General Description
This program is intended mainly for use with younger children. The instructions will be displayed on the screen at the start of the program. Press any key to start the game. The screen will contain a series of fraction towers, all of which will be blank except the top one. The object is to place increasingly alrge fractions down the fraction tower.
Detailed Description
Lines 60-80 Set envelope for sound.
90 Check for escape key
110-140 Display title and instructions.
150-170 GOTO procedure to display boxes on screen.
180-200 Read next 'starting fraction' in, and check for terminator.
210-260 Display fraction and get input from keyboard.
270-280 Is it the last fraction on the tower? Go back and display next fraction if not.
290-350 Does user want another game?
360-430 Display boxes on the screen.
440-470 Display fraction on the screen.
480-550 Prompt for next fraction from keyboard.
560-630 Check for valid input.
640-700 Display invalid input and cue sound.
710-740 Set D & N = to denominator and numerator.
750 Is denominator = 0 (1/0 - infinity), if so show invalid input.
760 Is denominator too large (i.e. >999)?
770-780 Are N or D integers? If not, display message.
790-810 Are fractions too small? The same? Or 1?
820-870 Accept fraction.
880-930 Display error - i.e. too small, the same, the same as 1.
940-980 Display title.
990-1010 Cue sound.
1020-1030 Wait for key to be pressed.
1040-1210 Print instructions at correct position and set A$ = to the instructions to be printed. GOTO procedure and display A$.
Educational Note
This program should really only be used once you have taught fraction towers in the classroom. It provides an entertaining medium for experimenting with fraction towers. I suspect the program is better used with primary children rather than secondary children, though I have used it with first years in secondary school.
I found that a group of four or five round a keyboard and monitor happily discussed amongst themselves what the next fraction tower ought to be.