From Parshat Bamidbar:
"...these are the Gershonite families- their counted ones according to the number of every male, from one month of age and up; their counted ones [were] seven thousand, five hundred." ~Bamidbar 3;21-22
"...these were the Kohathite families- the number of every male from one month of age and up [was] eight thousand, six hundred; the guardians of the charge of the sanctity." ~Bamidbar 3;27-28
"...these were the Merarite families- their counted ones according to the number of every male from one month of age and up [was] six thousand, two hundred." ~Bamidbar 3;33-34
"From thirty years of age and up, until fifty years of age, everyone who comes to the legion for the work in the Tent of Meeting. Their counted ones according to their families were two thousand, seven hundred and fifty. These are the counted ones of the Kohathite families, all who work in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moshe and Aaron counted, at the word of Hashem, under the authority of Moshe." ~Bamidbar 4;35-37
"[F]rom thirty years of age and up, until fifty years of age, everyone who comes to the legion for the work in the Tent of Meeting. Their counted ones according to their families, according to their fathers' house were two thousand, six hundred and thirty. These are the counted ones of the families of the sons of Gershon, all who work in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moshe and Aaron counted, at the word of Hashem." ~Bamidbar 4;39-41
"[F]rom thirty years of age and up, until fifty years of age, everyone who comes to the legion, for the work in the Tent of Meeting. Their counted ones according to their families were three thousand, two hundred. These were the counted ones of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moshe and Aaron counted, at the word of Hashem, through Moshe." ~Bamidbar 4;43-45
Math Connection:
Oftentimes, when children are learning a new skill and they see numbers in a problem, they just plug the numbers into the memorized algorithm that they were taught and they assume that the number that comes out of their calculation is the answer to whatever question is asked of them. Real life does not always work this way; just because the numbers are in front of you doesn't mean that the chosen calculation will answer your questions. Additionally, just because you have numbers in front of you, it doesn't mean that the information you want can be found in the information that you are given. It's important to always keep in mind the meaning of the numbers that you have and the meaning of the calculation or operation that you choose to employ in your problem solving process.
Parsha Connection:
In last week's parsha, we are given the census numbers from the Levite males ages one month and older. The numbers from that census are (in the order listed in the parsha):
Oftentimes, when children are learning a new skill and they see numbers in a problem, they just plug the numbers into the memorized algorithm that they were taught and they assume that the number that comes out of their calculation is the answer to whatever question is asked of them. Real life does not always work this way; just because the numbers are in front of you doesn't mean that the chosen calculation will answer your questions. Additionally, just because you have numbers in front of you, it doesn't mean that the information you want can be found in the information that you are given. It's important to always keep in mind the meaning of the numbers that you have and the meaning of the calculation or operation that you choose to employ in your problem solving process.
Parsha Connection:
In last week's parsha, we are given the census numbers from the Levite males ages one month and older. The numbers from that census are (in the order listed in the parsha):
Gershon: 7,500 males
Kohath: 8,600 males
Merari: 6,200 males
In this week's parsha, we are given the census numbers from the all Levite males ages 30-50 who were to work in Holy service. The numbers from that census are (in the order listed in the parsha):
Kohath: 2,750 males
Gershon: 2,630 males
Merari: 3,200 males
Given these two sets of census numbers, we can compare the numbers from each category. It's important, though, to keep in mind exactly what information we are gaining from our comparison.
If we know that there were 7,500 Gershonite males from one month and older, and 2,630 males ages 30-50, we can calculate that there's a difference of 7,500-2,630, or 4,870. From here, we know that there are 4,870 males who were not between the ages of 30-50. But, can we figure out how many of those 4,870 are younger than 30yo and/or how many of them are older than 50yo?
We can make the same calculations for Kohath and Merari.
Kohath: 8,600-2,750 = 5,850
Merari: 6,200-3,200 = 3,000
And from these calculations, we know that there were 5,850 Kohathite males, and 3,000 Merarite males who were not between the ages of 30-50. But, again, we have no way of knowing how many of those 5,850 or 3,000 were between one month and 30 years, and how many were 50 years or older.
Everyday Connection:
If the weather report tells you that Tuesday's morning temperature is 57° F and that the temperature rose 15°over the course of the day, no matter what calculation you use, you can't use the information in front of you to find out what the temperature was on Wednesday. A student who is asked to find the temperature by the end of the day Tuesday, would be able to add 57+15= 72°F. However, if a student is just given these two numbers and asked whether or not they know Wednesday's temperature, they might just assume that they should be adding the two numbers to find the sum. However, the information given does not tell us how much the temperature might have fallen or risen overnight from Tuesday evening until Wednesday morning. Thoughtfulness and understanding of both your information and your calculations are critical to finding meaning in the numbers that you use in every situation.
Merari: 6,200 males
In this week's parsha, we are given the census numbers from the all Levite males ages 30-50 who were to work in Holy service. The numbers from that census are (in the order listed in the parsha):
Kohath: 2,750 males
Gershon: 2,630 males
Merari: 3,200 males
Given these two sets of census numbers, we can compare the numbers from each category. It's important, though, to keep in mind exactly what information we are gaining from our comparison.
If we know that there were 7,500 Gershonite males from one month and older, and 2,630 males ages 30-50, we can calculate that there's a difference of 7,500-2,630, or 4,870. From here, we know that there are 4,870 males who were not between the ages of 30-50. But, can we figure out how many of those 4,870 are younger than 30yo and/or how many of them are older than 50yo?
We can make the same calculations for Kohath and Merari.
Kohath: 8,600-2,750 = 5,850
Merari: 6,200-3,200 = 3,000
And from these calculations, we know that there were 5,850 Kohathite males, and 3,000 Merarite males who were not between the ages of 30-50. But, again, we have no way of knowing how many of those 5,850 or 3,000 were between one month and 30 years, and how many were 50 years or older.
Everyday Connection:
If the weather report tells you that Tuesday's morning temperature is 57° F and that the temperature rose 15°over the course of the day, no matter what calculation you use, you can't use the information in front of you to find out what the temperature was on Wednesday. A student who is asked to find the temperature by the end of the day Tuesday, would be able to add 57+15= 72°F. However, if a student is just given these two numbers and asked whether or not they know Wednesday's temperature, they might just assume that they should be adding the two numbers to find the sum. However, the information given does not tell us how much the temperature might have fallen or risen overnight from Tuesday evening until Wednesday morning. Thoughtfulness and understanding of both your information and your calculations are critical to finding meaning in the numbers that you use in every situation.
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