Over the weekend, we were required to play a math game in order to accomplish this blog post.  I had to play the game 3 different times.  At first, it was really confusing, but then I realized how you were supposed to figure it out.  All in all, it was confusing at first, but eventually really fun.
     While playing the game, I came across several difficulties.  I kept thinking that you were supposed to solve the problems left to right or up and down.  This was because I quickley read the directions and didn't think them through.  This just shows that reading directions is very important, and you should read them several times so you understand them clearly.
     After I eventually figured out what I was doing wrong, I had a blast with the game.  The first type that I did was integers.  After I had accomplished the integers with no mistakes, I went on to fractions.  Then, I did the money version of the game.  In conclusion, once I had figured out the game, it was simple and fun.

     Why do inequalities need closed dots instead of an open one?  Well the answer is very simple actually.  The truth is, not all inequlaities need a closed dot.  It depends on what the equation states.  For instance, if the problem said: If the high temperature for the day was 87 degrees, and the low was 45 degrees, what might've the temperatures throughout the day included.  The answer is simple.  It would've included everthing from 45 to 87 degrees; now that is including 45 and 87 so the dots would be closed, not opened.  
     However if the problem said: The wind speed was in between 12 and 20 mph throughout the night.  What speed would this might've included.  Now on this problem, the dots marking 12 and 20 wouldn't be closed dots because it is not including these two numbers.  I hope you now see my perspective on inequalities.

     Do you think that different methods have different uses?  I do.  I think that the whole point of methods is to have an easier way to find the answer of an equation or expression.  Some methods may work better for you than others.  Everyone is different, and your brains don't all think alike.  
     For example, to simplify the equation: 6x+2 is less than or equal to 3(2x+4), me and my partner Malaena use different methods to solve it.  I first distribute; then I get the x's on one side, and the units on the other.  However, she simplifies, then stops, since with this problem, you do not need to finish it.  All in all, peoples' brains think differently than others, so some methods will work better than others, for you.

     Yes, it's true.  There is no such thing as division.  That is because when you divide, you are actually multiplying the answer by the dividend.  I know it sounds weird, but it's true.  Here's an example: 2x=16.  First, you would want to get the variable alone, so you divide by two.  But see that's where it gets tricky.  You actually are doing the inverse operation.  
     Okay, here's another example: 1/2 divided by 2.  You want to change the 2 into a fraction, so it would be 2/1.  Then, you would find the reciprical, which is 1/2.  After that, you would multiply 1/2 by 1/2.  Your answer would be 1/4.  See, you don't actually divide.  You are actually multiplying or using the inverse operation.  Hopefully, you see what I mean.

     Do you know how there numbers in between 0 and 1?  Well in fact, there are many numbers in between 0 and 1.  These numbers are called decimals.  There is an infinate amount of decimals in between aero and one.  I mean seriously, look at all the different decimals you've gotten for answers in math class.  
     For example, there is 1 and then there is 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 and so on.  Plus, there is even more numbers in between 1.1 and 1.2.  Think about it, you can get 1.2 as an answer, but then you could also get 1.234.  Do you see what I mean?  Exactly!  Anyways, there are SO many numbers in between 0 and 1 whether you like it or not.  Also, these numbers are very important because look at it this way: would you rather have $1 or $1.50?  Hopefully you now see what I mean about the many numbers in between zero and one.

     How come as a denominator gets larger, the fraction's value get smaller?  Well, that's a very good question.  For example, 1/2 is bigger than 1/4, but why is that?  The answer is actually pretty simple.  Say you have a candy bar, and you are going to share it with your friends.  You have 3 friends and then you have yourself.  Well, there are 4 people, so you are going to get a SMALLER piece than you would if you had 1 friend.  See, whatever the denominator represents, when that value gets bigger, the numerator gets a LESSER amount

     One lesson in math class was about Distributive Property.  We all recieved a box of foam blocks and had to use them to solve problems.  However, before we got the box, Mr. Erickon demonstrated how we would use the blocks on his board.  We used a real life situation by pretending the blocks were palettes, packs, and units being bought and shipped from a dock.  The palettes were the bigger square blocks, packs were the rectangle blocks, and the cubes were the units.  Together in our groups, we solved 10 problems by using the bloocks to solve the equation.  We then finished our worksheets and turned them in.