FRACTIONS

Equivalent Fractions

1
/3 is equivalent to 2/6 because the top and bottom numbers have been multiplied by 2.

4
/12 is equivalent to 1/3 because the top and bottom numbers have been divided by 4.

When writing equivalent fractions, do the same multiplication or division to the top and
bottom numbers.

For example, if you multiply the top by 2, you must also multiply the bottom by 2.

Common factors

The factors of a number are those numbers that divide into it exactly.
Numbers have common factors if the same number divides into both of them.

So 4 is a common factor of both 8 and 12, as it divides into both of them. 2 is a common
factor of both 2 and 6, as it divides into both of them.

Simplest form

You know that 4/12 = 2/6 = 1/3

4 and 12 have a common factor (4), so 4/12 can be written as 1/3 (divide the top and the
bottom by 4).

2 and 6 have a common factor (2), so 2/6 can be written as 1/3 (divide the top and the
bottom by 2).

However, 1 and 3 have no common factors, so 1/3 cannot be simplified. When a fraction
cannot be simplified we say that it is its simplest form.

Fractions - Ordering fractions

Which fraction is bigger, 3/4 or 5/7 ?

It is hard to answer this question just by looking at the fractions. However, if you write
the fractions with the same bottom number, the question will be easy.

3
/4 has a denominator of 4, and 5/7 has a denominator of 7.

4 and 7 both divide into 28, so rewrite the fractions with a denominator of 28.

3 21
/ 4= /28
5 20
/ 7= /28

21 20
It is easy to see that /28 is bigger than /28.

Therefore 3/4 is bigger than 5/7.

To compare fractions, first write them with the same number at the bottom.

Fractions – Mini Test

Fractions - Test Bite
Top of Form

1. Which of the following is equivalent to 2/3?

4/5

6/8

8/12

2. Which of the following is not in its simplest form?

5/12

7/12

9/12

3. Write 12/20 in its simplest form.

1/3

2/6

3/5

4. Find 3/7 of 42
 18

22

16

5. Which is the biggest??

3/4 of 20

2/3 of 24

1/3 of 21

6. A dress usually costs £60. It is reduced by 1/3 in a sale. By how much is the
dress reduced?

£30

£20

£10

7. Which is the largest fraction?

7/12

1/2

5/8

8. Which is the smallest fraction)?

7/12

1/2

5/8

9. Sarah calculates that she spends 1/3 of her pocket money on sweets, and
2/5 on magazines. What fraction of her pocket money does Sarah spend on
sweets and magazines?
 11/15

5/6

12/16

10. Sam has 3/4 kg of toffees. If he gives 3/8 kg to Mike, how many will he
have left?

4/5

3/8

2/3

Percentages
It's often useful to be able to find a percentage of a quantity. For example, you might be
told that bus fares are going up by 5% and you need to know how much more you will
need each week.

Here are a couple of ways you could do it:

Method 1

Find 1% of the quantity by dividing it by 100.

Find x% of a quantity by multiplying 1% of the quantity by x.

Question

Q. Rakesh has a box containing 60 pens. 20% of the pens are red. How many is that?

Show answer

Method 2

Find x% of a quantity by multiplying that quantity by x/100

 This combines the division and multiplication of Method 1 into one sum.

Questions

Q1. In a class of 25 pupils, 24% live in a flat. How many pupils live in a flat?
Q2. Last year Sam earned £20,000. This year her pay has increased by 8%.
a) By how much money has Sam's pay increased?
b) What is her new salary

Q. The charge for leaving a caravan on a campsite for six months is £330 + VAT.

VAT is 17.5%. What is the total cost of leaving a caravan on the site for a year?

3. Find 17% of £200

£42

£36

£34

4. John invests £2500 and earns 8% interest. How much interest does he
receive?

£200

£250

£500

5. A computer costs £1200. It is reduced to £1140. What is the saving made as

a percent?

Ratios
If you are making orange squash and you mix one part orange to four parts water, then
the ratio of orange to water will be 1:4 (1 to 4).

• If you use 1 litre of orange, you will use 4 litres of water (1:4).
• If you use 2 litres of orange, you will use 8 litres of water (2:8).

• If you use 10 litres of orange, you will use 40 litres of water (10:40).

These ratios are all equivalent

1:4 = 2:8 = 10:40
Both sides of the ratio can be multiplied or divided by the same number to give an
equivalent ratio.

Q.You want to make 7.5 litres of orange squash, how many litres of orange do you
need?

Question

Q.Write the ratio 40:28 in its simplest form

Q. Dave and Lisa win £500 between them. They agree to divide the money in the ratio
2:3.
How much does each person receive?

Example

A model boat is made to a scale of 1:20 (1 to 20). This scale can be applied to any units,
so 1mm measured on the model is 20mm on the actual boat, 1cm measured on the
model is 20cm on the actual boat, and so on.

Question

a) If the 1:20 model boat is 15cm wide, how wide is the actual boat?
b) If the boat has a mast of height 4m, how high is the mast on the model

Example

The scale of a map is 1:50 000. A distance is measured as 3cm on the map.
How many cm, m and km is this equivalent to in real life?

1 cm on the map represents 50 000cm. Therefore, 3cm on the map represents 150
000cm.
To convert from cm to m, divide by 100.
150 000cm ÷ 100 = 1500m
To convert from m to km divide by 1000.
1500m ÷ 1000 = 1.5km

Question

Q. The scale of a map is 1:50 000. What distance on the map will represent 5km?

Approximation/Rounding

Approximation - Rounding to the nearest whole number

It is not always necessary to give the exact number. For example, if there were 54 785
inhabitants in a town, you could say that its population was approximately 55 000.

By doing this we have rounded 54 785 to the nearest thousand to give 55 000.

Rounding to the nearest 1000

What is 1484.5 to the nearest 1000?

It is between 1000 and 2000, but it is closer to 1000, so round down.
1484.5 rounded to the nearest thousand is 1000.

Rounding to the nearest 100

What is 1484.5 to the nearest 100?

1484.5 is between 1400 and 1500, but it is closer to 1500, so round up.
1484.5 rounded to the nearest hundred is 1500.

Rounding to the nearest 10

1484.5 lies between 1480 and 1490, but it is closer to 1480, so round down.
1484.5 rounded to the nearest ten is 1480.
Rounding to the nearest whole number

1484.5 lies between 1484 and 1485 and it is exactly halfway between them. In this
situation round up.
1484.5 rounded to the nearest whole number is 1485.

Rounding to the nearest half a kilogram

Half a kilogram is 0.5kg = 500grams

If we were to round 1484grams to the nearest half a kilogram, we can see 1484 lies
between 1000 and 1500, is it above 1250 and therefore nearest to 1500, we round to
1500g = 1.5kg

Q. A zoo keeper weighs a baby elephant, it weighs 87kg, what is this rounded to the
nearest 5kg?

Percentages, Decimals & Fractions Mini Test.

1. What is 36 minutes as a fraction of 1 hour?

3/5

2/3

1/4

2. What is 12/25 as a decimal?

0.5

0.48

0.4
3. Greeta scored 42 out of 50 for her Maths exam. What percentage did she get
for Maths?

84%

82%

75%

4. According to the local paper, only 20% of Whiteburn's rugby supporters are
women. Gary says that is equivalent to 1 in 5, whereas Ed says that is
equivalent to 1 in 20. Who is correct?

Gary

Ed

Neither of them

5. 6/10 of the delegates at a conference are women. What percentage are

men?

50%

35%

40%

6. What is 13/25 as a percentage?

52%

65%

60%