TTC MATHEMATICS MODULE 2 SHORT NOTES

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This Is Lenia Lufeyo ( Mrs. Shaba) one of the author of

this book. She is a qualified teacher (IPTE 17 Teacher
from Blantyre Teachers Training College). She has vast
knowledge and skills of teaching.

If you want my books, then call me through these numbers

+265 881 495 244 / 0994 239 090 or halla me on whatsapp
through these numbers 0996 096 364 / 0883 222 338

I would like to thank Madam Chauluka (Lecturer at Mchinji TCC)

for paying me Fees when I was at Blantyre TTC. I also thank Mr.
Banda (Deputy Principal at Blantyre Teachers Training College)
and Mr. Eneya Phiri (Head of Maths Department Lecturer at
Blantyre TTC) for the support. Indeed, you did a great job and I
really appreciate. May God bless you.
I also acknowledge the following lecturers at BTTC: Dr.
Kwerengwe (BTTC Principal) Mr. Nkhoma, Mr. Twaya, Mr.
Kamthudzi. Madam Milimo, Madam Mbale (Now Rumphi TTC),
Madam Chiombo, Madam Bandason, Mr. Office, Mr. Mengezi,
Mr. Kachingwe, Mr. Masikini, Mr. Dunga (Chikwawa TTC)
Am proud of you Lecturers… you are the Best ever

THIS BOOK IS EDITED BY THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE

Madam Stella Stima Chauluka (Lecturer) - Mchinji T TC
Mr. Eneya Phiri (Lecturer) - Blantyre TTC

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Table of Contents

UNIT 1 Teaching of processing data ……………………………………….. 5

UNIT 2 Teaching measure of central tendency ……………………….. 12
UNIT 3 Teaching of HCF and LCM ……………………………………………. 18
UNIT 4 Teaching of fractions …………………………………………………... 38
UNIT 5 Teaching of decimals …………………………………………………… 74
UNIT 6 Teaching of approximation and estimation …………………. 85
UNIT 7 Teaching of rate, ratio and proportion ………………………… 95
UNIT 8 Teaching of capacity and volume ……………………………… 110

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Topic 1: Teaching of Processing Data

Define the following mathematical terms
(a) Processing data
 Processing data is process which involves gathering information, organizing
and interpreting processed data.
(b) Data
 Data is any set of collected information

What prior knowledge do learners have on the concept of data?

 Knowledge of arranging of things
 Knowledge of gathering/collecting information when they are playing
 Knowledge of arranging things in order
 Knowledge of comparing things
 Knowledge of recording number of things
 Knowledge of counting number of objects

What perquisite knowledge do learners have on this topic?

 Addition of numbers
 Division of numbers
 Drawing lines
 Measuring lines
 Measuring angles
 Drawing circles.

Explain any three activities that may elicit the learner’s prior
knowledge on processing data
 Arranging things in order
 Comparing things
 Recording number of things
 Gathering different objects
 Counting number of object

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Explain how data is organized and interpreted

 Through tables
 Through graphs

What are the various sources where data is collected?

 People
 Newspapers
 Radio
 TV
 Books
 Phones
 Internet

Describe any four ways in which learners learn the concepts of data
 As they are playing games involving piling up of objects
 As they are asking questions (inquiring) on anything they want to know
 As they draw lines, circles and other geometrical shapes
 As they learn geometrical shapes
 As they are using number lines
 As they learn the concept of numbers

Explain some of the ways of presenting data

 It is presented in form of a table
 It is also presented in form of graphs

Why do people present the data in tables and graphs?

 For easy storage
 Easy to read
 Easy to interpret

Mention one type of a table which is commonly used when presenting

data
 Frequency distribution table

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Describe the types of graphs that are taught in primary school

curriculum
 Physical graph - This uses real objects e.g. when learners are queuing at the
assembly.
 Picture graph – This is also called Pictograph. Real objects are represented
by drawing.
 Bar graph – This is a representation of data on a Cartesian plane which uses
rectangular bars with lengths proportional to the values of the items. The
bars are either horizontal or vertical.
 Line graph – This is drawn by joining coordinates or pair of corresponding
values of the given data in both axes. This type of graph shows trends or
general patterns in things for example, antenatal card, and temperature.
 Pie chart – This is a graph where data is represented in sectors. The angle
of the sector is proportional to the amount of data.

Explain how you can teach learners to draw pie chart for the first
time.
 This is drawn by converting the data given into degrees proportionally.

What are the importance of teaching this topic “Teaching of

processing of data” to learners?
 It provides knowledge and survival skills such as decision making and
problem solving
 It will also help learners in later years to use the competences acquired by
pursuing different careers like research, accounting and economics.
 Increases productivity and profit
 It gives more accurate and reliable information
 For easy storage, distributing and reporting
 Leads to a further cost reduction

Explain some of the ways how you can help your learners to simplify
the task of processing of data

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 Through the use of calculators

 Through the use of computers

Define the term graph

 A graph is a tool on which one writes data

What are some of the resources that a teacher can use to teach this
topic?
 Graphs drawn on a chart paper
 Books, pens, and pencils which can be used to form physical graphs
 Crayons for shading the graphs
 Rulers

What are the two importance of graphs?

 It is used to interpret the data
 It helps to see characteristics and trends that a data set displays

How can you assist learners who face some challenges when they are
processing data using graphs?
 Through the use of appropriate teaching, learning and assessment
methodologies

Describe the order of teacher of graphs to learners in upper and lower

primary school
 Learners are first introduced to physical graphs, then picture graphs, bar
graphs and finally line graphs.

With the use of illustration, explain how you can introduce physical
graphs in primary schools
 Ask learners to collect similar objects which are regular in shape e.g. books
 Ask learners to put the books in piles according to subjects

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 Ask learners to display their graphs to other learners for peer assessment

Explain how you can develop picture graph

 After presenting physical graphs, ask learners to draw representations
(pictures) of the physical graphs
 This is so because picture graphs are developed from physical graphs

How can you assess learners on the topic data processing, give any
two points
 Through observation
 Through oral questions
 Through written exercises
 Through peer assessment

Explain any three techniques that a teacher can use during data
collection
 Through observation
 Through interviews
 By using questionnaires
 By using observation checklist
 By using attendance register

What are some of the methods that a teacher can use to teach this
topic?

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 Re café
 Bus stop
 Ball game
 Think pair share
 Think ink pair share

What are the importance of processing data and its application in

everyday life?
 It provides knowledge and survival skills such as decision making and
problem solving.
 Helps learners in pursuing careers like research, accounting and economics
with easy.
 Helps a person to be a good analyzer of things and make informed
decisions
 Helps one to make clear presentation of ideas and facts

What are the errors and misconceptions on this topic of data

processing?
1. Wrong scale used
Cause - This can occur due to lack of knowledge by the teacher and lack of
understanding by the learner.
Solutions - Use correct and appropriate teaching and learning resources
 Use of simpler similar examples
 Use internet videos
2. Joining points which are not adjacent
Cause – Lack of accuracy
 Use of wrong scale
Solution – Use of suitable scale to plot a graph
- Be accurate when plotting a graph
3. Unable to plot graphs using required scale
Cause – Failure to interpret the scale

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Solution – When teaching emphasize on scale drawing

4. Unable to write the variables on the right axis
Cause – Lack of knowledge on dependent and independent variables
Solution – Use appropriate teaching and learning resources

5. Failure to interpret graphs using correct scale

Cause – Learners fail to interpret the scale
Solution – Give more time to practice and more examples on how to
interpret graphs

6. Taking or treating graphs as pictures

Cause – Graphs are coloured so learners think that all coloured drawings
are pictures
Solution – Give them more practice and thorough explanations

Short exercise
1. During Teaching Practice (TP), 60% of the student teachers eat Soya
pieces, 10% of the student teachers eat Meat and 30% of the student
teachers eat fish. Present this information in the pie chart. Develop a
11 marks marking key for this question.

Answers
 Firstly we need to change the percentage to degrees
 Thus,
60% of 360 = 216o ……….… 2 marks
10% of 360 = 36o ……………. 2 marks
30% of 360 = 108o …………. 2 marks
Diagram of pie chart ………. 5 marks

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Topic 2 : Teaching Measure of Central

Tendency
Define Measure of central tendency
 Measure of central tendency is a branch of Mathematics which deals with
statistical concepts which are mean, mode and median.

Describe three descriptive statistical concepts involved in this topic of

Measure of central Tendency
 Mean:- This is a sum of the data divided by the number of the items in the
set of data
 Median:- This is the middle number in the set of data that is written in
order
 Mode:- This is the score which is appearing most in the set of data

Explain how you can calculate the values of three descriptive

statistical concepts of measure of central tendency
 Mean is calculated by adding all data sets and dividing the sum by the total
number items.
 Mode is the value that occurs or appears most in a set of data.
 Median is defined as the middle number in a set of data which is in either
descending or ascending order. Firstly arrange the numbers in a correct
order i.e. ascending or descending order. In some cases, it is possible to have
no mode in a set of data, and sometimes a list can have one mode or more
than one mode

Examples 1
Consider the following data;
8,7,5,8,4,8,9,6,8,7, 4,3,1,4,2,2,4,3,1,2.
a) Calculate mean, mode and median using the data.
b) Think of approaches you would use to collect data.

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Solution
a) Mean is a sum of the data divided by the number of the items in the set of
data
8+7+5+8+4+8+9+6+8+7+4+3+1+4+2+2+4+3+1+2
=
20
96
=
20
= 4.8

b) Mode is the value that occurs or appears most in a set of data i.e modes are
4 and 8

c) Median is the middle number in a set of data which is in either descending or

ascending order. Firstly arrange the numbers in ascending order
Thus, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5,6,7,7,8,8,8,8,9.
Then find the middle number i.e. 4 and 4
Since there are two then you are going to add then divide by 2 ,

4+4
Thus, = 4
2

Example 2
An average age for 15 learners in standard 6 class at Domasi Primary school is 12
years.
a) Calculate the number of learners in class.
b) Generate a set of data for the 15 learners whose average is 12.

Solution
a) There are 15 learners
b) Here we need to come up with the set of data of ages of learners
consisting of 15 items and they should give you a sum of 180
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑢𝑚
 Thus, = Average
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑠

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 Given that average = 12 and total number of items = 15

 So, let’s find the total sum = 12 × 15 = 180
 Now select 15 numbers randomly that will give you a sum of 300
 Thus, 14,10,9,11, 13, 12, 14,10,12,11, 13, 12, 14, 13, 12

Example 3
In a football team, 7 players had an average mass of 55kg and the average mass of
the remaining 4 players was 61kg. What was the average mass for the 11 players?

Solution
 Firstly, let’s find the total sum of mass of 7 players and 4 players
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑢𝑚
 Average =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑠
 Total sum of 7 players = 7 × 55kg = 385kg
 Total sum of 4 players = 4 × 61kg = 244kg
 Then add the total sums of 7 and 4 players i.e. (385 + 244) = 629kg
 Then find the average of 11 players using the formula above
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑢𝑚
 Thus, Average =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑠
629 𝑘𝑔
=
11
= 𝟓𝟕. 𝟏𝟖𝒌𝒈

Example 4
If the average of 3, 6, 4, 10, 13 and x is 6, calculate the value of x.

Solution
 Firstly, write the formula for finding average
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑢𝑚
 Thus, Average =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑠

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 Given that the average of 6 numbers = 6

3+6+4+10+13+𝑥
 So, 6 =
6
36+𝑥
6=
6
 Then multiply buy 6 both sides in order to remove denominator LHS
 Thus, 36 = 36 + 𝑥
 Therefore 𝑥 = 36 – 36 = 0

Analyse how learners develop the concepts of measures of central

tendency
 By asking questions
 By looking at learner’s previous work from other classes

Discuss the importance of mean, mode and median in life.

 Used for sharing things equally
 Used to compare things
 Used to make informed decision
 For future career
 Helps to predict future events
 Used in business to determine the products which are on higher demand

Explain why mean, median and mode are called measures of central
tendency
 Because all concepts provide the central values

Why do primary school learners learn this topic of measure of central

tendency?
 To help learners to solve practical problems involving averages
 Assists learners to build strong foundation from which to build their future
career in fields like statistics, demography, economics and even education.
 Used to make informed decision

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 Provide visual image of the given data. As such, they provide a basis for
comparing

Why is Understanding learners’ prior knowledge in mean, mode and

median important to teachers?
 Because it helps the teachers to develop strategies and resources to use

Analyse how learners develop the concepts of measures of central

tendency
 By asking questions
 By looking at learner’s previous work from other classes

Discuss the importance of mean, mode and median in life.

 Used for sharing things equally
 Used to compare things
 Used to make informed decision
 For future career
 Helps to predict future events
 Used in business to determine the products which are on higher demand

Explain why mean, median and mode are called measures of central
tendency
 Because all concepts provide the central values

Why do primary school learners learn this topic of measure of central

tendency?
 To help learners to solve practical problems involving averages
 Assists learners to build strong foundation from which to build their future
career in fields like statistics, demography, economics and even education.
 Used to make informed decision
 Provide visual image of the given data. As such, they provide a basis for
comparing

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Why is Understanding learners’ prior knowledge in mean, mode and

median important to teachers?
 Because it helps the teachers to develop strategies and resources to use

Explain how a teacher can help learners to develop the concept of

measures of central tendency
 Teaching learners from what learners already know to what they don’t
know.
 Teaching learners using various resources
 Teaching learners using various methods

Short exercise
1. Develop a scoring rubric of three items that a teacher can use to access learners
on this topic
2. Develop any two assessment items that a teacher can use to assess learners

Answers
a) Name of a learner _________________________________ Standard : 3 A

To what extent is a learner able to: Excellent Good Satisfactory Need

support
 Calculate the value of mean
 Find the mode from the given
list of numbers
 Find median from the given data

b) Kasungu teachers training college student teachers collected the following data
after doing a survey in a nearby community: 2, 5, 7, 4, 2, 4, 3, 3, 7, 4, 2, 4, 6, 3
i. Find the median
ii. Calculate the mean

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Topic 3 : Teaching of HCF and LCM

Explain how learners develop the concept of HCF
 Learning in schools
 Reading from books
 Learning from friends

Explain the importance of HCF in real life situation.

 Used to splint things into smaller sections
 Used to distribute things or objects equally into two or more sets
 To figure out or find out how many people can you invite in the function
 To arrange something in rows and groups

Explain how learners develop the idea of LCM

 Learning in schools
 Reading from books
 Learning from friends

Explain the importance of HCF in real life situation.

 Used in discos
 Used to purchase or buy multiple items
 Used in events that repeat itself over and over
 To figure out when something will happen again on the same time

Analyse all the strategies that a teacher can use when teaching HCF
 Using factors
 Using prime factors
 Using division or continued division
 Using objects
 Using tree diagram

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Finding HCF using factor method

Apart from modeling, you can also use factor method to find the HCF of a
number.

Example:
Find the HCF of 24, 36 and 48 using factor method

Solution
 Supply factors of the given numbers as follows:
24: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24
36: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, 36
48: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 48

 List down all the common factors i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12

 Then choose the highest common factor
 Therefore the H.C.F. of 24, 36 and 48 is 12

Finding HCF Using Division Method

This method of finding HCF, prime factors are used.

Example:
Find the HCF of 24, 36 and 48

Solution
 Supply factors of the given numbers as follows:
2 24 36 48
2 12 18 24
2 6 9 12
2 3 9 6
3 3 9 3
3 1 3 1
1 1 1

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 You should look for prime factors that can divide into a given set of numbers
simultaneous without leaving a remainder.
 Choose factors that have gone into all numbers such as 2, 2, and 3.
 Multiply the prime factors to get HCF i.e. × 2 × 2 × 3 = 12

Finding HCF Using Prime Factors Method

Example:
Find the HCF of 24, 36 and 48 using the prime factor method

Solution
 Alternatively you can express the given numbers as products of their prime
factors as follows:
24: 2 x 2 x 2 x 3
36: 2 x 2 x 3 x 3
48: 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 3
 Encircle the common prime factors and write them down as 2 x 2 x 3 = 12.

Finding HCF by tree factors method

The tree factors method is yet another way of establishing the prime factors.

Example
Find the HCF of 54, 60 and 48 using a tree factor method.

Identify common prime factors by encircling and write them down as; 2 x 3 = 6.

Finding HCF by Continued division method

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Example
Find the HCF of 527 and 1333 using continued division.

Solution
You should approach this as follows: Divide the smaller number into the larger i.e.
2
527 1333
-1054
279
Turn the remainder into a divisor and let it divide into 527 i.e.
1
279 527
- 279
248
Next divide 279 by the remainder as;
1
248 279
- 248
31
Next divide 248 by the remainder 31 as;
8
31 248
- 248
0
Example 2
What is the largest number which when divided into 533 and 592 will leave
remainders of 23 and 31 respectively?

Solution
 Firstly, observe which of the three numbers is the smallest and you will see
that it’s 180

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 Then the 180 should go into 288 using continued division as shown below
1
180 288
- 180
108

 Then the remainder 108 should go into 384

3
108 384
- 324
60
 Then 60 should go into the previous remainder i.e. but use continued
division
1
60 108
- 60
48
 Then 48 should go into the previous remainder i.e.
1
48 60
- 48
12
 Then 12 should go into the previous remainder i.e. but use continued
division
4
12 48
- 48
0
 Since 12 has gone into 48 without leaving a remainder, therefore HCF is 12.

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Modelling factors
What is a factor?
Factor is a number that can divide into another number without leaving a
remainder.

Example
Consider a number such as 10. What are the factors of 10? The following activity
will help you to find the factors of 10:
 Have 100 bottle tops
 Put the bottle tops in groups of 10
 Arrange the bottle tops in ones, twos, threes ... up to tens as shown in the
figure below:

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 From the illustration above, other groups have remainders and other
groups have not.
 The groups which have no remainders are factors of 10.
 Therefore, factors of 10 are 1, 2, 5, and 10.

Example
Identify prime factors from the following list:
3, 4,5, 6, 7, 8,9,10, 11,12,13 21,27, 29

Solution
 Firstly, you need to know what prime factors are
 Prime factors are set of factors of a number that are prime numbers.
 Therefore prime factors are 3, 5, 7, 11, 13 and 29

How To Find The Common Factors Of Two or More Numbers

Take note that when finding HCF of fraction we;
 Firstly, you need to come up with the factors of each given number
separately
 Then model or make rectangles using factors; for instance we have 1,2,4
and 8 as factors of 8, make rectangle of Twos, which will have 2 rows and 4
columns then make rectangle of fours which will have 4 rows and 2
columns and lastly form rectangle of 8s which will have 8 rows & 1 column
 Thereafter, consider only rows and find the common number of rows that
appear in each case and these rows are the ones they give you the common
HCF of the given numbers
 Note, when you find 2 or more than 2 number of rows which are common,
for you to come up with common HCF, multiply the number of rows

Example 1
Find the common factors of 6 and 8 using counters.

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Solution
 Firstly, Make rectangles with 6 bottle tops as shown in the figure in below:

 Secondly, Make another set of rectangles with 8 bottle tops as shown in the
figure below

 Find the total number of rectangles formed in each set.

 Identify the number of rows and columns in each set
 Note that, you will find that using 6 bottle tops you made three different
arrangements.
 These are 2 columns 3 rows, 3 columns 2 rows and 6 columns 1 row.
 Similarly, using 8 bottle tops, there are three different arrangements.
 These are 2 columns 4 rows, 4 columns 2 rows, and 6 columns 1 row.
 You will consider the rows which are common for you to come up with the
common factors.
 These numbers are 1 and 2. Therefore, 1 and 2 are common factors of 6
and 8. In this case the highest common number is 2.

Example 2
Find the HCF of 4, 6 and 12 by modeling using counters

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Solution
 Firstly, list down all the factors of 4 as; 1, 2 and 4
 Then, model different arrangements/shapes of 4 using 4 counters as shown
below

4=
 You have 2 columns and 2 rows, 1 row
 Secondly, come up with the factors of 6 as; 2, 3, and 6
 Then, model different arrangements/shapes (rectangles) of 6 using 6
counters as shown below

6=
 You now have 3 columns and 2 rows, 2 columns and 3 rows, 1 row
 Thirdly, come up with the factors of 12 as 2,3,4,6 and 12
 Then, model different arrangements/shapes of 12 using 12 counters as
shown below

12=
 You now have 2 columns and 6 rows, 3 columns and 4 rows, 4 columns and
3 rows, 1 row
 Identify common factors and write them down as 2 rows i.e. 2

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 You will consider the rows which are common for you to come up with the
common factors. In this case the highest common number is 2
 Therefore, the highest common factor is 2.

Example 3
Find the HCF of 6 and 12 by modeling using counters

Solution
 Firstly, come up with the factors of 6 as; 2, 3, and 6
 Then, model different arrangements/shapes (rectangles) of 6 using 6
counters as shown below

6=
 You now have 3 columns and 2 rows, 2 columns and 3 rows, 1 row
 Secondly, come up with the factors of 12 as 2,3,4,6 and 12
 Then, model different arrangements/shapes of 12 using 12 counters as
shown below

12=
 You now have 2 columns and 6 rows, 3 columns and 4 rows, 4 columns and
3 rows, 1 row
 Identify common factors and write them down as 2 row, 3 rows i.e. 2, 3.
 You will consider the rows which are common for you to come up with the
common factors. In this case the highest common number is 2 × 3 = 6

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Finding HCF of Fractions

Take note that when finding HCF of fraction we;
 Find the HCF of the numerators
 Then again find the LCM of denominators separately
 Lastly put them in a fraction form, i.e. HCF on top and LCM at the bottom =
HCF
LCM
 Please take note that the result that you have found when it is divided by
each of the given fractions should give you a whole number

Example
4 3
How can a teacher teach a learner to find HCF of and
5 7

Solution
 Firstly find the HCF of the numerators; 4 and 3
 Thus, common number that can go into 4 and 3 without leaving a
remainder is 1
 So, this means 1 is HCF of 4 and 3
 Then find the LCM of the denominators; 5 and 7
 The easiest way of finding LCM is just to multiply two numbers i.e. = 28
 Lastly, put the two numbers, LCM and HCF in a fraction form i.e.
HCF 1
=
LCM 28

Advantages and disadvantages of each strategy for teaching HCF

1. Factor method
Advantages
 HCF is easy to be found from common factors
Disadvantages
 Difficult to find HCF of bigger numbers
 It is too involving

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2. Prime factors
Advantages
 It uses smallest prime numbers
 It is to identify common prime factors that give HCF
Disadvantages
 It is too involving because it uses multiplication and division
 Difficult to find HCF of bigger numbers

3. Continued division
Advantages
 It is easy to find HCF of bigger number
 It helps break the bigger division problem into a sequence of easier
steps
Disadvantages
 Difficult to work with more large numbers

4. Tree diagram
Advantages
 It uses smallest prime numbers
 It is to identify common prime factors that give HCF
 It brings fun to the learners so it’s easy for the learners to understand
the concepts
Disadvantages
 It is too involving because it uses multiplication and division
 Difficult to find HCF of bigger numbers

5. Using objects / modelling

Advantages
 It helps learners to understand the concepts easily since it is not
abstract
 Help learners to develop manipulative skills
 It brings fun to the learners so it’s easy for the learners to understand
the concepts
Disadvantages
 Learners may lose focus when modelling

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 Difficult to model bigger numbers

Analyse all the strategies that a teacher can use when teaching LCM
 Using multiples
 Using prime factors
 Using division by prime factors
 Using objects / modelling
 Using tree diagram

Finding LCM Using Multiples

What are multiples?
Multiples are all numbers that are exactly divisible by given numbers. Consider a
number such as 3.

Example 1
What are the first five multiples of 3?

Solution
The following activity will help you find the multiples of 3.
 Collect 45 bottle tops
 Arrange the bottle tops in sets of threes as shown below:

 From the illustration above, you will find that you have five sets of groups
of threes.

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 The first set has 3, the second set has 6, the third set has 9 the fourth has
12 and the fifth has 15 bottle tops.
 The number of bottle tops in each group is a multiple of 3. Therefore, the
first five multiples of 3 are 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15.

Finding the Common multiples

Example
Find the first two common multiples of 4 and 6.

Solution
 Use 150 counters to make multiples of 4 and 6
 Arrange the multiples of 4 and 6 as shown below:

Multiples of 4: 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24

Multiples of 6: 6, 12, 18, 24

 Circle the common multiples

 You will find that 12 and 24 are common multiples of 4 and 6

Lowest Common Multiples

Do you remember how to model multiples of a number? If you have forgotten, go
back and review modeling of multiples.

Example
Find the LCM of 4, 6 and 12.

Solution
The first step is to find the multiples of each number as follows:

4: 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40

6: 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, 60
12: 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, 108

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 Identify common multiples and write them down.

 You will notice that common multiples of 4, 6 and 12 are 12, 24 and 36.
 Therefore the lowest common multiple is 12.
 You can also use prime factors to find the lowest common multiple.

Finding LCM Using Prime Factor Method

This method confuses various people in terms of how to come up with the
necessary factors on the second step to come up with the LCM.
Follow the following steps:
 Firstly, you need to come up with the prime factors of each number
 Secondly, find the factors that when will be multiplied should give you the
LCM and do this to find these factors:
 Consider this example: find the LCM of 6, 15 and 24
o When a factor is common amongst the three numbers then pick it as
one number for instance 3 is common in 6, 15 and 24 then write only
one 3 (don’t write 3 threes please)
o When the factor appears only in two numbers for instance factor 2
appears on numbers namely; 6 and 24, write only one 2 instead of
writing both
o When the number appears only in one number then pick and jot it
down
 Lastly, multiply the chosen factors to come up with the LCM

Example
Find the LCM of 4, 6 and 8.

Solution
 Find prime factors of each number.

4 = 2x2
6 = 2x3
8 = 2x2x2

 Therefore, LCM = 2x2x2x3 = 24

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Finding LCM Using Division of Prime Factor Method

 Consider the above example

Solution
 Alternatively, you can use the following method to find the LCM.

2 4 6 8
2 2 3 4
2 1 3 2
3 1 3 1
1 1 1

 Therefore, LCM = 2x2x2x3 = 24

Finding LCM of Fractions

Take note that when finding LCM of fraction we;
 Find the LCM of the numerators
 Then again find the LCM of denominators separately
 Lastly put them in a fraction form, i.e. LCM on top and HCF at the bottom =
LCM
HCF
 Please take note that the result that you have found when it is divided by
each of the given fractions should give you a whole number

Example
4 3
How can a teacher teach a learner to find LCM of and
5 7

Solution
 Firstly find the LCM of the numerators; 4 and 3

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 Thus, smallest number that 4 and 3 can go into without leaving a remainder
is 12
 Then find the LCM of the denominators; 5 and 7
 Thus, common number that can go into 5 and 7 can go into without leaving
a remainder is 1
 Lastly, put the two numbers, LCM and HCF in a fraction form i.e.
LCM 12
=
HCF 1

 Therefore, LCM = 12

Practical Problems on LCM

Example
Three bells toll at intervals of 40 sec, 45sec and 75sec respectively. They start
together at 10 a.m., at what time will they next toll together?

Solution
 This question wants you to find LCM then afterwards change the LCM to
hours by dividing it by 60 (remember 60 seconds make 1 minute) add the LCM
which you have find to 8:00am
 We are going to use factor method for us to come up with the LCM of the
given three numbers
 Thus,
2 40 45 75
2 20 45 75
2 10 45 75
3 5 45 75
3 5 15 25
5 5 5 25
5 1 1 5
1 1 1

 Therefore LCM = 1 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 × 3 × 5 × 5= 1,800 seconds

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 Now, divide 1,800 by 60 = 30 minutes

 Lastly add 30 to 10:00am and you will get 10:50am
 This means they will ring together at 10:30am

Advantages and disadvantages of each strategy for teaching LCM

1. Using Multiples
Advantages
 It is easy to identify the common multiples
Disadvantages
 It is tiresome since there is need to list down more multiples in order to
find the common multiple

2. Prime factors
Advantages
 It uses smallest prime numbers
 It is to identify common prime factors that give LCM
Disadvantages
 It is too involving because it uses multiplication and division
 Difficult to find LCM of bigger numbers

3. Division by Prime Factors

Advantages
 It is easy to work with smaller number
 It easy to find the lowest common multiple
Disadvantages
 Its time consuming
 It is misleading in such a way that when a factor / divisor does not go
into a dividend which is not a multiple of the divisor we write it as a
quotient.

4. Tree diagram
Advantages
 It uses smallest prime numbers
 It is to identify common prime factors that give LCM

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 It brings fun to the learners so it’s easy for the learners to understand
the concepts
Disadvantages
 It is too involving because it uses multiplication and division
 Difficult to find LCM of bigger numbers

5. Using objects / modelling

Advantages
 It helps learners to understand the concepts easily since it is not
abstract
 Help learners to develop manipulative skills
 It brings fun to the learners so it’s easy for the learners to understand
the concepts
Disadvantages
 Learners may lose focus when modelling
 Difficult to model bigger numbers

Learner’s misconceptions and errors on HCF and LCM

 Learners confuse on differentiating the two because they expect to find the
bigger number on HCF and smaller number on LCM
Causes
 Failure to understand the difference between HCF and LCM
Solution
 Modelling HCF and LCM

Analyse the differences between HCF and LCM?

 When finding HCF, only common prime factors are used
 When finding LCM, both common and non-common prime factors are used

What kind of skills will learners have after learning this topic of HCF
and LCM?
 Finding HCF of numbers using factor method
 Finding HCF of numbers using division method

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 Finding LCM of numbers up to four terms

 Finding LCM of numbers using factor method

Develop a scoring rubric that a teacher can use to access learners on

this topic
Name of a learner: ___________________________________________

How best is a learner able to: Excellent Good Average Need support
 find HCF of numbers using
factor method
 find HCF of numbers using
division method
 find LCM of numbers up to 4
terms
 find LCM of numbers using
factor method

Develop a scoring rubric that a teacher can use to access learners on

this topic

Name of a learner: ________________________________________

Is a learner able to: Yes No

 find HCF of numbers using factor method

 find HCF of numbers using division method
 find LCM of numbers up to 4 terms
 find LCM of numbers using factor method

NOTE.. Don’t tick in the “Yes” and “No” columns. You do this during the time
when you are assessing learners

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Topic 4: Teaching Of Fractions

Definition of fraction
 A fraction refers to any part of a whole such as, part of an orange.
 A whole could be an object or a set of objects.
 For example, if one plate is removed from a set made of six plates then
what is remaining is a fraction of a set of plates.

What prior knowledge do learners have on the concept of fractions?

 Knowledge of sharing things when they are playing e.g. dividing an orange
into two equal parts
 Knowledge of buying and selling things in smaller amount at the market e.g.
½ kg of meat
 Knowledge of time e.g. half past 6 (6:30)

What perquisite knowledge do learners have on this topic?

 Addition of numbers
 LCM
 Subtraction of numbers
 Multiplication of numbers
 Division of numbers

How can you introduce the fraction to learners?

 Introducing half to learners
 Have an object such as an orange.
 Divide it into two equal parts
 Ask learner to tell the total number of parts
 Remove one part and ask learners number of parts remaining
 Explain that one part out two is remaining and is called half (½)

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Explain how a teacher can teach naming and writing of fractions to

the learners
 Collect various objects such as oranges and tomatoes.
 Cut one object into two equal pieces. Note that each piece is 1 out of 2
equal pieces. It represents the fraction one half and is written as ½.
 Cut another object into three equal parts. What fraction does each part
1
represent? It represents
3
 Divide a set of seven counters into two smaller groups one of three
counters and the other of four counters. What fraction does each small
group represent? You will find that the first group represents a fraction of
4
and the other .
7
 Continue naming and writing fractions using other sets.
 Note that when naming and writing fractions, two things are important: the
total number of equal parts into which an object has been cut and the
number of parts under consideration.

What are the importance of fractions and its application in everyday

life?
 Helps when telling time e.g. we use fraction when telling time (half past 4)
 Used in business e.g. when buying things which are less than 1 kg
 Use in food preparations e.g. when you want to add ingredients like ½ tea
spoon
 Locating your income e.g. budgeting
 Used in hospitals e.g. used in medicine prescription (1/2 in the morning)

What are some of the resources that can be used to introduce this
topic of fractions?
 Sticks
 Oranges
 Body parts

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 Tomatoes
 Bananas
 Piece of papers
 Set of objects
 Number lines

What kind of skills will learners have after learning this topic of
fractions?
 Adding and subtracting fractions in the same problem
 Adding and multiplying fractions in the same problem
 Adding and dividing fractions in the same problem
 Subtracting and multiplying fractions in the same problem
 Subtracting and dividing fractions in the same problem
 Multiplying and dividing fractions

Analyse the strategies that can be used ordering fractions

 Using LCM
 Using decimals
 Using percentage
 Using objects

Analyse the types of fractions with their relevance examples

 Proper fraction – This is the type of fraction whose numerator is smaller
5
than its denominator e.g.
6
 Improper fraction – This is the type of fractions whose numerators are
10
equal to or greater than their denominators .e.g.
3
 Mixed number (fraction) – This one whose numeral composed of a whole
number and a proper fraction e.g. 15½
 Equivalent fraction fractions is the type of fraction which have the same
2 10
value but different numerators and denominators e.g. 𝑎𝑛𝑑
3 15
1
 Unit fraction is a fraction whose numerator is one
5

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Modelling fractions
Modeling fraction this means using the objects to show the meaning of fraction.
There are many ways of modeling fraction. You are going to model fractions using
objects, regions and number lines

(a) Using objects

 Collect various objects such as oranges and tomatoes.
 Cut one object into two equal pieces. Note that each piece is 1 out of 2
equal pieces. It represents the fraction one half and is written as ½.
 Cut another object into three equal parts. What fraction does each part
1
represent? It represents
3
 Divide a set of seven counters into two smaller groups one of three
counters and the other of four counters. What fraction does each small
group represent? You will find that the first group represents a fraction of
4
and the other .
7
 Continue naming and writing fractions using other sets.

(b) Using regions

 Fold a rectangular piece of paper into four equal parts and shade one part
as shown below.

 What fraction does the shaded part represent? I am sure you got ¼
3
 How many parts should be shaded to model the fraction ? It should be 3.
4
1 3 1 5
 Repeat the procedure to model other fractions such as , , , .
5 5 6 6
 Now draw a rectangle on a paper. Draw lines to divide it into six equal
parts. Shade any two parts as shown

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 What fraction is represented by the shaded part?

5 5
 How many parts should be shaded to represent ? The fraction shaded is
6 6
5
and five parts should be shaded to represent .
6
 Repeat the procedure to model other fractions.
 Note that apart from rectangular regions, you can use regions of other
shapes such as circle and triangles to model fractions.

(c) Using number line.

 Model fractions using a number line.

 Divide the space between 0 and 1 into equal parts as shown.

 Since the space between 0 and 1 represents a “whole”, each sub-division is

1 out of 5
 What fractions are represented by 2, 3, 4, sub-divisions? Write them on the
number line. I hope you had respectively

Explain how a teacher can teach proper, improper and mixed

fractions

Proper fractions
 Draw a number line
 Divided the section between 0 and 1 into eight equal parts, as follows:

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 Fill in the missing fractions in the number line above.

 Observe the numerators and denominators of the fractions.
 Do you notice common characteristics? Yes in all the fractions, the
numerator is less than the denominator and such fractions are known as
proper fractions

Improper fractions
 Draw a number line
 Divide each section into 3 equal parts as shown below

 What name is given to the first second and third parts after 0? You have
1 2 3
, ,
3 3 3
 Write these fractions on a number line and continue the pattern up to 3.
 Observe the numerators and denominators of the fractions from 1
onwards. What have you observed?
 The numerators of the fractions are equal to or larger than their
denominators. Such fractions are improper fractions.

Mixed numbers
 Draw a number line.
 Model proper and improper fractions on the line as shown:

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 Divide the numerator by the denominator of each improper fraction. For

5 1 6 2 7 3
example; = 1 = 1 = 1
4 4 4 4 4 4
 Observe the answers, what do you notice?
 Note that the result obtained when the numerator of an improper fraction
is divided by the denominator is a whole number and a proper fraction.
Such a fraction is called a mixed number.
 From the number line above, come up with other examples of mixed
numbers.

Equivalent Fractions
 In the previous section, you looked at how to model a fraction using
objects, regions and numbering.
 Now you will learn equivalent fractions.

What Are Equivalent Fractions?

 Equivalent fractions are fractions which have the same value but different
numerators and denominators.
5
 For instance ½ and are equivalent fractions since they have the same
10
5
value i.e. ½ = 0.5 and = 0.5 but they have different numerators and
10
denominators

How To Model Equivalent Fractions Using Objects

Activity 1
1. Have sets of four objects
2. Divide the objects into two equal parts as shown below:

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You can see that

 Each part is ½ of the original set
 Each part is also 2/4 of the original set

3. What can you say about the fractions? You will observe that they have the
same value.
4. Repeat the procedure using sets of 6, 10, 12 objects.
2 3
 Note that the fractions ½, , ………..are of the same value although
4 6
their numerators and denominators are different.
5. What term is given to such fractions? Such fractions are known as
equivalent fractions.

Activity 2
1. Have several identical paper strips
2. Fold one paper strip into two equal parts as shown

 What fraction does each part of the strip represent? It is ½. Write it

on each part of the strip.

3. Divide another strip into three equal parts as shown

 What fraction does each part represent? It is 1/3

 Again write it on each part.

4. Continue folding the other stripes of paper up to six equal parts.

5. Paste the paper strips on a board to form a fraction chart as shown:

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6. Identify equivalent fractions in the chart. Equivalent fractions include ½,

3 1 2
, 𝑎𝑛𝑑
6 3 6

Note that the fraction charts like the one you have developed in this task, are
used to demonstrate equivalent fractions when teaching learners.

Example
Write any four fractions equivalent to each of the following
1
(a)
5
2
(b)
3

Solutions
Remember;
 Equivalent fractions are fractions that have the same value but different
numerator and denominator
 You can find the equivalent fractions by multiplying with the same number
by the numerator and denominator
 Thus, the equivalent fractions of;

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1
(a)
5
 Multiply the fraction (both numerator and denominator) by 2, 3, 4, and 5
1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5
 Thus, ×2 = , ×3 = , × 4 = 𝑎𝑛𝑑 × 5 =
5 10 5 15 5 20 5 20

2
(b)
3
 Multiply the fraction (both numerator and denominator) by 2, 3, 4, and 5
2 4 2 6 2 8 2 10
 Thus, ×2 = , ×3 = , × 4 = 𝑎𝑛𝑑 × 5 =
3 6 3 9 3 12 3 15

Ordering Fractions
Do you remember how to arrange numbers? As you did with whole
numbers, fractions can also be arranged in ascending or descending order
Do the following activity.
 Use the chart you prepared when dealing with equivalent fractions to
determine the fraction that is larger between

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Types Of Fractions
 There are three types of fractions which are covered in primary schools.
 Which are these? These are;
(a) Proper fractions
(b) Improper fractions
(c) Mixed numbers or fractions.
 In the following activity, you will learn how you can teach these fractions
effectively.

A. Proper fractions
 Can you recall what proper fractions are?
 Below is an activity to remind you what proper fractions are.
1. Draw a number line
2. Divided the section between 0 and 1 into eight equal parts, as
follows:

3. Fill in the missing fractions in the number line above.

4. Observe the numerators and denominators of the fractions. Do
you notice common characteristics?
 Yes in all the fractions, the numerator is less than the denominator and
such fractions are known as proper fractions

Definition of Proper Fraction

 Proper fraction is a fraction whose numerator is smaller than its
denominator

B. Improper fractions
 Another type of fractions is improper fractions.

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 The following activity will help you how to teach this type of fractions
effectively.
1. Draw a number line
2. Divide each section into 3 equal parts as shown below

3. What name is given to the first second and third parts after 0?
1 2 3
You have , 𝑎𝑛𝑑
3 3 3
4. Write these fractions on a number line and continue the pattern
up to 3.
5. Observe the numerators and denominators of the fractions from
1 onwards.
 What have you observed? The numerators of the fractions are equal to or
larger than their denominators. Such fractions are improper fractions.

Definition of Improper Fraction

 Improper Fractions are fractions whose numerators are equal to or greater
than their denominators.

C. Mixed Numbers or Fractions

 The previous activities helped you to explore proper and improper
fractions.
 In the following activity you will learn about mixed numbers.
1. Draw a number line.
2. Model proper and improper fractions on the line as shown:

3. Divide the numerator by the denominator of each improper fraction.

For example;

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4. Observe the answers

 What do you notice?
 Note that the result obtained when the numerator of an improper
fraction is divided by the denominator is a whole number and a
proper fraction.
 Such a fraction is called a mixed number

5. From the number line above, come up with other examples of mixed
numbers.

Basic Operations on Fractions

 In this section, you will learn about basic operations on fractions.
 These basic operations include addition, subtraction, multiplication and
division of fractions.
 Knowledge and skills gained in this unit will enable you to facilitate effective
learning of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of fractions in
primary schools

Modeling Addition Of Fractions

 Here you will model addition of proper fractions and mixed numbers

Adding Proper Fractions whose Denominators are the Same

 In this section, you will learn how to introduce addition of fractions to your
learners.
 For example:
1 3
1. Consider the following addition problem : +
5 5
2. Model the addition process as follows:
o Draw a rectangle or a circle or a triangle
o Divide it into five equal parts as shown

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o Model the fractions 1/5 and 5/3 by shading as shown:

o Count the parts shaded to arrive at the answer

o Note that the answer can be found by adding the numerators and
maintaining the denominator
1 3 1+ 3 4
o Thus, + = =
5 5 5 5
4 2 3
2. Repeat the procedure for other addition questions such as + , +
7 7 8
4 7 3
, +
8 13 13
3. Remember that in cases where the answer is an improper fraction, it must
7 6 7+6 13 3
be changed to a mixed number, for example + = = = 1
10 10 10 10 10
Addition of Proper Fractions whose Denominators are Different
 In the following activity you will explore ways of adding proper fractions
with different
denominators
1 3
1. Consider the problem +
3 4
2. Identify the equivalent fractions of and ¼. Equivalent fractions are
(fractions which have the same value but different numerators and
1 1 4 3
denominators) so, the equivalent fractions of and are and
3 4 12 12
respectively.
4 3
3. Replace with and ¼ within the addition problem, that is +
12 12
4. Add the numerators and maintain the denominator to arrive at the
4 3 4+3 7
answer, that is + = =
12 12 12 12

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 Alternatively you can add proper fractions using the following procedures:
1 3
1. Consider the problem +
3 4
2. Identify the Common denominator that is the LCM of 3 and 4
3. Find the numerator for the common denominator 12 by dividing 3 and 4
into 12 and
multiplying the quotients by 1 and 3 respectively i.e.
12 12
× 1 = 4 and ×3=9
3 3
4. Complete the addition process as follows:
1 3 4+9 13 1
+ = = = 1
3 4 12 12 12

Addition of Mixed Numbers Whose Denominators are the

Same
 In the following activity you will explore ways of adding mixed numbers
with the same denominator
2 1
1. Consider the following problem1 + 2 :
5 5
2. Follow the following procedure for adding the fractions
o Add the whole number 1 + 2 = 3
o Add the fractions
2
o Add the sum of whole numbers and the sum of fractions: +
5
1 3
=
5 5
o Note that the addition process above involves the whole
numbers and the fractions.

 Alternately, you can use the idea of improper fraction to solve mixed
numbers problem.
2 1
1. Consider the problem 1 + 2
5 5
2. Follow the following additional procedure:
o Change the mixed numbers to improper fractions.

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7 11 18 3
3. You can solve this as follows: + = = 3 .
5 5 5 5
4. Think of other ways of working out additional problems of this kind.

Addition of Mixed Numbers with Different Denominators

 In this activity you will explore ways of adding mixed numbers with
different denominators.
4
1. Consider the problem: 6 + 1½
5
2. Follow the following procedure for solving the problem:
o Add the whole numbers: 6 + 1 = 7
o Identify the equivalent fractions of and ½
10 10 8 + 5 13 3
o Add these fraction, that is + = = = 1
8 5 10 10 10
3 3
o Add the two answers i.e. 7 + 1 = 8
10 10

 How can you work out the steps above, using the idea of LCM?
 Note that you can also solve mixed numbers with different denominators
using the idea of improper fractions as follows:
1. Consider the problem: 2¼ + 3⅔
2. Change 2¼ and 3⅔ to improper fractions, that is
9 11
2¼ becomes and 3⅔ becomes
4 3
9 11
3. Identify equivalent fractions of and with same denominators,
4 13
9 27 11 44
that is = and =
4 12 3 12
27 44
4. Rewrite the problem 2¼ + 3⅔ as +
12 12
5. Add the numerators and maintain the denominator to get the
27 + 44 71 11
answer i.e. = = 5
12 12 12

Modeling Subtraction of Fractions

 In the following section, you will model subtraction of proper fractions and
mixed numbers.

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Subtraction of Proper Fractions with Same Denominators

 In this activity, you will learn how to introduce subtraction of proper
fractions with same denominator to your learners.
5 3
1. Consider the following problem –
6 6
2. Model the subtraction process as follows
o Have a rectangular or circular paper cutting
o Divide it into six equal parts as shown

o Cut the six parts

1
3. Note that each part represents the fraction ; and therefore five
6
5 3
parts represent . And three parts represent
6 6
2
4. Pick 5 parts and take away 3 parts to remain with 2 parts, that is
6
5. Note that you can find the answer to the question by simply
subtracting the numerators and maintaining the denominator i.e.
5 3 5–3
– = = 3
6 6 6

Subtraction of Proper Fractions with Different Denominators

 In the following activity, you will explore the procedures for subtracting
fractions with different denominators.
1. Consider the problem ½ - ⅓
2. Identify the equivalent fractions of ½ and ⅓ that have same
3 2
denominators i.e. ½ = and ⅓ =
6 6
3 2
3. Rewrite the problem using the identified equivalent fractions –
6 6
4. Subtract the numerators and maintain the denominator to arrive at
3 − 2 1
the answer i.e. =
6 6

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 Note that the above subtraction process relies on the idea of equivalent
fractions. The process below uses the idea of LCM:
5 1
1. Consider the statement: −
7 4
2. Identify the common denominator, that is, the LCM of the
denominators 7 and 4 which is 28.
3. Find the numerators for the common denominator 28 as follows:
28 28
× 5 = 20 and ×1=7
7 4
4. Complete the subtraction process as follows:
5 1 20 – 7 13
– = =
7 4 28 28
5. Think of other ways of working out subtraction problems of this type.

Subtraction of mixed numbers with same denominators

 In the following activity, you will explore ways of subtracting mixed
numbers whose fractional parts have same denominators.
7 8
1. Consider the problem 5 –1
8 3
47 11
2. Change the mixed number to improper fractions: –
8 8
47
3. Subtract the numerators and maintain the denominator thus −
8
11 36 4
= = 4 = 4½
8 8 8

 Alternatively you can solve mixed numbers as follows:

1. Consider the problem5⅞ - 1⅜
2. Subtract whole numbers 5 – 1 = 4
3. Subtract fractions 7 8 - 83 = 84 = 12
4. Add the whole number and the fraction 4 + ½ = 4½
 Do you notice any similarities on how you added mixed numbers?

Subtraction of mixed numbers with different denominators

 In the following activity, you will explore ways of subtracting mixed
numbers with different denominators.

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1 2
1. Consider the problem 5 – 2
9 3
2. How can you solve the problem?
3. Follow the following procedure for working out the question:
1 2 1 − 6
5 –2 = 3
9 3 9
10 − 6
= 2
9
4
= 2
9

 Note that the procedure involves regrouping. To subtract 6 from 1 is

“impossible” you therefore take 1 from the whole number 3 and regrouped
into 9. The numerator 9 has been added to 1 to get 10. The whole number
3 has changed to 2. To avoid this regrouping, the mixed numbers in the
addition problem must be changed to improper fractions before
proceeding with the addition process.

You can solve the problem as follows:

49 8
 Change the mixed numbers to improper fractions –
9 3
46 8 46 24
 Find the common denominator − become −
9 3 9 9
22
 Subtract the numerators
9
4
 Change the improper fraction to mixed number 2
9

Multiplication Of Fractions Using Regions

 In this section you will model multiplication of proper fractions and mixed
numbers.

Multiplication of a whole number by a fraction

 There are several categories of multiplication of fractions. In the following
activity you will explore multiplication of a whole number by a proper
fraction.

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1. Consider the problem 3 × ½

2. Model the problem as follows:
o Have three objects of the same kind e.g. oranges
o Cut each object into two equal pieces
o Note that each piece represents ½
o Take three pieces and join them. What did you find? I hope
you came up with one whole orange and also a half (1 ½ )

 Similarly, you can multiply the whole number and a fraction by using the
following procedure:
o Multiply the numerator of the fraction by the whole number and
3 ×1 3
maintain the denominator in the answer i.e. 3 × ½ = = = 1½
2 2
Note that you can simplify or change the answer to a mixed
number

Multiplication Of Proper Fractions

 In the following activity you will learn how you can multiply proper
fractions.

Example 1
1 5
1. Consider the following question 3 × 2
2. Model it as follows:
o Draw a rectangle
o Divide it into three equal parts and shade one part to model the
1
fraction as shown:
3

o Now divide the square into five equal parts by drawing horizontal
lines

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o Shade the two parts to model the fraction as shown

o Note that the parts shaded twice represents the answer

o You can see that 2 out of 15 parts have been shaded twice hence
2
the answer is
15

1 2
 Follow the procedure for multiplying proper fractions as follows: × =
3 5
1 2 2
× =
3 5 15

Example 2
Using appropriate illustrations, explain in point form how a teacher would model
5 4
× using rectangular regions
7 7

Solution
 Firstly, draw a rectangle as shown below

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 Secondly, divide the rectangle into 7 regions by drawing 6 vertical lines in it

as shown below

 Thirdly, model by shading only 5 regions as shown below in the figure

𝟓
𝟕
 Thereafter divide the same rectangle into 7 horizontal regions by drawing 6
vertical lines in it as shown below

𝟓
𝟕
 Then model by shading exactly only 4 horizontal regions as shown below

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𝟒
𝟕

 Count the number of boxes shaded twice and that number is the value of a
numerator i.e. 20
 Count the total number of boxes formed in a rectangle and that number is
the value of a denominator. i.e. 49
5 4 20
 Lastly, write a mathematical sentence × =
7 7 49

Multiplication of mixed numbers

 In the following activity you will multiply mixed numbers.
1
1. Consider the problem 5½ × 2
11
2. Follow the procedure for solving the problems as follows:
o Change the mixed numbers to improper fractions i.e. 5½ =
11 1 23
and 2 =
2 11 11
o Rewrite the problem using the improper fractions i.e. 5½ ×
1 11 23
becomes ×
11 2 11
11
o Multiply the numerators and then the denominators i.e. ×
2
23 231
=
11 22
231
o Simplify and change it to a mixed number i.e. = 11½
22

 Note that the above subsections on multiplication of fractions are arranged

in order of difficulty.

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 Teaching of multiplication of fractions to learners should follow the same

arrangement. The next activities will focus on divisions of fractions.

Division of fractions using illustrations

 In this section, you will model division of proper fractions and mixed
numbers.

Dividing a proper fraction by a whole number

 There are several categories of division of fractions. In the following activity
you will learn how to divide a proper fraction by a whole number.

Example 1
 Consider the statement ½ ÷ 3.
 Note that, you can interpret as “what will be the result when you divide ½
into 3 equal parts.”
 Using this interpretation, model the problem as follows:
 Draw a square and divide it into two equal parts?

 Shade one part to model ½ as shown:

½
 Draw horizontal lines and divide ½ into three equal parts as shown:

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 Note that any of the three equal parts in the region for ½ represents the
answer. Select one part and shade it as shown

 When you have done this, you can see that the answer is 1 out of 6
1
equal parts i.e. .
6
 You get 6 as a denominator by counting number of boxes formed by
dividing the main box into two and three equal parts respectively

Alternatively, you can follow the procedure of dividing a proper fraction by a

whole number as follows:
 Write the following number as a fraction i.e. ½ ÷ 3 = ½ ÷ 13

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 Write the question as a fraction; make the denominator ½ the reciprocal

of 13 which is ⅓ of 3 to be 1.
3
 Multiply by the reciprocal of which is ⅓
1
1
 Thus, ½ × ⅓ = ½ × ⅓ =
6
 Note that the steps above are usually left out so that the procedure
moves straight from ½ ÷ 3 to ½ × ⅓.
 There is a mathematical rule in connection with this. Do you remember
it?
 Now multiply the numerators and denominators to arrive at the answer
1 1×1 1
 Thus, ½ × = =
3 2× 3 6

Division of a whole number by a proper fraction

 In the following activity you will learn how division of whole numbers by
proper fractions can be developed with learners.

Example
Using appropriate illustrations, explain in point form how a teacher would model
2
4 ÷ using rectangular regions
3

Solution
 Here we are going to use oranges
 Note that the 4 on a question means you need to have 4 oranges as shown
below

 Then the 3 (the denominator) on the question means divide those 4

oranges into 3 equal parts and each piece will represents a fraction of as
shown below

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 Thereafter, the 2 on top (the numerator) means put those small parts into a
group of 2 pieces as shown below

 Lastly, count the groups which have been formed and the number is the
answer i.e.
 Had it been there were 6 pairs and 1 unpaired one the answer would be
6½, please the answer won’t be in a denominator of 3 because we are
putting the pieces in a group of 2 and not 3.

Division of proper fractions

 In the following activity you will learn how to teach division of proper
fractions.

Example 1
1 1
 Consider the following ÷
2 3

Solution

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1. Model it as follows:
o Draw a square and divide it into 2 equal parts
o Shade one part to model ½ as shown:

1
2

o Divide the square into 3 equal parts horizontally

o Shade one part to model ⅓ as shown

1
2

o Count the parts or squares in the region for ½ i.e. 3

o Count the parts in the region for ⅓ i.e. 2
o Note that from the diagram, ½ translates into 3 and ⅓ translates into
2
3
o Therefore the problem ½ ÷ ⅓ becomes 3 ÷ 2 = = 1½
2

1 1 1 3 3
 Alternatively, you can solve the problem as follow. ÷ = × = = 1½
2 3 2 1 2

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Example 2
Using appropriate illustrations, explain in point form how a teacher would model
5 4
÷ using rectangular regions
7 7

Solution
 Firstly, draw a rectangle as shown below

 Secondly, divide the rectangle into 7 regions by drawing 6 vertical lines in it

as shown below

 Thirdly, model by shading only 5 regions as shown below in the figure

𝟓
𝟕

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 Thereafter divide the same rectangle into 7 horizontal regions by drawing 6

vertical lines in it as shown below

𝟓
𝟕
 Then model by shading exactly only 4 horizontal regions as shown below

𝟒
𝟕

 Count the number of boxes shaded in vertical regions (columns) and that’s
the value of a numerator i.e. 35
 Count the total number of boxes shaded in horizontal regions (rows) and
that’s the value of a denominator i.e. 28
5 4 5 7 35
 Lastly, write a mathematical sentence ÷ = × =
7 7 7 4 28

TAKE THIS INTO ACCOUNT (when dividing fractions)

 The total number of boxes shaded in horizontal regions (rows) gives us the
value of a denominator and the total number of boxes shaded in vertical
regions (columns) gives us the value of a numerator

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Practical Problems On Fractions

Problem 1
4 5
Chikondi goes of a journey by express bus and of the remainder by minibus. He
5 6
walks the remaining 5 km. what is the total length of the journey?

Solution
 Firstly, let's find the fraction which represent 5km
 So, let's it be “𝑦”
 Mind you when you add all these fractions, you will get a sum of 1
5 1 1
 Fraction of minibus will be 𝑜𝑓 =
6 5 6
4 1
 Thus, + + 𝑦 = 1
5 6
 Then find the LCM of 5 and 6 which is 30
24+5 + 30𝑦
 Thus, = 1
30
29+30𝑦
.= 1
30
 Multiply by 30 both sides
 Thus, 29 + 30y = 30
 Subtract by 29 both sides
 Thus, 30y = 30 - 29
30y = 1
 Decide by 30 both sides
1
 Thus, 𝑦 =
30
1
 This means that = 5𝑘𝑚
30
1 30
 So if = 5km then what about ?
30 30
30 1
 Thus × 5𝑘𝑚 ÷
30 30
30 30
= × 5𝑘𝑚 ×
30 1
= 30 × 5km × 1
= 150km

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Problem 2
2 1
Limbani goes of a journey by express bus and of the remainder by minibus
5 6
remaining 5km. what is the total length of the journey?

Solution
2 5 2 3
 Let's find the remainder i.e. 1 – = – =
5 5 5 5
 Then let 's find the fraction for minibus
1 1 3 3
 Thus, of the remainder i.e. 𝑥 = × =
6 6 5 30
 Let “𝑦” represent a fraction of 5 km
2 3
 Total distance can be obtained by finding the sum of + + 𝑦 = 1
5 30
{6(2)+ 5(3)+ 30(𝑦)}
 Thus, = 1
30
12 + 15 + 30𝑦
= 1
30
(27+30𝑦)
. = 1 (Multiply by 30 both sides)
30
 Thus, 27 + 30𝑦 = 30
30𝑦 = 30 − 27
30𝑦 = 3
 Then divide by 30 both sides
3
 Thus, 𝑦 =
30
3
 This means = 5𝑘𝑚
30
30
 Then what about the whole fraction of = more
30
30 3
 Thus, × 5𝑘𝑚 ÷ (change the division sign to multiplication sign)
30 30
30 30 3
.× 5𝑘𝑚 × (replace with its reciprocal)
30 3 30
= (150 ÷ 3) km
= 50km

NOTE… Always remember the definition of a fraction that it’s a part of a whole.
A whole is equal to 1. So the total sum of fractions will be equal to 1

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Problem 3
Share 847 exercise books among 3 student teachers; Lenia, Madalitso and Mathews
so that Lenia gets half as much as Madalitso and Mathews gets half as much as
Lenia. How much does each gets?

Solution
 Let the value of books which Madalitso gets be "𝑦"
1 𝑦
 Then Lenia will get 𝑦 × =
2 2
𝑦 1 𝑦
 And Mathews will get × =
2 2 4
 Then let’s find the value of "𝑦"
 When you add books for Lenia + Madalitso + Mathews will give us 847
books
𝑦 𝑦
 Thus, + + 𝑦 = 847
2 4
 Find the LCM of 2 and 4 then solve it
2𝑦 + 𝑦 + 4𝑦
 Thus, = 847
4
7𝑦
= 847
4
 Multiply by 4 both sides in order to remove 4 from the left hand side
 Thus, 7𝑦 = 847 × 4
 Then divide by 7 both side in order to make “y” the subject of the formula
847 × 4
 Thus, 𝑦 =
7
3388
 Therefore, 𝑦 = = 484 books
7

Let’s see how much does each gets

𝑦 484
 Lenia gets = = 𝟐𝟒𝟐 books
2 2
 Madalitso gets 484 books
𝑦 484
 Mathews gets = = 𝟏𝟐𝟏 books
4 4

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Problem 4
The owner of a business dies and the business has to be wound up. In his will, he
leaves of his money to his wife, to be shared by his three sons and the rest for his
daughter. If the daughter receives K300, 000 determine;
a) the total amount of the will
b) the amount his wife receives.

Solution
(a) Required to find the total amount of the will
 Firstly, we need to find the fraction of the money which the daughter
received
 This can be done by adding all shares (fractions) and this will be equal
to 1 (as a whole)
 Let the value of the amount which the daughter received be y
1 1
 Then, + + 𝑦 =1
2 3
1 1 𝑦
 Thus, + + =1
2 3 1
 Solve by finding the LCM of 1, 2 and 3 which is 6 as shown below
3 + 2 + 6𝑦
 Thus, = 1
6
5 + 6𝑦
= 1
6
 Make y the subject of the formula as shown below
 Thus, 5 + 6𝑦 = 1
6− 5 1
 Therefore, 𝑦 = =
6 6

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 Given that the girl received K300,000, so, we can come up with the
total amount by using the amount she received and her fraction
6
 Thus, the total amount will be
6
1 6
 So, if = K300,000 then what about = more
6 6
6 1
 Thus, × 𝐾300,000 ÷
6 6
6 6
= × 𝐾300,000 ×
6 1
= 6 × K300,000
= K1, 800,000
 The total amount of the will is K1,800,000

(b) Required to find the amount that his wife received

 To find this, we should multiply the wife’s fraction by the total amount
of the will
1
 Thus, × 𝐾1,800,000 = K 900,000
2
 Therefore the wife’s amount is K900,000

Misconception and Errors which Learners have on Fractions?

 Misconceptions on writing fractions
 Misconceptions on problem solving
 Misconceptions on modelling
 Misconceptions on naming

Examples of some of the misconceptions that learners make are:

 Writing a whole number as mixed fraction
 Learners believe that numerators and denominators can be treated as
separate whole numbers
 The learners believe that numerators and denominators can be subtracted
to get the common denominator
 Failure to shade correct number of parts that should be shaded
NOTE:…. We need to go to nearby school and observe the misconceptions

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Explore other ways of assessing learners on fractions apart from

written work
 Observation
 Oral questions
 Peer assessment

Explain how you as a teacher could use the above ways to assess
learners
Observation
 It can be used by observing learners’ work
Oral questions
 Ask learners oral questions
Peer assessment
 Learners assess each other’s work

Develop a scoring rubric that a teacher can use to access learners on

this topic of Fractions

Name of a learner: ___________________________________________

How best is a learner able to: Excellent Good Average Need support
 add proper fractions of with
the same denominators
 add proper fractions of with
the different denominators
 subtract proper fractions of
with the same denominators
 add mixed fractions using
LCM method

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Topic 5: Teaching of Decimals

 In this unit you will learn about special type of fractions called ‘decimals’.
 This unit will help you to understand the concept used as an extension to place
value and fractions.
 The focus will be on how to introduce decimals, teach basic operations on
decimals and use suitable techniques to assess learners on decimals.

What is a Decimal?
 A decimal is a special fraction whose denominator is in power of 10. Decimal
point separates a whole number from a proper fraction.

Ways in which learners establish prior knowledge on decimals

 Learners observe how money is written in kwachas and tambalas e.g. K9. 50
 When expressing measurement

NOTE:
 Children use the decimal notation of money but this does not mean they
understand the idea of decimals.

What perquisite knowledge do learners have on this topic?

 Addition of whole numbers
 Division of whole numbers
 Subtraction of whole numbers
 Multiplication of whole numbers
 Knowledge about fractions
 Knowledge about place value box
 Knowledge about spike abacus and place value chart

Explain any three activities that may elicit the learner’s prior knowledge on
decimals

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 Arranging things in order

 Sharing things
 Recording number of things
 Gathering different objects
 Counting objects in groups of tens, hundreds etc.

Analyse the Importance of teaching decimals to primary school

learners
 Useful for further studies
 Link to high level of computations in mathematics
 It is used in other subjects
 It is used in everyday life e.g. money and measurement

Identify some of the strategies that can be used to model decimals

 By using place value charts
 By using place value box
 By using pieces of papers for modelling
 By using spike abacus

Assuming that you are planning to teach the topic of decimal to

standard 4 learners, mention three resources that you can use
 place value charts
 place value box
 pieces of papers
 spike abacus

Introducing decimals
 When introducing decimals, use approaches used when introducing
common fractions.
 Remember that the first place value after decimal point is tenth, followed
by hundredth then thousandth and so on, written in small letter as shown
below.

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M HTh TTh Th H T O t h th
Thousand Hundreds Tens Ones
.
Million Hundred Ten tenth hundredth thousandth
thousand thousand

 Consider the following procedures:

Introducing tenth
You can use the following steps to introduce a tenth:
 Draw 3 rectangles and divide each into 10 equal boxes on a chart paper.
 Shade some boxes to represent fractions such as shown below

 Name the fraction represented in each diagram.

 Find the corresponding decimal number for the shaded parts by dividing
the numerator by the denominator.
 Read decimal numbers for example 0.3 as zero point three.
 You may also use different shapes such as circles provided you divide each
into ten equal parts

Introducing hundredth
You can use the following steps;
 Draw a square on a chart paper and divide it into 10 columns and 10 rows
 Shade some boxes as shown below

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 What you have drawn is known as a square grid.

o Firstly, name the fraction represented in the diagram
17
o Secondly, find the corresponding decimal number of by dividing
100
the numerator by denominator.
o Then shade different number of boxes and find corresponding
decimal numbers.

Introducing thousandth
You can use graph paper since a 100 by 10 grid may be tiresome to make
1 53 720
 Using graph papers shade the following parts , and
1000 1000 1000
 Find their corresponding decimals by dividing numerator by the
denominators.
 Practice reading the decimal numbers correctly.

You can also present decimal numbers on place value charts and number lines..
 Recall the place value of decimal numbers up to thousandth.
 Demonstrate how to model decimal numbers such as 468.1, 3.065, 17.004
and 0.932 on place value chart as shown

Hundreds Tens Ones  tenth hundredth thousandth

4 6 8 1
1 3 0 6 5
1 7 0 0 4

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Questions
1. Explain the difference between Tens and tenth as used in place value of
numbers.

 Tens mean 10 times a digit while tenths mean 1/10 times a digit

2. Why do you put a point after ones on place value chart?

 To mark the end of whole part of a number and to indicate the

beginning of the fractional part.

3. Learners often read decimal numbers like 0.34 as zero point thirty four.
How would you correct this error?

 By modeling the number using place value chart so that learners

can see that 3 is under tenth and not Tens. They can also see that 4
is under hundredth and not ones.

Converting common fractions to decimal numbers

You can convert common fractions to decimals by dividing the numerator by its
denominator. Study the following examples:

Example 1
Express ½ in decimals

Solution
½ =1 ÷ 2 = 0.5

OR

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Change the denominator to powers of 10 by multiplying both numerator and

denominator by 5.
1×5 5
That is ½ = = = 0.5
2×5 10

Example 2
3
Convert 6 to decimal number.
8

Solution
Then divide 51 by 8 using long division. The working is as follows:

6. 475
8 51
- 48
30
-24
60
-56
40
-40
0

Explain in point form how a teacher can teach learners how to convert
𝟑
of 𝟔 to decimal number
𝟖
3 51
 Firstly, change 6 to improper fraction as
8 8
 Divide 51 by 8 to get 6 and write 6 above 1
 Then multiply 6 by 8 to get 48.
 Subtract 48 from 51 to get 3 and divide 3 by 8 is impossible
 Write a decimal point after 6 and write 0 after 3 to make 30
 Divide 30 by 8 to get 3, then multiply 3 by 8 to get 24
 Subtract 24 from 30 to get 6 and divide 6 by 8 is impossible
 Write 0 after 6 to make 60, and then divide 60 by 8 to get 7.

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 Multiply 7 by 8 to get 56 and subtract it from 60 to get 4

 Dividing 4 by 8 is impossible; therefore write 0 after 4 to make 40
 Then divide 40 by 8 to get 5 and then multiply 5 by 8 to get 40
 Subtract 40 from 40 to get 0

Teaching Basic Operations on Decimals

 Learners by this time know how to carry out basic operations of whole
numbers.
 In this section, you will explore effective ways of teaching basic operations
on decimals.
 Take note of rules used for each operation.

How can a teacher introduce addition of decimals using objects?

 You need to have two sticks
 Then ask learners to measure each stick.
 Join the two sticks end to end to make one stick and tell learners to
measure it.
 Lastly, help learners to relate the three measurements.

Addition of decimals
Arrange the numbers vertically so that decimal points for both numbers are on
the same line.

Example
Find the sum of 146.43 and 8.976
Solution
Arrange the numbers vertically so that decimal points for both numbers are on
the same line.

146 . 43
+ 8 . 976
155 . 406

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Subtraction of decimals
When subtracting numbers you arrange them just like in addition. You can
regroup decimals in the same way as you do with whole numbers.

Example 1
Subtract 47.26 from 91. 1

Solution
Arrange the numbers vertically so that decimal points for both numbers are on
the same line.
91 . 10
- 47 . 26
43 . 84
NOTE
 Zero has been added to 1 in 91.1 to ensure that the two numbers have the
same decimal places.

Example 2
Subtract the sum of 0.0986, 0.1.23 and 3.4596 from 6.78

Solution
First find the sum of 0.0986, 1.23 and 3.4596
0.0986
1.2300
+3.4596
4.7882

Then subtract 4.7882 from 6.78

6.7800
- 4.7882
1.9918

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Multiplication of decimals
Follow the following steps when multiplying decimals
 Firstly, ignore the decimal points and write the problem.
 Then multiply as whole numbers.
 Lastly, count the number of decimal places.
 Count decimal places in result that you get starting from right hand side.

Example
Simplify 2.432 x 5.1

Solution
 Firstly, ignore the decimal points and write the problem as 2432 x 51 then
multiply as whole numbers.
2432
x 51
2432
+ 121600
124032

 Now count the number of decimal places in 2.432 and 5.1.

 You find 3 in the first number and 1 in the second number making a total of
4 decimal places.
 Therefore count four decimal places in 124032 from right hand side and it
will be 12.4032
 Thus, 2.432 x 5.1 = 12.4032.

Division of decimals
Follow the follow when dividing the decimals
 Firstly, move the decimal point in the divisor so that it is a whole number.
 Secondly, move the decimal point in the dividend the same number of
decimal places as in the divisor.

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 Lastly, change the arrangement to vertical and proceed

Example
Divide 51.45 by 4.9

Solution
 Move the decimal point in the divisor so that it is a whole number.
 Move the decimal point in the dividend the same number of decimal places
as in the divisor.
 Therefore, the question is now 514.5 ÷ 49.
 Change the arrangement to vertical and proceed as shown below

10.5
49 514.5
-49
24
-0
245
- 245
0

Note: Place the decimal point in the quotient directly above the new point in the
dividend.

Assessing learners on decimals

Just like in any other topic and learning area, you must check progress of your
learners. Use variety of assessment and assessment tools to accommodate almost
all learners. Ensure that learners are able to:
 Read decimal numbers correctly
 Write decimal numbers under place value positions
 Convert decimal numbers to fractions
 Convert fractions to decimal numbers

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 Add decimal numbers

 Subtract decimal numbers
 Multiply decimal numbers
 Divide decimal numbers

Analyse learners’ misconceptions and errors when solving decimals

 Reading decimal numbers as whole numbers
 Disarranging number which may result to adding digits from different place
values
 Forgetting to change position of decimal point according to decimal places
in the factors
 Failure to change divisor to whole number and move the decimal point in
the denominator according to number of decimal places moved in the
divisor

What are the three ways that a teacher can use to assess learners on
decimals?
 Written exercise
 Observation
 Oral questions
 Peer assessment

Mention any three tools that can be used to assess learners

 Checklist
 Rubric
 Portfolio

Develop any two assessment items that a teacher can use to assess
standard 4 learners.
 Find the sum of 146.43 and 8.976
 Simplify 2.432 x 5.1

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TOPIC 6: Teaching of Approximation and

Estimation

Definition of following mathematical terms

(a) Approximation
 This means making measurements to the nearest value depending on
level of accuracy of measuring devices

Note..
 Approximation involves rounding off numbers especially those with
recurring decimals.
 The numbers could be rounded to a whole number or to a given
decimal places.

Why do teachers round off numbers?

 Numbers are rounded off to different standards for easy reading and
writing.

Ways in which learners establish prior knowledge on approximation

and estimation
 Learners hear people expressing the distance from their homes to school or
work place by saying “it’s about 9 kilometers.”
 When estimating time for instance one could say I walked a distance of about
1 hour
 When approximating the ages of people to the nearest whole number. E.g.
13 years instead of 13 years and 2 months
 They see prices written to the nearest kwacha e.g. K895.99

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What perquisite knowledge do learners have on this topic?

 Knowledge of fractions
 Knowledge of percentage
 Knowledge of place value chart

Analyse the Importance of teaching approximation and estimation to

primary school learners
 Useful for further studies
 It is used in other subjects
 Helps to predict distances
 Help to predict size of quantities accurately
 Link to high level of computations in mathematics

Assuming that you are planning to teach the topic to standard 6

learners, mention three resources that you can use
 spike abacus
 pieces of papers
 place value charts

Approximation
 You have heard people expressing the distance from their homes to school
or work place by saying “it’s about 9 kilometers.”
 Sometimes, one could say I walked a distance of about 1 hour.
Approximation involves rounding off numbers especially those with
recurring decimals.
 The numbers could be rounded to a whole number or to a given decimal
places. Numbers are rounded off to different standards for easy reading
and writing

To the nearest

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Rounding off numbers to a whole number

 You will observe that most prices are marked in kwacha and tambala.
 For example, you have noticed commodities with the following marked
prices K10.50, K45.99, K200.05 etc.
 In this case, you can convert the prices listed above to the nearest Kwacha
as follows: K11.00, K46.00, and K200.00.
 Sometimes, this could also be expressed as rounding off numbers to a
whole number and or to the nearest ten, hundred, and thousand.

Example:
Round off the following to the nearest number given in brackets:
a) 14.5 (nearest ten)
b) 547 (nearest ten)
c) 241 (nearest hundred)
d) 3606 (nearest thousand)

Solution
 You can remember that when you were in module 1, you learnt about place
value of numbers.
 For example, the number 478 has the following values:
Hundreds Tens Ones
4 7 8
 This means that 4 represents four hundred, 7 represents seventy (7 tens),
and 8 represents eight ones.
 Considering this explanation, I believe you came up with the following
answers for the examples:

(a) The answer is 10

o This is so because the value of digit 4 under Ones in this number
(14.5) is less than five. Therefore, the value of 1 under Tens will
remain unchanged so 14.5 will change to 10.

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(b) The answer is 550

o This is so because the value of digit 7 under Ones in the number 547
is more than five (half of ten). Therefore, the value of 4 under Tens
will change to 5 and the place value for the digit 7 will become zero
e.g. 550

(c) The answer is 200

o This is so because to the nearest hundred; in this case, 241 become
200; for 41 is less than 50 (half of hundred) hence the answer is 200.

(d) The answer is 4000

o Finally, to the nearest thousand 3,606 changes to 4,000 because 606
is above 500 (half of a thousand).

Decimal places
Rounding off numbers to a given decimal places
 Writing numbers to a given number of decimal places uses the same
procedures as when converting them to the nearest whole number.
 Take note of this;
o If the digit to be left out is smaller than 5, drop this digit and leave
the remaining number unchanged e.g. converting 1.684 to 2 decimal
places becomes 1.68
o If the digit to be left out is 5 or larger, drop this digit and add 1 to the
preceding digit e.g. 1.27 becomes 1.3 to 1 decimal place
o Zeros at the end of a decimal number after rounding off are not
important, so you can leave them i.e. 60.100 becomes 60.1

Examples
Round off the following numbers to a given decimal places
(a) 3.8501 to 1 decimal place

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(b) 84.068 to 2 decimal places

(c) 135.5744 to 3 decimal places

Solution
(a) 3.8501 becomes 3.9
(b) 84.068 becomes 84.07
(c) 135.5744 becomes 135.574

Short exercise
1. (a) Change K146.90 to the nearest kwacha
(b) Round off 6,090.30 to the nearest thousand
2. Convert the following numbers to nearest whole number
(a) 2.76
(b) 49.57
3. Round off the following numbers to the given number of decimal places
(a) 4.3498 to 3 decimal places
(b) 0.0089 to 2 decimal places

Answers to the short exercise

1. (a) K147
(b) 6,000
2. (a) 3
(b) 50
3. (a) 4.350
(b) 0.01

Significant figures
 Another way of approximating numbers is to express them to a given
number of significant (important) figures.
 Significant figures are digits in a number that retain their place value in a
number after rounding off.

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 The short form for significant figure is s.f

 To find significant figures, count numbers from your left hand side. Check
the number next to it.
 Then verify whether it is less than five or it’s five and above.
 If it is less than five, then you drop it and become zero; and the digits
counted remain the same.
 However, for instance 128.4 will be round off to 1300. Though the
significant figures are 1 and 3, we still write the zero.
 Why don’t we just write 13 since for these are the significant figures?

What do you think is the reason for maintaining zeroes?

 When converting numbers to given significant figures, place value is of
great importance.
 This is to make sure that digits still holds their place value position, for
example, correct 4667 to 2 significant figures.
 The answer is 4700. The two zeros are retained so that the other numbers 4
and 7 do not lose their place value.
 In this case, 4 is representing thousands and 7 for hundreds.
 Writing 47 as significant figures would mean 4 representing tens and 7
representing ones which is not true. If the number was 124.4, the solution
would be 120.0 because the digit 4 which is after number 2 is less than 5
 But if the third number was 5 or above thus, 5,6,7,8, and 9 then that third
number would have been dropped and the digit becomes 1, which is added
to the second number.

Examples
How many significant figures do the following numbers have?
(a) 24700
(b) 0.001047

Solutions

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(a) The number 24700 has three significant figures

(b) The answer is 0.001047 has four significant figures, including the zero in
between 1 and 4.

Example
Express the following numbers to a given significant figure:

(a) 128.4 to 2 significant figures

Solution:
 The number 128.2 to 2 significant figures becomes 130.
 How did you arrive at this answer?
 From the above provided answer, you can see that the digits 1 and 3 are
the significant figures.
 To find significant figures, in this case, count two numbers from your left
hand side. Check the third number.
 Verify whether it is less than five or it’s five and above.
 If it is less than five, then you drop it and become zero; and the two digits
counted remain the same. In your case the second number is 2, then 8 is
your third number which is more than 5.
 Therefore, you drop 8, which will change to 1 and that 1 is added to 2 as a
second number which becomes 3.
 Hence, 128.4 gives us 130 as a solution.

(b) 0.0070036 to 4 significant figures

Solution
 0.0070036 = 0.0070040 to 4 significant figures.
 When expressing numbers to a given number of significant figures you
should start counting from the 1st nonzero digit from the left to the right of
the decimal.

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 Here you can see that the 5th number (start counting from 7 going to the
right) is 6.
 This number 6 is above number 5; then we drop it and become 1. This 1 is
added to 3 which will change to 4.

(c) 0.4014 to 3 significant figures

Solution
 0.4014 = 0.0401 to 3 significant figures.
 A zero in between other numbers is significant. In this case a zero between
4 and 1 is regarded as a significant figure because it is between two digits.
 Therefore, the number 0.0401 has three significant figures, including the
zero between 4 and 2.

Short exercise
Express the following numbers to the given significant figures
1. 0.10245 to 3 s.f.
2. 42.06213 to 2 s.f.
3. 64528 to 4 s.f.

Solution
(1) 0.102
(2) 42
(3) 6453

Estimation
 So far, you have learnt how to convert or round off numbers to the nearest
whole number, kwacha or to the given decimal places.

Definition of estimation
 Estimation is predicting of things before actual measurement.

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 This means guessing an amount of quantity according to experience that is

close enough to the real or right amount.

Note...
 Estimation is a tool for processing approximation.
 Estimation is not trying to get an exact response to a mathematical
question but to get a response which is good enough for the question.
 Estimation either provide a response which is either wrong or right but
close enough to the required response
 The words associated with estimation includes; about and almost.
 Estimation can either be over or under actual measurement.
 However the estimate should be close to the actual measurement

What kind of activity would a teacher involves his or her learners into
to estimate something?
The following activity will help you estimate distances.
 Take a close look at any two separate classroom blocks at the school where
you teach or any two buildings at your home.
 Predict the distance in meters between the two chosen buildings.
 How far apart are the two buildings?
 Take a one meter ruler and measure the actual distance.
 Was your estimation the same?

Teaching of Approximation and Estimation

 In this section, you will learn how to teach approximation and estimation to
learners.

Procedure
 Firstly, remind the learners concept of place value that is digits in a number
have place values e.g. 462 has 4 hundreds, 6 tens, and 2 ones.

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 Then use appropriate teaching and learning resources such as place value
box, place value chart, abacus.
 Remember to explain the concepts of approximation like rounding off to
learners for them to understand the topic and involve the learners in the
lesson activities.
 Follow the logical order or sequence when teaching the concepts

Explain how estimation is applied in our everyday life

 We estimate the amount of salt for our relish
 We estimate distance between two places
 It is applied to other measurements of height, mass, time and volume

Explain any three activities that may elicit the learner’s prior
knowledge on approximation and estimation
 Predicting the distance in meters between the two chosen buildings.
 Estimating time for instance one could say I walked a distance of about 1
hour
 Writing prices of various items (shopping corner) to the nearest kwacha
e.g. K895.99

Assuming that you are standard 8 mathematics teacher, formulate any

three success criteria that you want to achieve after teaching this
topic?
Learners must be able to:
 write numbers up to 4 decimal places
 write numbers to the nearest 10, 100 and 1000
 express numbers up to 4 significant figures

State any three skills that learners will have after learning this topic?
 writing numbers up to 4 decimal places
 writing numbers to the nearest 10, 100 and 1000
 expressing numbers up to 4 significant figures

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Topic 7 : Teaching of Rate, Ratio and

Proportion
Eliciting learners’ prior knowledge on rate, ratio and proportion
 Knowledge of sharing things
 Knowledge of arranging things in order
 Knowledge of gathering different objects

What perquisite knowledge do learners have on this topic?

 Knowledge of time
 Knowledge of division
 Knowledge of addition
 Knowledge of distance
 Knowledge of fractions
 Knowledge of percentage
 Knowledge of subtraction
 Knowledge of multiplication

How do learners develop the concept of rate, ratio and proportion?

 Reading books
 Learning in schools
 Learning from friends
 When they are sharing things
 When they are playing games
 when they are arranging things in order
 When they are gathering different objects

Discussing importance of rate, ratio and proportion in everyday life

 Useful for further studies

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 It is used in other subjects

 Used when sharing quantities.
 Link to high level of computations in mathematics
 Used when determining distance to travel over a given time
 Used in farming when determine how much produce may be realized over a
certain period of time
 Knowledge of rate, ratio and proportion is also necessary for learners in
understanding other mathematical concepts such as fractions, percentage,
decimal places, and profit and loss

Exploring activities in the teaching of rate, ratio and proportion

 Sharing things
 Arranging things in order
 Gathering different objects

Explain the relationship between rate and ratio

 Rate and ratio are concepts that produce a set of ordered pairs of
relationships. They both involve comparing of two quantities.

Explain the difference between rate and ratio

 However, the two differ in that rate compares quantities of different units
(e.g. 20 eggs per day) while ratio compares two quantities of the same kind
or units (e.g. a group of three girls compared to a group of five girls).

Ratio
Definition of the term ratio?
 Ratio is a comparison of two quantities.
 You can write ratio using colon, fraction and to.
 You can compare quantities using ratios if they are measured in the same
units.

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Introducing ratio
 Have 7 stones and two containers or plates labelled A and B
 Put 2 stones on one container or plate and 5 stones in the other container
or plate
 Find how many stones are in each plate or container. Notice that 7 stones
have been shared to plate A and B such that A has 2 stones and B has 5
stones.
 You can use ratio in relating number of stones in plate A to number of
stones in plate B using the colons (:)
 So the number of stones in A to number of stones in B can be written as 2
stones to 5 stones i.e. A:B = 2:5
 Establish that 2:5 means for every 2 stones that A receives B receives 5

Example 1
Madalitso has 5 tambala and Chinsisi has 8 tambala. Express the amount of
money that Madalitso and Chinsisi have as a ratio.

Solution
5𝑡
 It will be
8𝑡

Example 2
A boy’s age is 20 and his father’s age is 60. What is the ratio of their ages?

Solution
 You could simplify as follows:
20 : 60
2 : 6
1 : 3
20 1
 Or =
60 3

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 So, the required ratio is 1 : 3

Example 3
1 1
Express 2 to 1 as a ratio
2 4
Solution
5 5
 Express each as improper fractions. i.e ∶
2 4
 Write fractions using common denominators.
10 5
 Thus, ∶
4 4
 Then consider numerators only. So, the required ratio is 10 : 5 = 2 : 1

Or solve like this

5 5
 Express each as improper fractions. i.e :
2 4
 Cross multiply the denominators.
 Thus, 20 ∶ 10
 Then simplify it by finding the common factor.
 So, the required ratio is 20 : 10 = 2 : 1

Example 4
Decrease 420 in the ratio 5:7

Solution
 Since you are decreasing, the small number of the ratio becomes the
numerator.
5
 Thus, × 420 = 300
7

Example 5
If 8 men build a house in 24 days, how long would 6 men take?

Solution

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 6 men take more time than 8 men. The number of men is decreased in the
ratio of 6:8; hence, the time taken is increased in the ratio of 8:6
 Therefore, increase 24 days in the ratio 8:6.
8
 Thus, × 24 days
6
 This will give the result of 32 days.
 Therefore 6 men take 32 days

Example 6
The ages of a mother and a son are in the ratio 8:3. If the son’s age now is 12,
what will be the ratio of their ages in 4 years’ time?

Solution
Try this one and the answer is;
 Mother = 36 years
 Son = 16 years
 Therefore, their ratio will be 9 : 4

Rate
Definition of the term rate
 This is the comparison of quantities of different types or a correspondence
between two different measures

Introducing rate
 Firstly, revise measuring distances and time
 Arrange that each one of learners walk a known distance (possibly a
football ground) at their own pace. Take note of the starting and finishing
time.
 Let each learner find the time taken to cover the distance
 Find the speed in each case. Now discuss as to which one of them walked
faster than the other

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 Establish the speed as an example of rate

 Repeat using different types of activities and calculate the rate of each
activity.

Analysing learners’ misconceptions, errors and strategies when

solving rate, ratio and proportion
 .


Questions to be answers
1. What challenges may be encountered when teaching learners on rate, ratio
and proportion?
2. Using an example, explain the difference between unitary and ratio factor
method
3. Formulate a check list with three items which can be used to assess the
learners after teaching proportion.
4. If the ratio of teacher to learner in a school is 1: 28 and there are 560 learners
in the school, how many teachers are there in the school?
5. The distance between two towns is 330 km. If a train takes 5 hours to cover
the distance, what is the average speed of the train?
6. How would you use 5 objects to introduce ratio to learners.
7. A girl’s age is 12 years, her father’s age is 48 years. What will be the ratio of
their age in 4 years?
8. Share 12 mangoes to John and Talandira in the ratio of 1: 3.
9. If 9 men can paint a building in 21 days, how long would 7 men take to paint
the same building?
10.If 3 men can do a job in 4 days, working 10 hours a day. How many days will it
take 8 men working for 6 hours a day
11.A motorist drives 100km in 1hour. Express the speed in meters per second

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12.At a Teacher Training College, there is enough food to feed 240 student
teachers for 15 days. After 3 days, 20 students withdrew from the college.
How many days would it take for the remaining food to last?
13.Share 810 exercise books among three learners, Tawina, Kondwani and
Mphatso so that Tawina gets half as much as Kondwani and Mphatso gets half
as much again as Tawina. How much does each one get?

To be Continued ….

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