Ds1's homework! Write these fractions as decimals. How do i explain to him how to do it?

[tortoise]

Not really sure how to do it myself! So how on earth do i explain to him in simple terms how to do it! He is 10 BTW.
Please help.

I think you divide the top bit by the bottom bit.

Someone else will probably be able to explain it better. No mathematician me!

bbe bitesize

GIve me some examples.........
Depends on how deep they are going....

don't do the divide by the bottm and times by the top....

Thanks.
1/2 9/10 7/10 1/8 1/1000 Quite basic ones i guess but as i don't understand myself i don't know how to explain them.

Bitesize looks ok but 'You can use a calculator to turn a fraction into a decimal.
Just divide the numerator by the denominator'. Means zero to me

Ok. I would get a large bit of paper and write numbers from 1 to 100 (take a while!)

Then you copy it a few times.

On one of the rows, you colour in say, every 25 numbers in a different colour. Each section is a quarter, or .25.

On another one, colour every 20, that's .20 - or .2, as if there's an 0 on the end, you ignore it. That's the same as a fifth. because there are 5 sections all in different colours.

Then on one, you colour, say, numbers 1-37 in one colour, that is .37 or just over a third. Or whatever.

Easiest way I can think of.

HTH?

Think of a cake sliced into 100 slices (or use a pound = 100 pennies)

Half of that cake is either 50 slices or 50 pence so it would be 0.5

7/10's would be 7 x 10(slices or pennies) to 70 (slices or pennies) therefore 0.7

Does that help - tell me which example makes sense & I'll do the others

Ok so he will have been doing decimals and thinking of 0.1 as 1/10 (the digit 1 is in the tenth column) and 0.01 as 1/100 (1 digit in hundredth column).

so 0.9 - the digit 9 is in the tenths column so nine tenths or 9/10

does that make any more sense?

is he Y5?

Explain to him that decimals are all parts of 10, and fractions are all also parts of a whole.

The decimal whole can be written as 1.0 and the fraction whole as 1

Therefore 1/2 as a fraction will be 0.5, as 5 is half of 10.

He can also make the bottom number of the fraction into 10 ie. 2 x 5 = 10

The top number of the fraction also must be multiplied by the same number ie. 1 x 5 = 5

Therefore is 5/10 making it easier to see that the answer is 5 parts of 10 ie. 0.5

So 1/2 = 5/10 = 0.5

Yes you 0.9=9/10 post is correct.

The 1/8 - he will have been doing halving multiple times....

finding an eight bu=y halving a number, halving it again and halving it again,,,,

Are you even more confused yet tortoise?

My dd's (10 as well) maths teacher loves sending home horrible maths h/work for the parents to try to explain

Thanks Katy. I think that makes sense! So 2/3 is 2x3 0.6?
Just need to get ds1 to understand......

tortoise - he needs to understand WHY he is doing it - not just 2x3 is 6 so 0.6 (actually 0.66666666etc)

He is y6.
< BOOM > torts brain explodes!!

popsyal - is he 'allowed to use a calculator - if he is top divided by bottom is easiest (and would surely be hte obvious way t odo 1/8).

Totrtoise 2/3 = 0.66 = 2 divided by 3

So 1/8 is 1 divided by 8 which if I remember right is 0.125 (check by multiplying by 8 to get 1)

I always do the sum then check by doing it backwards

I teach year 6 maths too

I would say no to calculator unless teacher has specified it....he will have been working on it in class without probably

Sorry my brain is virus addled. I thought popsy was OP, I thought she was askking for clarification in the 0.9=9/10 post....sorry, sorry, sorry

Maths these days is all about understand WHY before finding the short cuts. Which is a Good Thing IMHO

lol

OMG! This is hard . I think i better go back to school . mathes never was my strong point.

I am glad to see a y6 mathes teacher here to help.

Can he do the division longhand on paper. Division is surely the 'easiest' way to work it out whether it is on paper or with calculator.