Banca de DEFESA: MARIA CAROLINA ROCHA NUNES

THE POTENTIAL OF THE PriCom GAME: A PROPOSAL FOR TEACHING PRIME NUMBERS

Didactic Games; Teaching Mathematics; Number Theory; Basic Education.

This study highlights the relevance of didactic work considering Prime Numbers and their contribution to the History of Mathematics, their inclusion in the school curriculum and the proposal of a playful educational resource for their teaching. From ancient records such as the Ishango Bone, dated between 20,000 BC and 18,000 BC, to contributions from mathematicians such as Pythagoras (570 BC), Euclid of Alexandria (3rd century BC), Pierre de Fermat (1601-1665) and Leonhard Euler (1707-1783), prime numbers have occupied a central role in mathematical culture and constituted a central concept for Number Theory. The infinity of the set of prime numbers, the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic, the Sieve of Eratosthenes and divisibility criteria are fundamental concepts and elements for understanding the structure of prime numbers. For teaching Mathematics in the final years of Elementary School, the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC) recommends teaching prime numbers from the 6th grade onwards, emphasizing the importance of classifying them correctly and using them to solve problems involving decomposition into prime factors, Greatest Common Divisor and Least Common Multiple. To provide motivation and contribute to teaching, the game PriCom was developed, designed to make the study of prime numbers more accessible and stimulating. In the game, participants form numbers with cards and classify them as prime or composite, using logical reasoning and mathematical knowledge, in addition to developing playful strategies. The dynamic involves correct answers and penalties, encouraging the understanding of numerical properties. By integrating history, theory and pedagogical practice, PriCom proves to be a significant resource for teaching mathematics.