Timeline for Another word for "fraction" that fits in conversation like "percent"?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
8 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 9, 2020 at 16:39 | vote | accept | rennat | ||
| Jul 6, 2017 at 21:03 | comment | added | David Schwartz | That I can say "treat me as a peasant" to mean "treat me the way a peasant is typically treated" doesn't mean the word "peasant" means "the way a peasant is typically treated". Just that it can be used to mean that if other words in the sentence make that happen. Similarly, you can use the word "fraction" to mean "the way a fraction is typically expressed" with the right other words. That does not mean the word "fraction" means that form of expression anymore than that I can say "treat me like a peasant" means that the word "peasant" means some form of poor treatment. | |
| Jul 6, 2017 at 21:00 | comment | added | David Schwartz | @Stephen You can only "express" something as something that is a form of expression. I don't mean qualify in the grammatical sense but in the logical sense. For example, if you say "treat me like a peasant", the word "treat" qualifies "peasant" to refer to the way a peasant is typically treated, rather than any other inherent characteristic of a peasant. Similarly "Express 1.2 as a fraction" means to express the number 1.2 in the way fractions are typically expressed -- in the canonical form of representation for fractions. | |
| Jul 6, 2017 at 20:05 | comment | added | Stephen | I don't understand your last sentence. I wouldn't think "fraction" is qualified in "Express 1.2 as a fraction." What do we mean to say a word is qualified? I would have expected it means that a word is modified by an adjective. In any case if "Express 1.2 as a fraction" were a problem in some elementary school math book, the implication is that the student would hear "as a fraction" and know that that means one specific form of representation, not two possible forms. Also, we wouldn't write that sentence if we thought 1.2 was already a fraction, which is what you are arguing. | |
| Jul 6, 2017 at 17:49 | comment | added | David Schwartz | @Stephen 0.2 and 1/5 are the same number. They're just different representations for that same value. Fractions are numbers that are not whole number. You have to qualify the word "fraction" to make it mean a form of representation, for example, "Express 1.2 as a fraction" or "What is the fractional representation of 1.2?". | |
| Jul 6, 2017 at 17:00 | comment | added | Stephen | Clearly the use of "fraction" to describe "a small share" is valid in English, but in the context of mathematics would the use of "fraction" for a number like 0.2 still be valid? I would have thought not since it isn't a number with a numerator/denominator. That is why I think the OP was seeking alternatives to fraction. That said, I don't see any better alternatives. | |
| Mar 24, 2014 at 19:44 | comment | added | rennat | While you are not wrong I was specifically asking for alternatives to the word "fraction". | |
| Sep 1, 2011 at 13:51 | history | answered | David Schwartz | CC BY-SA 3.0 |