Fraction questions mix fractions, decimals and percentages, and your child picks the form that makes the working short. Your child is tested at their current year level, and each school selects its own test date.
Fractions, decimals and percentages, and moving between them without losing track of what the fraction is of. They sit inside the numbers area of Edutest Mathematics, which Edutest describes as year-level maths: numbers, measurement, algebra, space and data.
Our questions are written for children in Years 6–7 applying for Year 7 or 8. At that level, the knowledge behind them is equivalent fractions and simplifying, adding and subtracting with different denominators, and finding a fraction or percentage of an amount. Multiplying and dividing fractions comes in around Year 7.
Our questions come in three shapes: find a part of an amount, compare values written in different forms, and work back from a part to the whole. Give the last shape extra practice, because it takes one more step than it seems to.
Whichever form makes the working short. Every common fraction has a decimal and a percentage twin, and knowing them by heart lets your child switch without stopping to work them out.
A percentage of an amount is often quickest as a fraction: 75% is three-quarters, and three-quarters of 64 is 48. Comparing is the reverse. Turn every option into a plain number before deciding which is largest.
Equivalents worth knowing by heart
Fraction
Decimal
Out of 100
1/2
0.5
50
1/4
0.25
25
3/4
0.75
75
1/5
0.2
20
1/8
0.125
12.5
1/10
0.1
10
1/3
about 0.333
about 33.3
How should your child work a fraction question?
Start by naming the whole, then divide before multiplying. Dividing first keeps the numbers small enough for pencil working, and naming the whole stops the most expensive slip on this page: taking a fraction of the wrong amount.
Find what the fraction is of
Of 60, of the whole number, of the students who are left? The word 'of' tells your child what to divide.
Divide by the bottom, multiply by the top
Three-eighths of 64 is 64 ÷ 8 × 3. Dividing first keeps the numbers small.
Work back to the whole when given a part
If three-quarters of a number is 48, a quarter is 16 and the whole is 64. Only then take the new fraction.
Compare in one form
When the options mix fractions, decimals and percentages, work each one out the same way before choosing.
Four worked examples
We wrote these in the Edutest style, from easier to harder. Each one shows the answer and the working. Read them with your child and compare the method with the one your child would use.
Ask which option looked right at first, and what the fraction was of. Naming the whole uncovers each trap below, and the working shows where the wrong whole crept in.
Worked explanation 1
What is 3/4 of 2/3 of 60?
AA.
30
BB.
40
CC.
45
DD.
85
Answer: A
Answer: A (30)
Work from the inside out. 2/3 of 60: 60 ÷ 3 = 20, and 20 × 2 = 40. Then 3/4 of 40: 40 ÷ 4 = 10, and 10 × 3 = 30. (Or: 3/4 × 2/3 = 6/12 = 1/2, and half of 60 is 30.)
The trap: 40 tempts children who stop after the first step and forget to take 3/4 of that result.
Why the other options are wrong
B (40): 40 is only 2/3 of 60.
C (45): 45 is 3/4 of 60, skipping the 2/3.
D (85): Adds 3/4 of 60 and 2/3 of 60 instead of taking one fraction of the other.
Worked explanation 2
75% of a number is 48. What is 5/8 of the same number?
AA.
30
BB.
36
CC.
40
DD.
64
Answer: C
Answer: C (40)
75% is three-quarters. If three-quarters is 48, one-quarter is 48 ÷ 3 = 16, so the whole number is 4 × 16 = 64. One-eighth of 64 is 8, so five-eighths is 5 × 8 = 40.
The trap: 30 tempts children who take 5/8 of 48 straight away, instead of first finding the whole number.
Why the other options are wrong
A (30): Takes 5/8 of 48, not of the whole number.
B (36): 36 is 75% of 48, working in the wrong direction.
D (64): 64 is the whole number; the question asks for 5/8 of it.
Worked explanation 3
Which of these is the largest?
AA.
1/3 of 75
BB.
3/8 of 64
CC.
35% of 70
DD.
0.6 of 40
Answer: A
Answer: A (1/3 of 75)
Work out each one. 1/3 of 75 = 75 ÷ 3 = 25. 3/8 of 64 = 64 ÷ 8 × 3 = 24. 35% of 70 = 0.35 × 70 = 24.5. 0.6 of 40 = 24. The largest is 1/3 of 75, which is 25.
The trap: 35% of 70 tempts children because 70 is the biggest number on show. It comes to 24.5, close to but less than 25.
Why the other options are wrong
B (3/8 of 64): 3/8 of 64 is 24.
C (35% of 70): 35% of 70 is 24.5, just short of 25.
D (0.6 of 40): 0.6 of 40 is 24; 0.6 looks large, but it is a share of only 40.
The trap: 4/5 tempts children who spot the pattern 1/2, 2/3, 3/4, 4/5 but stop one fraction early.
Why the other options are wrong
A (1/14): Adds the tops (5) and the bottoms (70) separately, which is not how fractions add.
B (4/5): Stops before adding the last fraction, 1/30.
D (1): Assumes the total keeps growing until it reaches 1.
What traps should your child watch for?
Each wrong option below comes from a step done on the wrong amount, or a step left out. Name the slip with your child, then check for it on the next few fraction questions.
Stopping after the first step. In "3/4 of 2/3 of 60", the first step gives 40, and 40 is an option. The question wants 3/4 of that.
Taking the new fraction of the part. When 75% of a number is 48, taking 5/8 of 48 answers the wrong question. Find the whole number first.
Trusting the biggest-looking number. 35% of 70 looks large because 70 is the biggest number on show, but it comes to 24.5, just under 25.
Ending a pattern early. Running totals that go a half, two-thirds, three-quarters, four-fifths invite a guess. Count the terms so the pattern stops in the right place.
How does your child add and multiply fractions quickly?
By simplifying at every step, so each sum stays small. Edutest doesn't allow calculators, rulers, dictionaries, working-out paper, mobile phones, smart watches and fitness trackers, so fraction working has to be neat enough to do in pencil.
Adding needs a common denominator. For 1/2 + 1/6, sixths work: 3/6 + 1/6 = 4/6, which simplifies to 2/3.
Multiplying is easier if your child cancels first. 3/4 × 2/3 has a 3 on top and a 3 below, so it becomes 2/4, which is 1/2. Taking half of 60 is quicker than two separate steps.
They're the language of chance: a probability of 12 in 19 is simply the fraction 12/19. They also turn up in measurement, where 0.6 kg means 600 g, and in data questions that ask what percentage of a group chose something.
They depend on number skills too. Simplifying 6/12 or 25/30 is quick for a child who knows factors well, which is why the number page is a good companion to this one.
How can your child practise fractions at home?
Everyday fractions are everywhere: half a recipe, a third off in a sale, a quarter of an hour. Ask your child to work them out aloud and to say each one as a fraction, a decimal and a percentage.
In the app, the fractions lesson has an Interactive version and Notes. There are also drills by section and topic; a free account drills the free test's questions, and a paid plan opens the rest.
Four questions show the method; the Mathematics section of Practice test 1 shows whether your child can use it against the clock. Afterwards, results by skill show whether fractions are the area costing marks.
