Fractions and Decimals

March 12, 2023

Scheme of work: GCSE Higher: Year 9: Term 1: Fractions and Decimals

Prerequisite Knowledge

Express one quantity as a fraction of another, where the fraction is less than 1 or greater than 1
interpret fractions as operators
estimate answers; check calculations using approximation and estimation, including answers obtained using technology
order positive and negative decimals

Success Criteria

Apply the four operations, including formal written methods, simple fractions (proper and improper)
express one quantity as a fraction of another, where the fraction is less than 1 or greater than 1
apply the four operations, including formal written methods, to mixed numbers both positive and negative;
calculate exactly with fractions

Key Concepts

All rational numbers are written using exact proper or improper fractions.
When adding or subtracting fractions the denominators need to be equal.
Dividing fractions is equivalent to multiplying by a reciprocal.
When calculating with decimal numbers encourage students to estimate the solution as means to check their working.
Students may need to recap multiplying and diving by powers of ten when calculating the product of decimal numbers.
Use equivalent fractions when performing long division. Simplifying the fractions help to break down the calculation.

Common Misconceptions

A fraction with a smaller denominator has a lesser value.
Fractions such as 3/5 can incorrectly assumed to have a decimal equivalence of 3.5.
Students incorrectly consider multiplications to always increase a number and divisions to decrease.
Students fail to spot incorrect calculations due to not estimating solutions.

Fractions and Decimals Resources

Mr Mathematics Blog

Sequences and Series

November 21, 2023

Edexcel A-Level Mathematics Year 2: Pure 2: Algebraic Methods

T- Formulae

November 5, 2023

Scheme of work: A-Level Further Mathematics: Further Pure 1: The t – formulae

Regression, Correlation and Hypothesis Testing

September 24, 2023

A-Level Scheme of work: Edexcel A-Level Mathematics Year 2: Statistics: Regression, Correlation and Hypothesis Testing