Unit 6, Lesson 7
Part of a Percent
Accelerated 6
Preparation
Lesson Narrative
In this lesson, students consider how to calculate a fractional percentage using a whole number percentage as a reference. For example, if they know that 1% of 200 is 2, they can use the structure of the base-ten system to reason that 0.1% of 200 is 0.2, and 0.01% of 200 is 0.02 (MP7).
First, students use place value and properties of operations to calculate percentages without a context. Next, they apply this reasoning about fractional percentages to situations involving percent increase. This prepares students for working with more complex contexts, such as interest rates, taxes, tips, and measurement error.
This lesson is optional. Consider using this lesson if students need more time to make sense of percentages that are not whole numbers before working with applications of percentages.
- Comprehend that percentages do not have to be a whole number.
- Recognize that 0.1% of a number is $\frac{1}{10}$ of 1% of the number.
- Use reasoning about place value to calculate percentages that are not whole numbers, and explain (orally) the strategy.
Let’s explore percentages smaller than 1%.
Required Preparation
None