Recurring Decimal

A Maths Starter of The Day

Use your calculator to find which whole number divided by another whole number gives the answer:

1.36363636...

 

Calculator

 

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Keywords: Starter | Arithmetic | Calculator | Fractions

  • N. Cox, Woodbridge Suffolk
  • Monday, June 30, 2008
  • "It would have been good if this was one of those starters where I could get a new question by using the refresh button"
  • J. Miley, Kingsbury School, Birmingham
  • Wednesday, July 06, 2011
  • "I agree, thank you, though ... it got them thinking!"
  • Jill, Knowling
  • Saturday, July 09, 2011
  • "A very good starter although once completed you should be able to refresh it."
  • Transum,
  • Saturday, January 21, 2012
  • "Thanks for your comments. There is now a button below allowing you to generate a different recurring decimal. There is also a link to a self marking quiz related to this starter below. Did you know that a fraction in lowest terms with a prime denominator other than 2 or 5 always produces a repeating decimal?"

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This starter has scored a mean of 2.8 out of 5 based on 40 votes.

 

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One Answer

Let the number be represented by x

x = 1.36363636... [1]

100x = 136.363636... [2]

Subtract [1] from [2]

99x = 135

x = 135/99

x = 15/11

The two whole numbers could be 15 and 11

What else could they be?

Note to teacher: Doing this activity once with a class helps students develop strategies. It is only when they do this activity a second time that they will have the opportunity to practise those strategies. That is when the learning is consolidated. Click the button above to regenerate another version of this starter from random numbers.
Computer Teacher, do your students have access to computers?
Do you have "Laptops in Lessons"?

Whether your students each have a TabletPC or share a desktop PC, this activity lends itself to eLearning (Engaged Learning).

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Here is the URL which will take them to a concise version of this page.

Transum.org/go/?Start=July6

Use a spreadsheet to help investigate which pairs of numbers, when divided, give a recurring decimal answer.

Here is the URL which will take them to a student version of this activity.

Transum.org/go/?to=recurring