Welcome to
Double Churches’
MATH TRAIL
Math
Trail Station # 10
Check that you have
everything you need for this station:
pencil - paper - calculator - license plates (in parking lot)
MATH TRAIL
# 10
At this station you will
be working with numbers and number OPERATIONS.
There are four basic operations in mathematics - addition,
subtraction, multiplication and
division. Addition and subtraction are inverse
operations, as well as, multiplication
and division. This means that one can
undo the other. For example, if I know that 2 + 3 = 5 then I also know
that 5 - 3 = 2 and that 5 - 2 = 3. I
also know that 3 + 2 = 5 because addition is also commutative. It doesn’t matter in what order the numbers
are added to get the sum, the sum is always the same. The order of the addends does not affect the sum! This is also true of multiplication. For example, 2 x 3 = 6 and 3 x 2 = 6.
The factors used in multiplication can
be used in any combination and they will result in the same product. Division is the inverse of multiplication, 6
¸ 3 = 2 or 6 ¸ 2 = 3. Subtraction and division are NOT commutative. It is not possible to state that 5 -2 = 2 - 5. 5-2 =3, but 2 - 5 = -3! Also, 6 ¸ 3 = 2, but 2 ¸ 6 ¹ 3!
YOUR TASK:
Pick
one license plate from the cars in the parking lot at this station. Using a tag with more than three digits
will be a real challenge, but fun! Be
careful to watch for moving cars.
Record the tag number on your
paper. Using ONLY the digits in the tag
that you record try to make an equation using multiplication, division, subtraction
or addition for the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,
16, 17, 18, 19 and 20. You can use the operations
in any order and in any combination.
Make sure to use parentheses ( )
to show the order of operations. If
there are more than one in the group, have each person choose a different
license plate and make it a contest!!!
Example: RTL
651
Using
the license plate above make as many equations as you can:
(6-5)
x 1 = 1 (6 + 5) x 1 = 11 (6
+ 5) + 1 = 12 (6 + 5) -1 = 10
Have fun!!!!! Don’t give
up too quickly, it can be done!!!!
Please return the
MATH TRAIL KIT TO THE OFFICE and sign it in!!!! Thank you !!!