Habit 6
Attend to Precision
The Mathematical Habits of Mind describe ways in which developing students of mathematics increasingly engage with the subject matter as they grow in mathematical maturity and expertise throughout the elementary, middle and high school years.Â
MHM6. Attend to precision.
Communicate precisely with others and try to use clear mathematical language when discussing their reasoning.
Understand meanings of symbols used in mathematics and can label quantities appropriately.
Express numerical answers with a degree of precision appropriate for the problem context.
Calculate efficiently and accurately.
Questions to Develop Mathematical Thinking Related to Habit 6
What mathematical terms apply in this situation?
How did you know your solution was reasonable?
Explain how you might show that your solution answers the problem.
Is there a more efficient strategy?
How are you showing the meaning of the quantities?
What symbols or mathematical notations are important in this problem?
What mathematical language, definitions, or properties can you use to explain _____?
How could you test your solution to see if it answers the problem?