Introduction and Rationale
Dealing with fractions, decimals and ratios has always objectively been one of the hardest topics in Math that humankind has encountered since prehistoric times. This struggle was so great that the Germans have embedded it in their famous idiom “in die Bruche kommen” which literally means “to get into fractions.” This expression refers to a very difficult general life situation one may get into. So, it is not a surprise that in modern times, students (like their ancestors hundreds of years ago) are scared of this topic and are ready to give up upfront on the problems involving fractions, decimals and ratios. Even the fraction notation is intimidating to students. “First, it was used in Ancient India, then the Arabs started using it. Finally, in XII-XIV centuries the Europeans borrowed this notation from the Arabs. In the beginning the fraction bar was missing in the fraction notation. So, number 1⁄5 looked like 1. Number 2 1⁄3 looked like 2
5
1
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The fraction bar first appeared in fraction notation only about 300 years ago. The first European mathematician who started using and popularized the fraction notation was Italian merchant and traveler, the son of the clerk, Leonardo Fibonacci (Leonardo of Pisa). In 1202 he introduced the word “fraction”. The words “numerator” and “denominator” were introduced in the 1200s by Greek monk and mathematician Maxim Planud.”1 So, fractions have never been easy even from the historic perspective. In the modern world the importance of fractions is difficult to overestimate. Not knowing this topic will most definitely result in failure in Finance, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Medicine, Pharmacy, and, not to mention, your local grocery store. Therefore, it is so common to see conversion tables at the major department stores. They just do not want to lose their customers who do not know how to calculate discounts given in percents (a.k.a. ratios). So, knowing fractions is a pass to a better future for my students.
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