Discussion: Keynote Part 1

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posted by: Deborah Ball on May 12, 2003 at 12:15PM
subject: Considering Students’ Definitions of Even Number
Several student-generated definitions of “Even Number” were presented–
  1. An even number is a number you can split in two equal parts without having to break anything in half.
    Figure 1
  2. An even number is a number that when you group it in twos, there are none left.
    Figure 2
  3. The even numbers are every other number on the number line, like 2, 4, 6, and so on.
    Figure 3
How well does each work as a mathematical definition? How well does it help to answer the question of whether 0 is to be considered even or odd?
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