Camping And Zero

Topic: Introduction To Zero

It is camping day. Uncle Math and the kids are going to a nearby

hill to camp and have fun together.

They hop, hop and hop! Finally, they reach the hilltop.

They decide to make a big tent that can accommodate all 5 of them. Everybody is tired and hungry. Uncle Math decides to cook something. Oops! There is no wood. How will they cook?

Uncle Math asks Squarho to get some wood from the trees. Squarho agrees and leaves the tent. How many people are left in the tent now?

There were 5 people before. Squarho left. That means there are 4 people in the tent now.

Triho feels that Squarho cannot get so much wood alone. He decides to help him and leaves the tent. How many people are left in the tent now?

There were 4 people before. Triho left. That means there are 3 people in the tent now.

Cirha and Cirho decide to get some vegetables and fruits from the nearby trees for snacks. Both of them walk out of the tent. How many people are left in the tent now?

There were 3 people before. Cirho and Cirha left. That means there is only 1 person left in the tent now. That is Uncle Math.

Oh no! Their water bottles are empty. How will they cook? What will they drink? Uncle Math quickly walks out to get some water from the nearby pond. How many people are left in the tent now?

There was 1 person before. Uncle Math left. That means there is no one in the tent now. The tent is empty. No one? Is there a way to show ‘no one’ in Math?

Yes! There is one way. “0 (Zero)” helps us indicate no one. When there was no one in the tent, that means there were zero people in the tent.

Together they set up the campfire and start cooking.

It looks like Uncle Math is making some delicious soup. But, the kids are hungry and cannot wait till the soup is ready. They decide to eat the apples till then.

There are 4 apples in total. Uncle Math gives one apple each to Triho, Cirha, Cirho, and Squarho. How many apples are left?

There are zero apples left now. Oops! They are short of apples. What will Uncle Math eat now? What can they do now?

All of them decide to share their apples with Uncle Math while he cooks the delicious soup. Wow! The kids are amazing. Does this prove that sharing is caring?

We Learnt That…

• ‘0’ is read as Zero.
• Zero means nothing or no objects.
• It is important to help others and share responsibilities.
• Sharing is caring.

Let’s Discuss

• Where were we going today?
• How can we indicate nothing or no one in Math?
• All of us shared the responsibilities of getting various things while camping. Is it good to share responsibilities? Why or why not?
• All of us proved that “sharing is caring”. Can you give an example where you proved this as well?