A Pumping Lemma for Invalid Reductions of Fractions
Children often incorrectly reduce fractions by canceling common digits instead of common factors. There are cases, however, in which this incorrect method leads to correct results. Instances such as 16/64 and 19/95 are well-known. In this paper, we consider such "weird fractions" and show...
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Published in | The College mathematics journal Vol. 41; no. 5; pp. 357 - 364 |
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Main Authors | , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Taylor & Francis
01.11.2010
Mathematical Association of America |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Children often incorrectly reduce fractions by canceling common digits instead of common factors. There are cases, however, in which this incorrect method leads to correct results. Instances such as 16/64 and 19/95 are well-known. In this paper, we consider such "weird fractions" and show how examples of them can be multiplied ad infinitum and lead to interesting questions. |
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ISSN: | 0746-8342 1931-1346 |
DOI: | 10.4169/074683410X521955 |