## How to Add Integers Using the Number Line

There are several methods that can be used in adding integers. One of this methods is to use the number line. If you can see the pattern in this method, it is easier to see the sign of the sum of two signed numbers even before you add them.

To be able to use this method to add integers, first we should think of numbers as movements on the number line. We can think of the positive numbers as movement to the right and the negative numbers as movement to the left. With these in mind, we can represent $^+3$ and $^-4$ as shown in the figure below.

## Learning Japanese and Mathematics Simultaneously

I studied in Japan in a Teacher Training Program for one and a half years. A 4-month intensive Japanese language course was included in this program, so I was really lucky since I wanted to learn Japanese. Like many of you, I was a fan of Japanese anime since I was a kid.

The Intensive Japanese Language Course

For the first four months in the program, I, together with other international students, studied Japanese 5 hours a day, 5 days a week. We learned grammar, listening, speaking, and writing. As you probably know, writing is the hardest part since Japan uses a different writing system. They use three sets of characters namely, Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji, and they also know our alphabet. After graduating high school, Japanese students should master 46 Hiragana, 46 Katakana, and 2136 Kanji characters.

In our case, after four months of training, we learned around 400 Kanji characters. Although I had the chance to continue our Japanese language studies, I did not. I focused on my research and studied Japanese on my own.

## A Different Way to Perform Division

All of us are familiar with the standard division method. The standard algorithm requires us to divide the highest place values and get the largest possible quotient. For example, in dividing 984 by 23, we have to divide the highest place values of the dividend which is 98 by 23 which has a quotient of 4.

The method that I am going to discuss below does not separate the digits. It lets you repeatedly divide and allows you to choose a more convenient quotient. Below are the steps of this method. We use 984 divided by 23 as example.

1. Write the dividend and the divisor separated by a column and then draw a line above the numbers as shown.

2. First, we divide 984 by 23. Well, we don’t have to find the largest quotient. Maybe 30 is easy. We write 30 above the line aligned to the place values of the dividend.