What does it mean to divide? Ie: what does 1/2 mean....or how about the root of 2? What does it mean to multiply? What does log mean? In physics, how can you interpret the inverse square law to a little kid? What does it mean to be an inverse number? Can someone please translate these mathematical terms to simple english please?
What does it mean to divide? To divide means to perform the operation of division. Division is the operation of finding out how many times a number contains another. This is the inverse operation of multiplication. what does 1/2 mean[?] This means how many times is 2 contained within 1? The answer is 1/2 times. What does it mean to multiply? Multiplication is the result of taking a number a certain number of times. For positive integers, this can be given by adding a number to itself a certain number of times. The product a × b is the result of taking b times the number a. how about the root of 2? Finding the root of two means finding a number which, when multiplied by itself, gives the result of two. The n<sup>th</sup> root of x is the number which, when raised to the power n gives the result of x. What does log mean? The logarithm of a number, is a power which, when the base is raised to that power, gives the number that you are taking the logarithm of. In physics, how can you interpret the inverse square law to a little kid? Well, you really need to answer the question that you are asking after this first. What is a reciprocal/inverse? The reciprocal of a number is 1 divided by that number. The product of a number and its reciprocal is 1. Then you need to explain about squaring numbers. To explain the inverse square law, it depends how little the kid is. You need to explain how the surface area of a sphere increases with the square of its radius. Then you can explain how the inverse of a quantity squared decreases as the quantity increases, i.e. double the distance, the force only has a strength of one quarter what it did at the original distance. Triple the distance, the force is only one ninth what it was, etc. Hyperphysics has a good diagram demonstrating the law that illustrates it quite well, which the kid may be able to understand (ignore the text, only look at the diagram).
Examples are the best way to explain basic arithmetic operations to a small kid. Diagrams of pie slices are good for explaining simple fractions like 1/2, 1/4, 2/3, et cetera. Repeated addition can be used to explain multiplication, which must be understood before you can explain division.
