Category: fractions

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A reader in China asked about how to change fractions…not just simple ones, into percent.

“I am trying to assist my 6th grader and my way of doing math works, but it appears complicated when I explain it….”

Professor Homunculus replies:

I know what you mean. I used to be a math teacher, and I understand that each child needs his own method of explanation. There is no “one right way,” but I have learned that there is a need for at least one simple, core explanation (a sort of “summary” or “schematic” explanation) that each teacher can build on.

So, for how to change fractions into percent, I have come up with this:

Read the rest here

This post is about meaning and math

First we’ll learn a math concept - Lowest (or Least) Common Denominator (or LCD). Then we’ll talk about how it’s sometimes used in everyday life.

In layman’s (non-mathematician’s, in this case) terms, the LCD is the largest partition of something that will also go into another thing of the same kind.

What the heck does that mean? (more…)