'Finding % parts' tutor notes

The 'Finding % parts' module is aimed at Level 1 of the Basic Skills Curriculum in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
This module covers material in N2/L1.9 by looking at finding percentage parts of whole number quantities. It shows the equivalences between percentages and fractions and between percentages and decimals. It gives two methods for working out percentage parts: one using equivalent fractions and one using decimal equivalents. There are also some shortcuts for finding common percentage parts.

We'd love to hear your comments on the module; do you like the activity and the factsheets? What do you think of the worksheets? Send in your and your students' feedback to skillswise.feedback@bbc.co.uk.

How does this tie in with the new curriculums?

• England
  N2/L1.9 - Find simple percentage parts of quantities and measurements.
  
• Wales
  As England.
• Northern Ireland
  As England.
• Scotland
  See www.aloscotland.com for details of the Scottish curriculum.

In the Skillswise module you'll find:

Finding % parts factsheets
You'll find curriculum references in the top right corner of the factsheets.
There are six factsheets for this module, each on 'print-out-and-keep' sheets:

• Factsheet 1 - Introduction and some links to related modules on fractions and percentages
• Factsheet 2 - Percentages and the equivalent fractions
• Factsheet 3 - Finding percentage parts using a fraction based method
• Factsheet 4 - Percentages and equivalent decimals
• Factsheet 5 - Finding percentage parts using a decimal based method
• Factsheet 6 - Some shortcuts for finding 75%, 5% and 20%

Finding % parts activities
There are 2 activities in this module to help learn equivalences between percentages and fractions and to practise the 'fraction method' dsecribed in the factsheets.

       1. The first activity can be used for investigation by learners and demonstration by the tutor. In the activity percentages are represented side by side with fractions to make comparisons possible.

The learner can experiment freely by choosing from the numbers at side of the screen and dragging them onto the blackboard. The percentages and fractions are then represented in the graphics. Learners can experiment with changing the numbers and seeing the same percentage or fraction represented in each of the four different ways.

The activity is open-ended and could be used to set investigations and tasks for learners. For example it could be used as follows:

    - Can you find a fraction to match each percentage? (Note that it is impossible to match 5% with the given numbers. This can be used as a prompt to ask why this is and what fraction would be needed to match it. You could go on to discuss what 1% would correspond to.)
    - Keep the percentage the same and find many fractions to match it. Eg. How many ways can you match 50%, or 33 1/3%?
    - With two people, one can make a fraction and the other try to match it with a percentage. If a match is not possible discuss what would match. How close can you get with the given percentage options?

       2. In the second simple activity you can put in a fraction and a whole number and see the computer work out the answer. For example you could put in " of 30" and the activity will show the working and the answer.
This activity follows one particular method. It first divides by the denominator (to find one fraction part) then it multiplies that answer by the numerator. Answers are expressed in fractions throughout, rather than moving into decimals. There is cancelling down where appropriate, which is often shown as a separate step.
This activity is ideal for demonstration by the tutor or for investigation by the learner.

TOP TIP! To see an activity completely full screen, press the F11 key on the keyboard. This takes away the distraction of the top browser bar. To bring the browser bar back, just press F11 again!

To play the activities you will need to have Flash Version 5 plug-in for you browser. If you are not sure just give it a go. If it doesn't work then see the 'Technical help' section below on this page on how to get the Flash plug-in.

Finding % parts worksheets
There are 4 worksheets. You'll find curriculum references in the top right hand corner of the worksheets. They are printable resources to carry on the work learners have done online.

• Worksheet 1 - Diagrams to show percentages
• Worksheet 2 - Finding a 10% service charge
• Worksheet 3 - Finding percentages of quantities
• Worksheet 4 - Finding percentage parts of amounts and working backwards from part to whole.

Technical help:

To get the most out of this topic area you need the following 'plug-ins':

• Flash
  The game in this topic section uses Flash. This is free to download and should only take a few minutes. You can follow the BBC WebWise instructions to download it to your machine.
  Find out more.

If you don't have Flash the same learning points are covered in the quiz and in the worksheets and factsheets.
If you are new to the web, why not try the BBC WebWise online course, Becoming WebWise? It's free, you can do it in your own time from any computer and it will take you through everything you need to know to use the web successfully in your teaching.
Get WebWise.

You can find out more about the technical requirements for Skillswise in our Help - Technical Information section.

Taking it further:

With Skillswise
Learners will find these related modules useful.
- If you want a reminder of how percentages work take a look at the module called Introduction to %
- If you want to learn more about percentages and fractions look at Comparing fractions and percentages
- If you want to learn more about percentages and decimals look at Comparing decimals and percentages
- To learn more about finding fraction parts of quantities look at Finding fraction parts
- For a very first introduction to fractions take a look at Introduction to fractions

When covering this topic your students might like to try some In the news quizzes which use percentages:

• Story from June 2002 about One in four Britons 'in debt'.
  This news story has a 10 question quiz which mixes questions on fractions, decimals and percentages.
  

Find more In the news archive stories for 'Number crunchers'.

Don't forget to visit Lesson plans and Teaching inspirations for more ideas for teaching percentages.

With the web
Here are some suggestions of other places on the web you might find useful for teaching percentages:

• University of Plymouth - Introduction to Percentages
  Interactive, clickable percentages diagrams and questions. Your answers are marked as you go with a score updated at the bottom of the page. The page is part of the University of Plymouth's innovation in teaching maths section and goes a little beyond the basic percentages in places, stretching up to Level 2 of the curriculum in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Please note that the BBC is not responsible for the content of other websites.

Do you know of any great online resources for percentages? Tell us about them!