Fractions of amounts
for 6th grade

Calculate fractions of amounts

Calculating fractions of amounts involves finding a fraction of a given quantity or number. The process of calculating fractions of amounts can be done in two ways.

Method 1: Divide the number or quantity by the denominator of the fraction, then multiply the result by the fraction numerator to get the answer.

This method can be summarised as:
fraction of amount = (amount ÷ denominator) x numerator

Method 2: Convert the fraction to a decimal then multiply that decimal by the quantity or amount. Follow the steps below to see how this method works:

Step 1: Convert the fraction to a decimal

The first step in calculating fractions of amounts is to convert the fraction to a decimal. To do this, you need to divide the numerator by the denominator. For example, if you want to calculate 1/4 of 80, you would divide 1 by 4, which gives 0.25.

Step 2: Multiply the decimal by the quantity

Once you have converted the fraction to a decimal, the next step is to multiply the decimal by the quantity you are trying to find the fraction of. For example, to find 1/4 of 80, you would multiply 0.25 by 80, which gives you the answer of 20.

So, the general formula to calculate fractions of amounts with this method is:
fraction of amount = (numerator ÷ denominator) x amount

For example, to calculate 3/5 of 100, you would follow these steps:

Step 1: Convert the fraction to a decimal

3 ÷ 5 = 0.6

Step 2: Multiply the decimal by the quantity

0.6 x 100 = 60

Therefore, 3/5 of 100 is 60.