Resource of the Week: percentages

y5 percentage2_large

This week’s resource of the Week highlights the second of our percentages worksheets for Year 5. It is typical of the English that we manage to write per cent in two different ways. Unlike the Americans who use percent we use two words per cent, apart from when we write percentage when we put it altogether.

Anyway, as to the maths: remember that many percentages can be worked out ‘in your head’ by remembering that 10% of an amount is equivalent to dividing the amount by 10. At this stage we will only be dealing with whole tens so it is probably the best approach. Later more complicated percentages will be found by dividing by 100 and multiplying by the percentage.

To find 20% of £350.

Find 10% of £350, which  is £35

If 10% is £35, then 20% will be £35 x 2 = £70.

Percentages (pg 2)

Percentages and Fractions

The relationship between percentages and fractions is one that many children fail to grasp, yet it is essentially quite easy. What is harder, is understanding equivalence and that fractions of the same size can be written in different ways.

100% means 100 out of 100. It can written as a fraction 100/100 and is equivalent to one whole one.

50% means 50 out of 100. it can be written as a fraction 50/100. This can be simplified to 5/10 or 1/2.

20% means 20 out of 100. It can be written as a fraction 20/100. This can be simplified to 2/10 or 1/5.

This exercise looks at multiples of 10% and how they can be shown as fractions. All the fractions can be simplified, at least to tenths. By colouring the shapes it should be clear that, for example colouring 3 out of 10 is the same as colouring 3 tenths which is the same as 30 hundredths, or 30 out of 100 or 30%.

This page can be found in our Year 5 Counting and Number category.

Percentage and fractions

Year 6 maths worksheets: percentages

Percentages can case problems for children of all ages, not just in year 6, the age group that this page is targeted at. The percentage sign % is all around us when we go shopping, usually with money off, but it can often cause confusion with even with adults. Children should be able to relate percentages to fractions and know that:

one whole = 100%

one half = 50%

one quarter = 25%

one tenth = 10%

one hundredth = 1%.

With this knowledge they should be able to work out most problems that they come across, including those on the worksheet here.

How to do percentages