KS2 Maths · Topic guide

Fractions, Decimals and Percentages Depth

Fractions, Decimals and Percentages Depth covers harder Year 6 skills building on the basics: multiplying a fraction by a whole number or another fraction, dividing a fraction by a whole number, calculating a percentage increase or decrease, and working backwards to find a whole amount from a known fraction or percentage of it.

Year 3-6 (KS2)FractionsNational CurriculumKS2 SATs

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Method

  1. To multiply a fraction by a whole number, multiply the numerator by that whole number and keep the denominator the same, then simplify if possible.
  2. To multiply a fraction by a fraction, multiply the numerators together and the denominators together, then simplify if possible.
  3. To divide a fraction by a whole number, multiply the denominator by that whole number, keeping the numerator the same.
  4. To find a percentage increase, work out the percentage of the amount and add it on; for a decrease, subtract it from the amount instead.
  5. To find the whole when given a fraction of it, divide the known part by its numerator to find one part (the value of one unit fraction), then multiply by the denominator.
  6. Convert between fractions, decimals and percentages where useful, to check your final answer is a sensible size.

Worked example

In a school, 3/8 of the pupils are boys, and there are 240 boys. How many pupils are in the school altogether?

  1. 3/8 of the pupils is 240, so first find what 1/8 of the pupils is worth: 240 divided by 3 = 80.
  2. So 1/8 of the pupils is 80 pupils.
  3. The whole school is 8/8, so multiply the value of 1/8 by 8: 80 x 8 = 640.
  4. So there are 640 pupils in the school altogether. Check: 3/8 of 640 is 640 divided by 8 = 80, then 80 x 3 = 240, which matches.

Practice questions

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Q1Work out 2/5 x 20.Show answer

Answer: 8

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Q2Work out 3/4 x 1/2.Show answer

Answer: 3/8

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Q3Work out 3/5 divided by 3.Show answer

Answer: 1/5

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Q4A shop increases a 60 pounds price by 15%. What is the new price?Show answer

Answer: 69 pounds (15% of 60 is 9, and 60 + 9 = 69)

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Q5A price of 80 pounds is reduced by 25%. What is the new price?Show answer

Answer: 60 pounds (25% of 80 is 20, and 80 - 20 = 60)

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Q61/6 of a number is 14. What is the number?Show answer

Answer: 84

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Exam-style questions

Written in the style of a KS2 Maths exam paper, with a full mark scheme.

Q1[2 marks]

A car costs 12000 pounds. Its value decreases by 15% in the first year. Work out the car's value after one year.

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Q2[3 marks]

2/9 of the sweets in a bag are red. There are 18 red sweets. a) How many sweets are in the bag altogether? b) 1/3 of the remaining (non-red) sweets are green. How many green sweets are there?

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Free printable worksheet

Want more practice on paper? Download the fractions, decimals and percentages depth worksheet pack - 8 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.

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