What Students See: x² vs. 2ˣ
x² and 2ˣ look like identical scribbles to students; mathematicians see Jack's growth spurt vs. the beanstalk's.
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Free for classrooms, worksheets, slides and other non-commercial use under CC BY-NC 4.0, with credit to Ben Orlin.
Cartoon by Ben Orlin, Math with Bad Drawings. https://cartoons.mathwithbaddrawings.com/2016-06-22-what-students-see-when-they-look-at-algebra--what-students-see-x-squared-vs-2-to-the-x/ (CC BY-NC 4.0)Transcript
x² vs. 2ˣ / Students: two identical tangled scribbles / Mathematicians: Jack growing a bit ("Wow, Jack — you've had quite a growth spurt!") vs. a towering beanstalk ("Wow, beanstalk — you've had quite a growth spurt!")