The purpose of this activity is for students to see why an expression that contains the operation of dividing by zero can't be evaluated. They use their understanding of related multiplication and division equations to make sense of this.
Arrange students in groups of 2. Tell students to consider the statements and try to find a value for x that makes the second statement true.
Give students 1 minute of quiet think time followed by 1 minute to share their thinking with their partner. Finish with a whole-class discussion.
Study the statements carefully.
What value can be used in place of x to create true statements? Explain your reasoning.
None. Sample explanation: There is no number that can be multiplied by zero to get something other than zero. Therefore, x⋅0=6 is never a true statement for any value of x.
Select 2–3 groups to share their conclusions about x.
As a result of this discussion, we want students to understand that any expression where a number is divided by zero can't be evaluated. Therefore, we can state that there is no value for x that makes both equations true.
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The purpose of this activity is for students to see why an expression that contains the operation of dividing by zero can't be evaluated. They use their understanding of related multiplication and division equations to make sense of this.
Arrange students in groups of 2. Tell students to consider the statements and try to find a value for x that makes the second statement true.
Give students 1 minute of quiet think time followed by 1 minute to share their thinking with their partner. Finish with a whole-class discussion.
Study the statements carefully.
What value can be used in place of x to create true statements? Explain your reasoning.
None. Sample explanation: There is no number that can be multiplied by zero to get something other than zero. Therefore, x⋅0=6 is never a true statement for any value of x.
Select 2–3 groups to share their conclusions about x.
As a result of this discussion, we want students to understand that any expression where a number is divided by zero can't be evaluated. Therefore, we can state that there is no value for x that makes both equations true.