Decimal, Percent and Fractions Practice Questions

1. , such as misreading a problem, simple arithmetic mistakes, or other careless errors
2. Not showing all of the steps.  This makes it difficult for the teacher to understand how you got the answer.
3. Not checking your work or not reviewing their test before turning it in.  Never leave the test room early!
4. Not understanding the problem and solving it with an inappropriate method.
5. Not understanding of basic math concepts and operations, such as fractions, decimals, and basic algebra.
6. Not paying attention to the units of measure.
7. Not understanding basic terminology, such as “factor,” “product,” and “quotient.”
8. Not paying attention to the sign of the answer or confusing the sign.
9. Not using the correct formula or equation for the problem.

1. Not simplifying fractions first.  Always simplify fractions to the simples form before adding, subtracting or other operations.

2. Not understanding common denominators.

To add or subtract fractions, they must have the same denominator. For example, to add 1/2 and 3/4, a common denominator is needed. The common denominator 4, because 4 is a multiple of both 2 and 4.
So, you would convert 1/2 to 2/4 and add it to 3/4 to get 2/4 + 3/4 = 5/4

3. Errors with mixed numbers and converting to improper fractions or vice versa.

Referring to the problem above, 5/4 is an improper fraction, since 5 (the numerator) is larger than 4 (the denominator).  This can be converted to a mixed number – 5/4 = 4/4 + 1/4, and we know 4/4 = 1

so – 1 + 1/4 = 1 1/4.

4. Errors with equivalent fractions and reducing to the simplest form.

Here is question – Does 2/4 = 1/2 ?    YES!   we can reduce 2/4 by dividing the numerator (top)  and the denominator (bottom) by 2.  so 2/4 divided by 2/2 = 1/2.

5. Errors canceling common factors in fractions.

Cancelling out common factors works like this – 2/4 X 4/8    These are divisible by 2 so we divide by 2 in the top of one side and bottom of the other –  1/4 X 4/4

We can do the same again with the bottom of the first fraction and the top of the second – 1/1 X 1/4   and since 1/1 = 1  we have 1 X 1/4 = 1/4.

6. Errors with basic arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) with fractions.  Fractions Practice

7. Solving word problems involving fractions.  How to Solve Word Problems  Word Problem Practice

8. Errors converting percent, decimals, and fractions. Converting Fractions and Decimal