Percent Equations Guided Notes + Homework Set

Guided notes that build "OF means TIMES" into a full percent equation, paired with an eleven-item assignment covering percent of a number, finding the whole and finding the percent, plus a separate key file.

Year groups: Years 8–11
File type: PDF
Preparation: Print ready

Updated Feb 21, 2024

Subject: Maths
Topic: Percent Equations, Guided Notes
Resource types: Worksheets, Worksheets & Printables
Preparation: Print ready

From the author

About this resource

Percent Equations Guided Notes and Homework Set This 7-page teaching resource on solving percent equations guides students to deepen their understanding of this essential 7th-10th grade maths skill. After defining key terms, students follow along with step-by-step worked examples showing how to solve various percent equation word problems. Guiding questions promote active thinking. A 3-page homework assignment provides further practice applying these concepts in a variety of real-world scenarios from sales tax to tips and discounts. Implement individually or with small groups. Answer key included to support educators in assessing student work. This resource builds conceptual knowledge of percentages that transfers to other subjects.

What's included

A one-page assignment headed "Percent Equations Assignment!" with eleven numbered items and a name line
Items 1-6 straight percent-of calculations: 24% of 50, 39% of 72, 9% of 75, 108% of 32, 1% of 900 and 6.5% of 40
Item 7 as a word problem — 150 people, 12% of them children — and items 8-11 asking students to write and solve an equation, with sentence frames such as "13 is 25% of ______" to complete
A two-page guided notes set with blanks to fill, opening on "When finding a certain percent 'OF' a number, we can simply ______ the percent times the number"
Three everyday illustrations of why "of" means multiply, using two-litre bottles, four-piece chocolate bars and half of 30
A percent-to-decimal recap strip covering 15%, 67%, 8%, 158%, 40% and 4%, then six calculator problems including two in context
A side-by-side comparison of the proportion method and the equation method worked on the same question, "121 is 22% of what number?"
A separate three-page file named "Percent Equations KEY"

Resource types: Worksheets, Worksheets & Printables

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

Convert a percent to a decimal, including values above 100% such as 158%
Find a percent of a number by multiplying, and explain why "of" signals multiplication
Write and solve an equation to find the whole when a part and a percent are known, as in "13 is 25% of what number?"
Write and solve an equation to find the percent when the part and the whole are known, as in "44 is what percent of 72?"
State the result as a full sentence rather than a bare number, using the frames printed beside each problem

Teaching tips

Both the notes and the assignment say to use a calculator, so the arithmetic is not the point — mark the equation set-up rather than the decimal answer
Teach the notes before the assignment: the assignment opens directly on percent-of items that the notes' "OF means TIMES" section is written to unlock
The proportion-versus-equation page is the natural place to slot in students who were taught percents as proportions last year, since both methods are worked on the same question
Several values run over 100% — 108% of 32, 136% of 75, 158% as a decimal, and "What percent of 40 is 62?" — so cover the over-100% case explicitly before setting the sheet

Skills covered

Percent of a number — students compute 24% of 50, 9% of 75, 108% of 32 and 6.5% of 40, with the notes justifying multiplication rather than asking for it on trust.
Percent-to-decimal conversion — a recap strip converts 15%, 67%, 8%, 158%, 40% and 4%, deliberately including a value above 100%.
Finding the whole from a part — items such as "13 is 25% of what number?" and "24% of what number is 438?" ask for an equation, not a guess.
Finding the percent from two known numbers — "What percent of 40 is 62?" and "44 is what percent of 72?" reverse the same relationship.
Choosing a method — one notes page runs the proportion method and the equation method on the identical question so students can compare the two side by side.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

Is a calculator assumed?

Yes. Both the assignment and the notes carry the direction "Use a calculator", including on the six-item practice block in the notes, so the work is about setting up the right equation rather than about doing the arithmetic by hand.

How far past 100% do the values go?

Well past it, and on purpose. The assignment includes 108% of 32, the notes ask for 136% of 75, the decimal recap includes 158%, and "What percent of 40 is 62?" resolves above 100% too — so students meet percents greater than the whole in all three question shapes.

How do the notes handle students who learned percents as proportions?

They put the two approaches side by side. One page is laid out in two columns, Proportion Method and Equation Method, both working the same question, "121 is 22% of what number?", with a shared answer sentence underneath before four further problems to break down.