Converting Fractions to

Decimals

Lesson 5.2
AMSTI 2006
 Discussion
• Who can explain what
a fraction is?
• Who can explain what
a decimal is?
• Can you find a
decimal that is
equivalent to ¼?
• What method did you
use to find this?
 Problem of the Day
Complete the following within 1 minute.

Compare 5/13 to 4/9

Compare 0.384 to 0.4

 Egyptian Fractions
 The Egyptians of 3000 BC had an interesting way to
represent fractions.
Although they had a notation for 1/2 and 1/3 and 1/4
and so on (these are called reciprocals or unit
fractions since they are 1/n for some number n), their
notation did not allow them to write 2/5 or 3/4 or 4/7 as
we would today. Instead, they were able to write any
fraction as a sum of unit fractions where all the unit
fractions were different.

 A fraction written as a sum of distinct unit fractions is

called an Egyptian Fraction.
 Why use Egyptian Fractions
Today?
 For two very good reasons:
 The first reason is a practical one.
Suppose you have 5 sacks of grain to share between 8 people, so each
would receive 5/8 of a sack of grain in terms of present-day fractions. How
are you going to do it simply, without using a calculator? You could try
pouring the 5 sacks of grain into 8 heaps and, by carefully comparing them,
perhaps by weighing them against each other, balance them so they are all
the same! But is there a better way? We will see that using unit fractions
makes this easier.

 The second reason is that it is much easier to compare fractions using

Egyptian fractions than it is by using our present-day notation for fractions!
For instance: Which is bigger: 5/8 or 4/7?

 but remember - you are not allowed to use your calculator to answer this!
Again unit fractions can make this much simpler.

 On this page we see how both of these work in Egyptian fractions.

 Video

Lets watch a video to preview how to

convert fractions to decimals, the
Egyptian way!
 Converting Fractions to
Decimals
 To convert a Fraction to a Decimal manually,
follow these steps:

 Step 1: Find a number you can multiply by the bottom

of the fraction to make it 10, or 100, or 1000, or any 1
followed by 0s.

 Step 2: Multiply both top and bottom by that number.

 Step 3. Then write down just the top number, putting

the decimal place in the correct spot (one space from
the right for every zero in the bottom number)
 Method #1: Converting with
Proportions
 Example # 1: Express 3/4 as a
Decimal
 Step 1: We can multiply 4 by 25 to
become 100
 Step 2: Multiply top and bottom by 25

3 = 75
4 100
 Example # 1 continued….
 Step 3: Write down 75 with the decimal
place 2 spaces from the right (because
100 has 2 zeros);
 Answer = 0.75

 Can you explain what we just did?

 Try to express ¼ as a decimal using
method # 1.
 Method #2: Convert by
Dividing
 Example #1: to write 5/8 as a decimal,
we need to calculate 5 ÷ 8:
0.625
8 √ 5.000

So = 0.625 as a decimal.

 Try this example: write 4/5 as a decimal

using division (method #2).
 Skittles Activity

1.Sort your skittles into groups by color.

2.Find the fraction of each color.
3.Convert your fractions into a decimals.
4.Record your data on chart paper.
5.Compare and discuss with the class.
 Lets Practice!!

 We are going to use this website to

fish out some fractions and decimals.
 Lets see how well you understand this
lesson.
 Go to www.iknowthat.com
 Select “Math” in the left margin
 Select “Fishy Fractions”
 Select “Fractions and Decimal Match”
If you still don’t understand…