Math homework help?
By miamilady
@miamilady (4910)
United States
December 31, 2008 1:10pm CST
I have a specific question that I need answered, but to make it a decent discussion, I'll add some extra stuff too.
My main question is this...
Does anybody know how to do factorization using the "cake method"??
We've found the tree method. I did a search on factorization, cake method.
I couple sites came up that had videos. I can't watch the videos, cuz I don't have high speed internet.
I couldn't find a good written explanation, so if anybody can give me a written explanation of what the "cake method" is, I would really appreciate it.
If you want to add some more to talk about in this discussion, you could share some of your favorite math help websites, etc.
Thanks in advance for your help.
1 response
@owlwings (43897)
• Cambridge, England
1 Jan 09
The cake method is really simple 
The way that one video I watched explained it is:
First, write a list of some PRIME numbers at the top of your page ...
What is a PRIME? It's any number that can only be factorised (divided without any remainder) by itself and 1. So we write '2' at the top of our page. Why not '1'? Because 'one is one and all alone and ever more shall be so' (don't worry if you don't know the old song, 'Green Grow the Rashes, O!' ... that's what it says!) ... think of it as 'one cannot be divided by itself AND one because it IS one' or just as 'one is special' ... in fact, that is where the name of this method comes from. 'One' is the candle that you get on top of the cake when you are done!
OK, so you have a list of primes at the top of your page, just to remind you:
2, 3, 5, 7, 11 ... and so on.
Now you take the number you want to find the prime factors of ... let us say 12 ... and put it at the bottom. Draw a vertical line to the left and a horizontal line above (you are going to do a division). Now choose one of the primes from the top of the page that you can see will divide into the number. In this case, you probably know that either 2 or 3 will. You certainly should know that 2 will, because 12 is an even number! Write the number you have chosen to the left of the vertical line and do the division. If you chose 2, write a 6 above the horizontal line. Now do exactly the same with the 6 (this is the second tier of your cake). As 6 is an even number, you might choose 2 again, but it makes no difference if you choose 3. The next tier of the cake will have a different number but what we are aiming at is a candle (the number 1) at the top of the cake.
I am sure that you get the idea. The 'cake' method is really just a way of making division attractive for kids. The video goes on to complete the picture of a cake by completing the right hand side of the division lines to make a tiered cake with the candle (the figure 1) at the top.
The way that one video I watched explained it is:
First, write a list of some PRIME numbers at the top of your page ...
What is a PRIME? It's any number that can only be factorised (divided without any remainder) by itself and 1. So we write '2' at the top of our page. Why not '1'? Because 'one is one and all alone and ever more shall be so' (don't worry if you don't know the old song, 'Green Grow the Rashes, O!' ... that's what it says!) ... think of it as 'one cannot be divided by itself AND one because it IS one' or just as 'one is special' ... in fact, that is where the name of this method comes from. 'One' is the candle that you get on top of the cake when you are done!
OK, so you have a list of primes at the top of your page, just to remind you:
2, 3, 5, 7, 11 ... and so on.
Now you take the number you want to find the prime factors of ... let us say 12 ... and put it at the bottom. Draw a vertical line to the left and a horizontal line above (you are going to do a division). Now choose one of the primes from the top of the page that you can see will divide into the number. In this case, you probably know that either 2 or 3 will. You certainly should know that 2 will, because 12 is an even number! Write the number you have chosen to the left of the vertical line and do the division. If you chose 2, write a 6 above the horizontal line. Now do exactly the same with the 6 (this is the second tier of your cake). As 6 is an even number, you might choose 2 again, but it makes no difference if you choose 3. The next tier of the cake will have a different number but what we are aiming at is a candle (the number 1) at the top of the cake.
I am sure that you get the idea. The 'cake' method is really just a way of making division attractive for kids. The video goes on to complete the picture of a cake by completing the right hand side of the division lines to make a tiered cake with the candle (the figure 1) at the top.1 person likes this
