, but I try anyways.

19 minutes ago, lego rules said:

Could have also just been read quickly and not much thought put into the wording.

Reminds me of a simple question which is often answered incorrectly.

 

A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?

Is this in US or Canadian funds?

Could have also just been read quickly and not much thought put into the wording.

Reminds me of a simple question which is often answered incorrectly.

 

A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?

If the bat costs more, you're doing it wrong...

LVG .. Time to go 

On ‎5‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 9:54 AM, KShine said:

 

Anything over 42

5 hours ago, exciter1 said:

Anything over 42

 

People making a best offer of 19% of the BIN price on Ebay.

set auto decline

31 minutes ago, Sprocket77 said:

People making a best offer of 19% of the BIN price on Ebay.

 

USPS bubble rates are a scam!!!!!

I love it when customer refuses to pay extra for expedited shipping but wants items shipped as soon as they hit the buy button

 

1 minute ago, Darth_Raichu said:

I love it when customer refuses to pay extra for expedited shipping but wants items shipped as soon as they hit the buy button

 

I had someone inquiring about an AA the other day, wanted overnight shipping.  I told them it would be extra and I'd price it for them.  $150, never heard from them again.

When you offer something to someone for what you paid for it (after being asked for a favor), 50% off retail, you give them the price plus shipping.  They think about it and come back with, "I guess that's fair".

7 minutes ago, exciter1 said:

When you offer something to someone for what you paid for it (after being asked for a favor), 50% off retail, you give them the price plus shipping.  They think about it and come back with, "I guess that's fair".

Hey ... they were just guessing!