Somewhere along their mathematical journey, every student is taught the "trick" of "adding a zero" to any number they multiply by 10. First of all, let me be clear - we know we aren't actually adding zero, right? Because if we add zero to any number, we end up with that same number thanks to the zero property of addition.
So if we aren't actually adding zero, or zeros as the case may be, what the heck is going on when we multiply by a power of ten?
Recently, I challenged the 5th grade teachers at South to have students answer this question. Mrs. Seger's mathematicians have risen to the challenge!
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