Decimals, Fractions & Percentages
Students learn about and practice converting between fractions, decimals and percentages. Using a LEGO® MINDSTORMS® robot and a touch sensor, each group inputs a fraction of its choosing. Team members convert this same fraction into a decimal, and then a percentage via hand calculations, and double check their work using the EV3 robot. Then they observe the robot moving forward and record that distance. Students learn that the distance moved is a fraction of the full distance, based on the fraction that they input, so if they input ½, the robot moves half of the original distance. From this, students work backwards to compute the full distance. Groups then compete in a game in which they are challenged to move the robot as close as possible to a target distance by inputting a fraction into the EV3 bot.
Students use LEGO EV3 robots to learn conversions between decimals, fractions and percentages.Copyright 2013 Javed Narain, AMPS GK-12 Program, Polytechnic Institute of NYU
Understanding the concepts of decimals, fractions and percentages and how to convert between them is fundamental to the field of engineering. Engineers, such as civil and mechanical engineers, use these three forms of numbers in endless different applications. For example, the factor of safety for a structural member may be represented by a fraction or a decimal. In the field of risk assessment, analysis often includes applying a probability to a certain event; this probability ranges from 0 to 1 (in decimal form), which can be converted into a percentage (0% to 100%). Although decimals, fractions and percentages all essentially represent the same thing, it is important to be able to fluently convert between the three forms for situations in which it is more beneficial to express a number in one format over another.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Convert between fractions, decimals and percentages.
- Explain how fractions, decimals and percentages are related to each other.