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#1 2008-09-27 07:01:29

GeeGee
Member
Registered: 2008-09-27
Posts: 7

European Maths

I'm in Europe and just started school here (I don't speak the language yet). My teacher just gave me a sheet of division and I did long division, showed all my working out and then did an estimate underneath. The teacher just put a line through each sum and gave me zero. My mum checked the sums on Google and I got them all right. Is division really different over here? What should I have done? It's bad enought that the maths signs are all different without this too.

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#2 2008-09-27 08:27:11

luca-deltodesco
Member
Registered: 2006-05-05
Posts: 1,470

Re: European Maths

That sounds a bit dodgy, what country are you in? Perhaps it is something to do with the way they teach long division; there are differenent methods of doing it afterall, and the teacher is expecting you to do it the way they teach it; but eitherway if you did get the answers correctly the teacher is still in the wrong.

And what do you mean the maths signs are all different? Maths is a universal language, there are no regional differences that I am aware of beyond the use of a comma instead of a full stop for the decimal point in many non english speaking countries.


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#3 2008-09-27 09:11:11

MathsIsFun
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Registered: 2005-01-21
Posts: 7,711

Re: European Maths

Long Division can be done differently ... in Spain they use this method: División Larga
The answer should be the same, though!


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#4 2008-09-27 09:33:04

Ricky
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Registered: 2005-12-04
Posts: 3,791

Re: European Maths

The teacher just put a line through each sum and gave me zero.

Sum?  It's best to talk directly to the teacher.


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#5 2008-09-27 20:47:30

GeeGee
Member
Registered: 2008-09-27
Posts: 7

Re: European Maths

Thank you for your answers. It looks like the Spanish way is maybe how they do it. That explains why my teacher looked only at the lowest number when he put the line through the lot. I was trying to tell him that the answer was on the top line.  The Spanish way looks upside down and back to front which must be how mine looks to him. I'm in Switzerland.

The different signs are : for division and . for multiplication. So, my first sum I was given looked something like 2:4.3 and I thought it was about a ration of 2 to 4.3 and then the thousand comma is in the air and the decimal point is a floor comma. Talk about confusing. I felt bad because it looked like I could't do any sums. Well, it still does. Mum's going to talk to the teacher on Monday but wanted ideas about the division first. Thanx.

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#6 2008-09-27 22:30:29

luca-deltodesco
Member
Registered: 2006-05-05
Posts: 1,470

Re: European Maths

i've never seen : used for division o.O and . is a standard notation for multiplication; only that it is not used for multiplication of pure numbers in countries where it may be confused with the decimal point.


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#7 2017-06-06 15:23:09

Monox D. I-Fly
Member
From: Indonesia
Registered: 2015-12-02
Posts: 2,000

Re: European Maths

luca-deltodesco wrote:

i've never seen : used for division o.O

Indonesians also use that for division. After all, is ratio basically a fraction which is in essence a division?


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