A QUestion For The Maths Minded.....

[Friar]

Last night I was helping my 12 year old daughter revise for a maths test on fractions.

We had this question:

In a school,

[Rattler]

1/2 x 1/10 = (1 x 1)/(2 x 10) = 1/20

multiply the top numbers (numerators) together over the bottom numbers (denominators) together.

[Blairgowrie]

Try using 100 as total in school. That means 50 are girls. One tenth are left handed which is 5. That means 5 out of 100 are left handed girls. 5 over 100 equals 1/20.

Think that is right.

[Rattler]

Blairgowrie also has a good way of solving a situation like this - throw some easy numbers at it.

BTW - you multiply them together because in math, "1/10th of 1/2", the "of" means x (multiply.)

2 x 4 = 8 means 2 groups "of" four.

[Friar]

Thanks Pete, but could you explain why you multiply the 1/2 by the 1/10 for me please?

[GreyKnight]

Wikipedia helps me...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraction_%28mathematics%29

[BBloke]

It's all down to the "of" as Pete says.

[Rattler]

you multiply them because you have 1/2 of a group of 1/10.

[Friar]

Thanks guys for your replies. They have helped...I think.

@Pete

you multiply them because you have 1/2 of a group of 1/10

The answer is 1/20.

I am confused by what you say in the above quote however. The question states that 1/10 of the 1/2 are left handed not 1/2 of the 1/10

[Rattler]

That's also correct; multiplication does not worry about order, and without checking, I reversed them.

1.

[Friar]

Many thanks Pete, or should that be sir?

[BBloke]

How can I make 10 out of 9 matches without breaking one?

[Friar]

\

[BBloke]

Hehehehe.. I just spell

TEN

with the nine matches.

[JensenPark]

Last night I was helping my 12 year old daughter revise for a maths test on fractions.

We had this question:

In a school,

[BBloke]

Probably the same amount as boys!

[Rattler]

Many thanks Pete, or should that be sir?

Nae, mate - I work for a living and my parents were married when I was born.....

[Blairgowrie]

Boy, you guys can really work a thread.

[BBloke]

Yeah.. Gotta love JP for throwing in the Psycho bash.

[BadAim]

Boy, you guys can really work a thread.

We can work a sheep to, but that's for a different thread.........