THE CORE of MATH: UNDERSTANDING PART/WHOLE RELATIONS

Nearly all students can do decimal/fractions when counting money or making change. The relation of parts (Quarters) to wholes (Dollars) is a lot more concrete to them, and a field where their past experience helps. But fewer than 25% of students can consistently do Percents, Decimals and Fractions well. This site has over 40 valuable links centered on this core math area. It can be a KEY resource for you in teaching, a site you may want to put on your own web page for students and their families, and one you may want to use to brush up on this critical area of math.

Understanding systems, being able to analyze situations, as well as more specific functions as doing taxes and shopping for bargains, are all based in this type of thinking. It really separates adults from children when it comes to both math and life! Give it the priority it is due!

NUMBER SENSE and OPERATIONS

Page 7: Strand Review
Pages 19-20: Grades 5-6 Learning Standards
Page 43: Grades 7-8 Learning Standards

Page #'s Refer to Mass. Curriculum Math Frameworks

REPRESENT EQUIVALENT FORMS OF NUMBERS
Relationships among Fractions, Decimals and Percents

  1. Rick's Math Web -- A great page from a great site! Lots of tutorials, demonstrations, worksheets and activities on fractions from Rick's Math Web!
  2. Fraction Conversion -- This amazing site has more activities than you can shake a fraction at ... all designed to help students understand fractions, their properties, and how they relate to integers and decimals. Included on this page are calculators which convert mixed numbers to improper fractions, compute all factors of a given integer, calculate Greatest Common Factors and Least Common Multiples, and reduce proper fractions.

    Check out these interactive quizzes! Students are given multiple choice math questions on the topic of their choice (topics include Whole Numbers, Fractions, Decimals, Ratio, Percent, Units of Measurement, Metric System, Rational Numbers, Geometry, Algebra) and can select specialty problems within each topic! After submitting an answer, students receive automated feedback, and the site keeps a "scorecard" of the problems completed

  3. All About FractionsFrom AAAmath.com, dozens of lessons and activities surrounding fractions, including converting fractions to decimals, percents, and scientific notation.
  4. Fresh Baked Fractions -- Fun from funbrain.com! An online game where the goal is to find the fraction that is not equivalent to the others! Choose from four levels of difficulty.
  5. Fraction and Decimal Drills -- Dozens of online worksheets for practicing essential fraction and decimal skills, along with a brief online fraction tutorial.
  6. Fractions and Decimals - Webmath -- From the Discovery School Online, a great series of lessons and demonstrations on Fractions and Decimals.
  7. Decimal Conversions -- A comprehensive site with several activities for converting decimals to fractions (and vice-versa)!
  8. Decimals to Fractions -- It may be easy to convert a fraction into a decimal, but what about converting decimal into fractions? This applet page lets you type in a decimal, and will find several fractions that are perilously close to being equal
  9. Percentages From George Mason University, an overview of computing percentages. Several real-world examples! Several helpful hints, including the conversion of fractions to percentages.
  10. Percent Lots of activities - including calculators and practice tests - that explain percentages and their relationship to decimals and fractions.

  11. Converting between Percentages and Fractions
  12. What is a percentage?

    SCIENTIFIC NOTATION

  13. Scientific Notation - Regent's Prep Site -- A great site developed by the New York Dept. of Education to help students prepare for their mathematics exams! This page includes the following lessons and activities: Introduction to Scientific Notation, Changing Standard Form to Scientific Notation, Changing Scientific Notation to Standard Form, Multiplication/Division with Scientific Notation, Practice with Scientific Notation.
  14. AAAmath - Scientific Notation -- From AAAmath.com, great lessons and activities surrounding scientific notation.
  15. Scientific Notation Basics -- This site explains the basics of scientific notation, and includes several challenging problems along the way!
  16. Powers and Exponents
  17. Expanded Notation and Decimals
  18. Scientific Notation -- These three pages provide a comprehensive overview of scientific notation, exponents and expanded forms. Dozens of activities, and several quizzes!
  19. What is an exponent?
  20. Properties of Exponents
  21. Exponents/Reciprocals -- From George Mason University, an entertaining, brief introduction to exponent concepts and terminology, an overview of several key exponent concepts, including reciprical and distributive properties, and a detailed look at the reciprical properties of exponents.

    Dr. Math - Lessons in Scientific Notation

  22. Scientific Notation
  23. Scientific Notation: Conversions
  24. Scientific Notation: Exponents
  25. Scientific Notation: Why Use Exponents?
  26. Scientific Notation: Significant Digits
  27. Scientific Notation: Positive and Negative Exponents
  28. Scientific Notation: Rounding to One-Digit Accuracy

    RATIOS, PROPORTIONS, PERCENT

    Ratio, Proportion, Percent - Regent's Prep Site
  29. Proportions Lesson
  30. Proportions Practice
  31. Ratio Lesson
  32. Ratio Practice
  33. Percent Lesson
  34. Percent Practice
  35. Proportions
  36. Rate and Ratio
  37. Percent -- These three pages provide a comprehensive overview of ratio, proportion and percents. Dozens of activities, and several quizzes!
  38. Ratios and Proportions
  39. Percentages -- From George Mason University, these pages provide definitions and explanations of key concepts surrounding ratio and proportions, and computing percentages.
  40. Word Problem Drills - Percentage -- A great on-line interactive drill! See how accurately you can solve word problems on Percentage! Immediate feedback!
  41. Percentages from Data -- Dr. Math describes how to calculate statistical percentages from real-world data, using one of the most entertaining student questions ever asked!
  42. Solve for X in a percentage equation -- Dr. Math shows how to calculate percentages algebraically!
  43. Ratio and Proportion PageA wealth of information on ratios and proportions, including a module on distance, rate and time.

    ONE- AND TWO-DIMENSIONAL GRAPHS

  44. Graphing Relations -- Several great activities that provide an excellent introduction and overview to graphing of data!
  45. Graphing on Number Lines -- From Math for Morons Like Us, a series of lessons on how to plot number line graphs!
  46. Graphing Applet -- Great applet that allows you to change dimensions of an equation, and watch how the graph of a line changes!
  47. Graphing Equations -- From Syracuse University, a brief tutorial on graphing equations.

    CHAD OSBORNE
    ozpk@earthlink.net
    WORCESTER STATE COLLEGE, MA 01602-2597

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