Wednesday, May 5, 2010

MATH IS HARD

Does this make sense?

1/3 = .3333333....


The what's up with this?

1/3 = .3333333....
1/3 = .3333333....
+ 1/3 = .3333333....
------------------------
1 = .9999999....

If you were using a ruler to measure something then .9 REPEATING is basically one. Technically it's not really equal though, right?

5 comments:

  1. Never use a shoe to measure a foot~ use your shoe-laces with knots at specific increments.

    Labels, Names, and Numbers are doomed to fail because they rely on human definitions & concepts.

    Gym is a much more product class than Math. Just don't ask me to do .9999999 jumping jacks~!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I guess if you did .999999... jumping jacks you'd never land, huh?

    ReplyDelete
  3. In mathamatics, there is no such thing as "basically one." It is either one or it isn't. That's the glory of Math. No gray. ;-) -- Mykal

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's why this frustrates me.

    3/3 = 1.00000000....

    1/3 = .3333333333...

    .33333333... (x3) = .999999999...

    .9999999.... doesn't equal 1, but it equals 3/3

    The fractions work out, but the decimals don't.

    ReplyDelete
  5. OK, you've gone over my head (making a swish sound will waving my flat hand over the, yes, top of my head).

    ReplyDelete

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