milovany Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 One of the classes I'm transcribing this term is an Algebra II class at the high school level and when solving for x, instead of saying "Subtract 5 from both sides" (which I've always said, heard and used), the teacher says, "Subtract 5 to both sides." She's a younger, tech-hip, interesting/interested teacher, so I'm wondering if this is how that instruction is phrased these days. I've done quite a few math classes over the last few years, though, and this is the first time I've heard it, so maybe it's a quirk of this particular teacher's? Inquiring minds want to know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I vote quirk. But I'm old. ;) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OH_Homeschooler Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I'm guessing a quirk as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 Thanks for your quick feedback. I agree that it's probably a quirk. It just seem strange to me since she probably went through upper level math in high school, then majored in math education in college, maybe even getting a master's, and still says it this way when it was probably said the other way throughout her educational career. I'm supposed to type the meaning of what someone says, not necessarily the exact words, so I type it "subtract from" but wanted to see if maybe I should be typing it "subtract to" if that's the current accepted phrasing. (I was corrected in a class the other day when I kept typing "Koran," sigh. It was more due to working fast and just wanting to get the sentences out there because I didn't have time to process extra thoughts in my head like I sometimes can -- he was a quick speaker with a thick foreign accent -- but the student Skype'd me saying, "The way it's spelled now is Quran." So I wondered if the subtract to thing was similar to that.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Oh my goodness, that would bother me so much!! How on earth can you subtract TO anything?! But yeah, probably a quirk... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 IIRC I've heard or seen it once before, but I still vote quirk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I vote quirk. But I'm old. ;) I think you mean quirc. :leaving: 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 It is absolutely not how it is said nowadays. Honestly it is also something that our math ed professors would really get on a student for saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Oh my goodness, that would bother me so much!! How on earth can you subtract TO anything?! I suppose if you subtract a negative number from something, you are in essence subtracting 'to' something? Regardless, it would drive me nuts as well, and to be honest, if I were transcribing it, I'd probably end up transcribing 'from' rather than 'to' (I probably wouldn't make a good transcriber though). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I just googled "subtract to both sides" and all the hits I got said "subtract from both sides". She might know her math but she doesn't know her prepositions. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Argh! That would drive me batty, but I think it's sort of like saying, "Apply subtraction to both sides"...maybe?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Foreign background? My foreign friends often say "__ is younger to __." They also say "5 into 5" for 5x5, and a few other things that take getting used to. They say "running hand" for cursive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Foreign background? My foreign friends often say "__ is younger to __." They also say "5 into 5" for 5x5, and a few other things that take getting used to. They say "running hand" for cursive. Now that would really confuse me. I'm used to "5 into 5" meaning 5 divided by 5. Or for more clarity: 3 into 17 means 17 divided by 3. Maybe I'm just querkie too. :p 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 I suppose if you subtract a negative number from something, you are in essence subtracting 'to' something? Regardless, it would drive me nuts as well, and to be honest, if I were transcribing it, I'd probably end up transcribing 'from' rather than 'to' (I probably wouldn't make a good transcriber though). Actually, see my second post above. It'd be considered good form to transcribe "subtract from" even if she's saying "subtract to." It's what I've been doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Weirdness. That is not standard and very confusing. Words matter, especially in communicating abstract math concepts. She needs the prep book that came with my Cuisenaire materials. It had some of the most precise and deliberate phrasing I've seen for discussing math (in the English language). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historically accurate Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I had a math professor way back when that used "Subtract 5 through". He meant through the entire equation. Meaning you subtract 5 from both sides. Maybe that where this professor has picked it up? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I vote quirk. I've never heard that usage before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Quirk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I have had a number of Asian students who say "subtract 5 to both sides" when they are explaining a math problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 never heard that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I could live with "add negative 5 to each side," otherwise no. Bill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I could live with "add negative 5 to each side," otherwise no. Bill I'm assuming the above is what she is thinking as she says it. You aren't really taking anything away as much as you are balancing the equation by doing the same thing to the equation on both sides of the equal sign. Once we hit algebra I, I prefer to drop the word subtract from my math vocabulary altogether. When you start talking about subtracting negatives, or worse, polynomial equations, the concept of subtraction (as opposed to combining the opposite) can get muddy fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I'd say quirk. She's probably mixing up "do the same TO both sides" and "subtract from both sides". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 I have had a number of Asian students who say "subtract 5 to both sides" when they are explaining a math problem. Oh, I wonder if she's Asian. I haven't picked that up from an accent (or lack thereof), but I supposed it's possible. I should google the high school and see if I can tell now that you've made me wonder. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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