quotient (definition?)

[subzero]

<font color="blue">My daughter had this question on her 4th grade math test:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a309/edwin_torres/quotient.jpg

She answered "113" and got it wrong. The teacher insists that the quotient is "113r2". Does the quotient include the remainder or are they two separate things? /images/graemlins/confused.gif </font>

[JayTee]

Since she is teaching about remainders then I would think the answer is 113. Not distinguishing between the 113 and r2 pretty much defeats the point of teaching about remainders IMO.

[subzero]

[ QUOTE ]
Since she is teaching about remainders then I would think the answer is 113. Not distinguishing between the 113 and r2 pretty much defeats the point of teaching about remainders IMO.

[/ QUOTE ]
It was actually a 4-part question:

a. What is the dividend?
b. What is the divisor?
c. What is the remainder?
d. What is the quotient?

But the teacher still insists that the quotient is the result of the division (which would include the remainder).

[Alex-db]

I find it interesting I got clean-sweep top marks through a full UK maths education without ever needing to know or define those terms /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[jay_shark]

The quotient should not include the remainder if you go with the usual definition . Maybe the teacher defined the quotient in class in another manner .

Eg 3 goes into 17 , 5 times and leaves a remainder of two . The quotient is 5 , the dividend is 17 and the divisor is 3.

Or in fractions 17/3 . The denominator is the divisor , the numerator is the dividend .

[Piers]

I managed a MPhil in Maths without knowing.

I guess it means whatever the teacher defined it to mean. Which means the teacher is probably correct.

Although I have to admit I would have got it wrong as well, even after knowing what the correct answer was.

[TomCollins]

Teacher is a moron:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quotient

[m_the0ry]

I know nothing on this subject really but in Tom Collins' link:

"For example, the quotient of 13 ÷ 5 would be 2"

According to wikipedia this teacher is correct.

[jay_shark]

M theory , the teacher said the quotient should include the remainder as well which is incorrect . The wikepedia has the right definition of quotient which is different from the teachers definition .

By the way , the answer of 113 is right .

[Bork]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Since she is teaching about remainders then I would think the answer is 113. Not distinguishing between the 113 and r2 pretty much defeats the point of teaching about remainders IMO.

[/ QUOTE ]
It was actually a 4-part question:

a. What is the dividend?
b. What is the divisor?
c. What is the remainder?
d. What is the quotient?

But the teacher still insists that the quotient is the result of the division (which would include the remainder).

[/ QUOTE ]

Teacher is being a nit, and is wrong.

[madnak]

What's up with dumb teachers lately?

I love how teachers in general enjoy grading based on simple notation and syntax rather than actual understanding. (No, really - I just have to learn the rules and then I have an advantage.)

[jay_shark]

Well this is an elementary school teacher so maybe it's understandable that she doesn't know the universal definition of what quotient means . But then again , who is to say that her definition isn't right ?
I can define dividend to be the divisor and quotient to be the remainder and I may convince my students that this is true . If they give a different answer on a test , then it shows me that they weren't paying attention .

[arahant]

[ QUOTE ]
M theory , the teacher said the quotient should include the remainder as well which is incorrect . The wikepedia has the right definition of quotient which is different from the teachers definition .

By the way , the answer of 113 is right .

[/ QUOTE ]

Can't you people read? Wikipedia (and every dictionary I can find) defines quotient as "the result of division" without excluding the remainder. Wikipedia says
[ QUOTE ]

A quotient can also mean just the integral part of the result of dividing two integers


[/ QUOTE ]
ALSO, people....

[thylacine]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
M theory , the teacher said the quotient should include the remainder as well which is incorrect . The wikepedia has the right definition of quotient which is different from the teachers definition .

By the way , the answer of 113 is right .

[/ QUOTE ]

Can't you people read? Wikipedia (and every dictionary I can find) defines quotient as "the result of division" without excluding the remainder. Wikipedia says
[ QUOTE ]

A quotient can also mean just the integral part of the result of dividing two integers


[/ QUOTE ]
ALSO, people....

[/ QUOTE ]

I can easily imagine this teacher emphasizing literally one hundred times that the quotient is "the result of division" and that it includes the remainder.

I can easily imagine the students not paying attention.

[QuattroFour4]

I normally don't go to wikipedia to satisfy my mathematical curiosities, and as such, I don't like their defition of quotient. To me, the quotient is the exact opposite of a product, and may include a remainder; a quotient is how many times the divisor divides into the dividend, and this includes a remainder. When asking 6 ÷ 2 = ?, the answer would be the quotient and, equivalently, when asking 454 ÷ 4 =?, the answer again would be the quotient, and this includes the remainder. So i believe that the teacher is correct in this case.

[CityFan]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Since she is teaching about remainders then I would think the answer is 113. Not distinguishing between the 113 and r2 pretty much defeats the point of teaching about remainders IMO.

[/ QUOTE ]
It was actually a 4-part question:

a. What is the dividend?
b. What is the divisor?
c. What is the remainder?
d. What is the quotient?

But the teacher still insists that the quotient is the result of the division (which would include the remainder).

[/ QUOTE ]

What a [censored] question. Shouldn't she be tested on her ability to DO the calculation, not assign dubious names to the parts of it?

I wouldn't worry about it.