WebMath: standard notation for negative numbers?

[June Lester]

>Message-ID: <C389EB9AE3C5D211B53900105A1D319E0869B890 at agency11.state.ky.us>
>To: webmath at camel.math.ca
>Subject: RE: WebMath: standard notation for negative numbers?
>Date: Mon, 22 Jul 2002 12:54:21 -0400
>X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2655.55)
>
>The only place I have run into the raised negative has been in teaching
>developmental (grade school and high school) math to college students.  They
>apparently picked up the habit in earlier courses.  Most students who use
>the raised negative consistently get wrong answers; I don't think it helps
>and may even hinder their comprehension of arithmetic with negative numbers.
>
>Die morgen Stunde haben Gold in seine Munde.
>(The morning hours have gold in their mouths.)
>Wake up call from my grandmother, Louisa Pieschl Dueser
>
>> ----------
>> From: 	Pam Bishop
>> Reply To: 	webmath at camel.math.ca
>> Sent: 	Monday, July 22, 2002 6:39 AM
>> To: 	webmath at camel.math.ca
>> Subject: 	WebMath: standard notation for negative numbers?
>>
>> Is there an international standard in notation for negative numbers?  One
>> enquirer has asked:
>>
>> "Personally, I have been brought up differentiating between 'negative
>> seven'
>> and 'subtract seven' through the former being a 'raised' sign compared
>> with the
>> subtraction sign.  However, is this 'standard' world-wide or is there no
>> agreed
>> standard?  I note on several web sites that often a raised sign is not
>> used for
>> 'negative' and a 'subtraction' sign is used instead.  However, I don't
>> know
>> whether that is because that is standard in that country or whether they
>> are
>> just being 'lazy' (also, of course, the issue of computers may make people
>> not
>> bother using a raised sign as it is not as easy to produce on a computer
>> as a
>> standard subtraction sign).  Of course, it may well be the case that there
>> is
>> no standard at all."
>>
>> Comments welcome - Pam
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ===============================================================
>>
>> Pam Bishop, Assistant Director
>> LTSN Maths, Stats & OR Network
>> School of Mathematics and Statistics    p.bishop at bham.ac.uk
>> The University of Birmingham            tel 0121-414 4800
>> Birmingham  B15 2TT                     fax 0121-414 3389
>>
>> The Maths, Stats & OR Network is part of the Learning and Teaching
>> Support Network, which provides discipline-based support for
>> learning and teaching in UK universities.
>>
>> More information can be found at http://ltsn.mathstore.ac.uk
>> ===============================================================
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