Fractions

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History of Fractions

Who first used fractions? Were they always written in the same way? How did fractions reach us here? These are the sorts of questions which this article will answer for you.
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Teaching Fractions With Understanding: Part-Whole Concept

Written for teachers, this article describes four basic approaches children use in understanding fractions as equal parts of a whole.
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Count the Beat

This article, written by Nicky Goulder and Samantha Lodge, reveals how maths and marimbas can go hand-in-hand! Why not try out some of the musical maths activities in your own classroom?
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Tangles

A personal investigation of Conway's Rational Tangles. What were the interesting questions that needed to be asked, and where did they lead?
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Stretching Fractions: A Discussion

This article extends and investigates the ideas in the problem "Stretching Fractions".
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Favourite

There's a Limit

Age

14 to 18

Challenge level

Explore the continued fraction: 2+3/(2+3/(2+3/2+...)) What do you notice when successive terms are taken? What happens to the terms if the fraction goes on indefinitely?
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As Easy as 1,2,3

Age

11 to 14

Challenge level

When I type a sequence of letters my calculator gives the product of all the numbers in the corresponding memories. What numbers should I store so that when I type 'ONE' it returns 1, and when I type 'TWO' it returns 2, and so on.
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Bull's Eye

Age

11 to 14

Challenge level

What fractions of the largest circle are the two shaded regions?
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Racing Odds

Age

11 to 14

Challenge level

In a race the odds are: 2 to 1 against the rhinoceros winning and 3 to 2 against the hippopotamus winning. What are the odds against the elephant winning if the race is fair?
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Water Lilies

Age

11 to 14

Challenge level

There are some water lilies in a lake. The area that they cover doubles in size every day. After 17 days the whole lake is covered. How long did it take them to cover half the lake?