1. The first method we can use is the exact opposite of one I named last week, and it's to set up a proportion. In last week's blog, I explained that you can equate a number that divides evenly into 100 with 100. You can do this this time, too. All decimals are really fractions of 10 and therefore 100. You could make .4 into 40 over 100. This is a fraction, but when reduced it's 2/5. You can check your answer by dividing 2 by 5, which you'll see makes .4.
2. The second method, which is more specific to decimals such as .74 that aren't evenly divisible into 100, is very similar to the last one, only it has an extra step at the beginning. The number 100 has two zeroes after the 1, so you would need to move your decimal point two places to the right. This changes .740 into 74.0, or 74. When you insert 100 as a numerator like you did previously, it becomes 74/100. This would need to be reduced. It reduces to 37/50. You should reduce all fractions whenever you use them, and that's especially important here.

Like I pointed out last week, both of these methods are somewhat specific, and both are easier to use in certain contexts. The former is more applicable in easier things where the numerator is easily divisible into 100 to make an even fraction that can be reduced. The latter can be used in this situation or mor

One of the ways you can turn a fraction into a decimal is to make a proportion. This takes longer than the other method. It is also where a percentage would come in. For example, if the fraction is 2/5, you could equate it with another fraction -- 40/100. This is 40%, which can also be written as .40 or .4.

The other way that fractions can be made into decimals will probably be easier to use if the denominator of the fraction is not a factor of 100. You can divide the top number by the bottom number. If you divide 2 by 5, you'd get .4, or 4/10 of the number "1". 

As for which method I prefer to use, I'd say that it depends on the context and value of the fraction. If the denominator is a factor of 100, then I'd set up a proportion, more likely. However, the second one is more applicable and easier to use in places where the denominator is prime or cannot be multiplied to get 100. The latter, though, can also be used in that context, and the former can also be applied even when a proportion could also be easily used. 

In my opinion, fractions and decimals are both really easy to learn and apply to real-world situations.

My answer for this is pretty clear, but confusing at the same time. I think that in purchasing food to sell again, you'd need to use both the ratio and percentage to find out a price. I'd probably use percentage more, though. When you find out how much of the original price you are going to sell any retail item for, most people would use a percent method. However, the proportion would make your answer and thought process more clear. Some people would find it easier and more suitable to use a proportion over 100 and cross multiply for the correct price. I don't think this would be the case here, though. Setting up a proportion takes longer. Overall, the methods will give you the same result if you carry them out correctly, which is why there is no true correct answer to the question.

When I first got the blog prompt, I was kind of confused by it, because right now in Math we're studying geometry and circles. However, today Ms. Moon taught us that percentage can be used in finding the degrees of certain parts of circles. For example, to find out the measure degree of an area that encompasses 40% of a circle, you need to multiply 360 (since there are 360 degrees total in a circle) by .40 or .4. This, however, is a real-world problem that uses the same basic principles and knowledge. Percentages and ratios are two of the most useful and applicable things to learn in Math this year. I hope we can find other ways to use them and learn about them even in other classes.