MCQ
Nature of Mathematics MCQ - Practice Questions with Answers
Solve 10 Nature of Mathematics questions for RAS/RPSC preparation.
Practice questions
Q1Arrange the following teaching steps for showing the nature of mathematics as logical thinking in the most age-appropriate order for Class III: 1. Ask the children to test the rule with three more pairs of numbers. 2. Show pairs of objects in everyday groups, like four shoes and two slippers. 3. Help the class write the rule in their own words. 4. Ask which group has more and why. Which of the following is the correct order?
Good Class III practice begins with concrete objects: show two real groups (2). Next ask which is more and why so the children compare and reason (4). Then write the rule together in their own words (3). Finally test the rule on three more pairs to confirm it (1). The correct order is 2, 4, 3, 1.
Q2Read the following Assertion (A) and Reason (R): Assertion (A): The nature of mathematics is best understood as a network of patterns and abstractions rather than a list of facts. Reason (R): When a child sees that 1+3=4, 2+4=6 and 3+5=8, the child is moving from a particular case to a general statement, which is an act of abstraction. Choose the correct option.
A is true: NCF 2005 explicitly describes mathematics as a study of patterns and abstractions, not a heap of facts. R is also true and explains A: noticing that one odd number plus another odd number always seems to give an even sum is exactly how a primary child moves from a particular case to a general statement, which is what abstraction means.
Q3Which of the following is NOT a feature of mathematics as understood in the NCF 2005 view at the primary stage?
Pattern-search, justification with reasons and moving from small examples to general statements are all central to the NCF 2005 view of mathematics. The view that every question has only one correct method which the teacher must demonstrate is the opposite of this; it shuts out children's own strategies and the social, exploratory nature of mathematics.
Q4NCF 2005 talks about the higher aim of mathematics education at the primary stage. Which of the following best states this higher aim?
NCF 2005 states that the higher aim of mathematics education is to mathematise the child's thought: to develop the child's inner resources for reasoning, abstraction, logical thinking and pattern-sense. Preparing for entrance tests, displaying mental-arithmetic speed, or merely finishing the textbook are narrower goals and do not capture this higher aim.
Q5Which of the following statements best describes the nature of mathematics as articulated in the NCF 2005 position paper on the teaching of mathematics?
NCF 2005 frames mathematics as a discipline of patterns, abstraction, generalisation and logical reasoning. Its higher aim at the primary stage is to mathematise the child's thought, not to load the child with facts to memorise. Children build mathematical meaning by noticing pattern, expressing it in symbols and justifying claims with reasons.
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More questions
6Read the following two statements about logical thinking in primary mathematics: Statement 1: A child saying "this group has more because there are five red dots and three blue dots" is using simple logical thinking. Statement 2: Logical thinking in mathematics belongs only to upper primary classes and not to Classes I and II. Which of the following is correct?
7Look at the following list of features. How many of them are described as central to the nature of mathematics in NCF 2005 at the primary stage? - Pattern - Abstraction - Generalisation - Logical thinking - Memorising tables without context
8Match the activity in List I with the feature of the nature of mathematics it most clearly shows in List II. List I (Classroom activity) (P) A child sees that adding any number with zero leaves it the same and tells the class. (Q) A child solves a word problem about sharing twelve sweets among four friends using small stones. (R) A child notices that the corner of the door, the corner of the book and the corner of the slate all look like the same shape. (S) A child explains why she folded the paper twice to make four equal parts. List II (Feature of nature of mathematics) (1) Modelling a real situation (2) Logical reasoning and justification (3) Generalisation of a property (4) Abstraction of a common idea
9A primary teacher writes on the board: "3 + 5 = 8, 7 + 1 = 8, 5 + 5 = 10, 9 + 1 = 10, 11 + 3 = 14" and asks the children, "What is true about the sum of two odd numbers in every example?" This task most directly shows which feature of the nature of mathematics?
10Consider the following statements about the nature of mathematics at the primary stage: 1. Mathematics begins from the child's own experience of grouping, comparing and ordering things. 2. Logical thinking develops only after the child has finished learning all the algorithms of arithmetic. 3. Generalisation is a part of mathematical activity even at the primary stage. Which of the statements are correct?