Question

Write five situations from our day to day life where we use fractions and Decimals.

Answer 1

There are already some answers that sounds intellectual so let me answer this literally.People from my part of the world would be able to relate to this much more.

I wake up fill 1/4 th of the listerine cup to brush . For bath, the hot water and cold water would be in the ratio 1:3 . I make 1/2 cup of coffee with 1 1/2 spoons coffee powder and 2 1/2 spoons sugar .

We usually mix 1/4 th of water to 3/4th of milk before boiling it.

The idly made for breakfast requires dhal and rice to be mixed in right ratio(I don't know the official statistics on this as I am not a great cook)

Depending upon the side dish ratio between onion and tomato varies. Ration for rest of the ingredients are too complex to explain.

When I start to office I check if my gas(petrol) is less than 1/4 of tank. If it is I ask the anna(brother) at the gas station(petrol bunk) to fill 1/2 tank.

If we stop at a tea shop- we will order Anna(bro)2/3 tea. 2 cups split for 3 people.

If they smoke, the first question is cut off(1/2 - sharing) or full(each one).

When we go for lunch , our order would look something like this .

Soup - 1/2

Tandoori chicken 1/2

Chilli chicken - 1

Fried rice -1/2.

If you have seen a movie we define it in fraction. 1st half super, 2nd half was a drag. We do have intervals in theatre between both halves.

If we buy a drink or go to bar - needless to say the measurment is in quarter, half ,full and again quarter has 3 sub fractions small, large and cutting( colloquial term for small+large)

When we write exams we target 36/80 in external marks and 14/20 in internal marks which is the minimum guarantee required to pass in Engineering.

To attain that percentage we need to target 3/5 units in the syllabus and choose 1/2 in each question to answer.

Being in IT, I end my work hours by sending a status in excel sheet which has fractions and graphs on the project progress.

Half day leaves are more common than full day leaves. We mostly dont have this work from home concept back home



Use of decimal to represent money

Dealing with decimal numbers is inevitable, when dealing with money. In many situations when we have to convert paisa into rupee. Suppose we go to a local shop to buy 500 gm of turmeric, where, one kg of turmeric costs Rs 51. So, how much money should we hand over to the shop keeper? We divide Rs 51 by 2 which are equal to 25.5. In order to hand over the exact amount we must understand what 25.5 means in terms of rupees. Let us learn this with the help of a simple example.

Re 1 = 100 paisa

Example 1: Converting 165 paisa to Re.

As we know, 1 paisa = 1/100 Re

So, 165 paisa = Re 165*1/100 = Re 165/100 = Rs 1.65, which is Re 1 and 65 paisa

Example 2: Converting 450 paisa to Re.

As we know, 1 paisa = Re 1/100

So, 450 paisa = 450*1/100 = Rs 450/100 = Rs 4.50 = Rs 4 and 50 paisa

Example 3: Converting Rs 35 and 70 paisa to decimal.

As we know, 1 paisa = Re 1/100

So, 70 paisa = 70*1/100

Rs (35 + 70/100) = Rs 35.70

Use of decimal to represent length

While measuring length of an item, it is not necessary that the length of an object is a multiple of the given graduation. For example, while measuring the length of a table with a metre scale, the length may not be a whole number, it may lie between two graduations on the metre scale. In such situations, the decimal numbers are used.

From Conversion of units, we know

1 km = 100 m

1 m = 100 cm

1 cm = 10 mm

Now, let the length of the table top be 2 m and 75 cm, and then it can be represented as (2+ 75/100) m.

Example 4: Converting 276 cm into metres.

As we know, 100 cm = 1 m

So, 1 cm = 1/100 m

276 cm = 276 * 1/100 m = 276/100 m = 2.76 m

Example 5: Converting 5km and 75 m into decimal.

As we know, 1 km = 1000 m

So, 1 m = 1/1000 km

5 km + 75m = 5+ (75*1/1000) km = 5.075 km

Example 6: Converting 80 mm to km

As we know 1 km = 1000 m and 1 m = 100 cm

So 1 km = 1000 * 100 cm

1 cm = 1/10000km

80 cm = 80*1/100000 km

80 cm = 0.00080 km

Use of decimal to represent weight

We use decimal numbers while dealing with weight. For example, when we are buying a watermelon, it cannot always weigh in whole numbers, it can be less than 2 kg but more than 1kg. In such situations, the shopkeeper has to calculate how much to charge for a watermelon, based on its weight. As we know,

1 kg = 1000 gm

1 gm = 1000 mg

Now suppose it is 1kg and 750 gm. Then, he will charge as per the price of 1kg + (750/1000) kg of the watermelon. We will learn more about the conversion of weight into decimal in the following examples:

Example 7: Converting 250 gm to kg

As we know, 1000 gm = 1 kg

So, 1 gm = 1/1000 kg

250 gm = 250 * 1/1000 kg = 250/1000 kg = 0.250 kg

Example 8: Representing 3kgs and 767 gm in decimal.

As we know, 1gm = 1/1000 kg

767gm = 767/1000 kg