Arithmetic Grade Five

Lesson One hundred and Thirty-four: Percent, Decimal, Fraction

Sometimes a fraction doesn't convert nicely into a decimal value. Take the following example: 


	Convert 4/11 to a decimal and percent:

	       .36363
	    ----------
	 11 | 4.000000
	      3 3
	     --------
	        70
	        66
	     --------
	         40
		 33
	     --------
	          70
	          66
	     --------
	           40
	           33
	     --------
		etc.

	If we attempt to keep dividing until there is no remainder
	we will find that there is no end to the division we must
	do. So, we will have to be content with rounding off this
	quotient to the nearest 100th.

	Rounding .36363 to the nearest 100th yields .36 since the
	digit in the thousandths column is less than five.

	Ofcourse, .36 will become 36% when converted to a percent.
In the next couple activities we will round all our answers off to the nearest hundredth (if necessary). Here's another example: 

	Convert 3/8 to decimal and percent:

	       .375
            --------
	  8 | 3.000
	      2 4
             --------
	        60
	        56
             --------
	         40
	         40
             --------
	          0

	When we round .375 to the nearest 100th we get .38 since
	there is a five in the thousandths column.

	Converting .38 to percent we get 38%.

Now you get to try a few for yourself.

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