High on Clapton's riffs

Tips for finding the largest/smallest fraction in a series.

Lately my tutee's father has been playing Eric Clapton's Live in Hyde Park DVD, and I got to admit, the music is intoxicating. Made me a bit high when I should be supervising the boy with a far more hyper imagination than mine.

It's true you learn the most when you teach, as the saying goes. I actually found a faster way to solve a question than I did as a kid.

Find the largest fraction: 4/5, 23/45, 9/10, 8/9.

What I'd do back then is to find a common denominator for all the fractions and then look for the obviously largest fraction. The problem is that it's so tedious I don't even want to attempt it here.

I should have done it the way computer programs do, compare the first two fractions for the larger one, which is then compared with the next fraction. The common denominator is easier to find for two fractions than for four at the same time. The thought process would go: 36/45 > 23/45; 8/10 < 9/10; 81/90 > 80/90; therefore the answer is 9/10.

I hope that was helpful for anyone helping primary five kids with maths. Now for the fun stuff--Eric Clapton!!