standard_description: Understand that rewriting an expression in different forms in a problem context can shed light on the problem and how the quantities in it are related. For example, a + 0.05a = 1.05a means that “increase by 5%” is the same as “multiply by 1.05.”
problem_activity: Activity
The purpose of this activity is for students to practice rewriting expressions representing percent change so that they only use multiplication.
Launch
Allow students to work with a partner or individually.
Student Facing
Write an equivalent expression using the distributive property:
\(65 - 0.45 \boldcdot 65\)
\(65 + 0.45 \boldcdot 65\)
\(91 \boldcdot (1.2)\)
\(x + 0.04x\)
Evaluate by multiplying just two numbers in your calculator. Write down the expression you calculated.
130 increased by 10%
25 decreased by 30%
50% more than 38
6% less than 200
Write an equivalent expression that only uses multiplication:
\(p - 0.35p\)
\(z - 0.85z\)
\(q + 0.06q\)
\(r + 0.64r\)
Student Response
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Activity Synthesis
Either display the correct solutions or invite students to share their solutions. Here are sample questions to promote discussion:
“Why is it okay to rewrite an expression like
\(z - 0.85z\)
so that it looks like
\(0.15z\)
?” (Use the distributive property, or think about how an amount decreased by 85% is the same as 15% of the amount.)
“Have you heard some examples of percent increase or decrease used in the real world? What were they?” (Sample response: The news might talk about crime decreasing by 10% compared to last year, or home prices in an area increasing by 25%.)
“How is an expression representing percent increase (like
\(1.05x\)
) different from an expression representing percent decrease (like
\(0.95x\)
)?” (The coefficient is greater than 1 versus less than 1. This is a result of adding or subtracting a percentage of the original amount.)


aligns: no