Contextualization

Introduction to the topic

Percentage is a measure that expresses the proportion in relation to a total value. We can understand percentage as a fraction with a denominator of 100, making it a very useful and common way to express proportion relationships between two values. Percentage is an essential tool in many fields of knowledge, such as Economics, Statistics, Social Sciences, and Financial Mathematics.

Contrary to what many think, percentage is not limited to being a math content we must learn for exams. It is used in our daily lives to express statistical data, discounts in stores, taxes on goods, sales commissions, loan interests, disease evolution in a population, among others.

In this project, we will explore percentage in a practical, fun, and meaningful way so that you can understand and apply its concepts effectively and autonomously in everyday life.

Contextualization

In today's world, we are constantly bombarded with numbers and data. Information comes from many different sources and is often expressed in percentage terms. Whether in the news, reporting the unemployment rate or the month's inflation, when buying an item on sale in a store, or even when calculating the waiter's tip. Percentage is a way to express a proportion or relationship between two numbers and is an extremely useful tool for better understanding the world around us.

Percentage serves to express a proportion in relation to a total of 100. Thus, it allows comparing relative quantities, regardless of their absolute values, facilitating understanding. For example, it is much more intuitive to say that 70% of the students in a school like math than to say that 632 out of a total of 902 students like math.

Practical Activity

Activity Title: "Exploring the World of Percentages"

Project Objective:

Conduct a field research using the concept of percentage, present the data obtained clearly, and analyze the results.

Project Description:

Students will form small groups of 3 to 5 members and will develop a research related to percentage. The theme is free and can range from an analysis of food preferences in the school cafeteria to an investigation on the number of students practicing a certain sport.

Students will need to develop a questionnaire, collect data, calculate the percentages, and present the results clearly and understandably. Finally, they must write a detailed report of the project carried out, including planning, execution, and analysis of the results.

Necessary Materials:

• Paper and pen for initial planning and questionnaire creation.
• Calculation spreadsheet (e.g., Excel or Google Sheets) for tabulation and analysis of collected data.

Step by Step:

1. Students will form groups of 3 to 5 people.
2. Each group must choose a theme that can be investigated through a questionnaire with answers to be given in percentage.
3. Develop a questionnaire to be applied for data collection.
4. Apply the questionnaire and collect the answers.
5. Use a calculation spreadsheet for tabulation and analysis of the collected data. Percentages of the answers to each question in the questionnaire must be calculated.
6. Graphically represent the results for better data visualization.
7. Write a project report containing: introduction, development, conclusions, and bibliography used.
8. The total project execution time should not exceed four hours per participant, and the deadline for submission is one week.

Project Deliverables:

At the end of the project, each group must deliver:

1. The developed questionnaire.
2. The calculation spreadsheet with all collected data and respective analyses, including graphs.
3. A written project report containing:
   • Introduction: Description of the chosen theme, its relevance and real-world application, and the project's objective.
   • Development: Detailed description of the project's stages, including the methodology used in data collection, the percentage calculations performed, and the analysis of the results obtained.
   • Conclusions: Discussion on the learnings obtained, the main points of the project, and conclusions on the data obtained.
   • Bibliography: Indication of the sources that served as the basis for the project. Include any books, web pages, videos, etc., that were used to assist in understanding the concept of percentage or in the questionnaire development.

Students will be evaluated not only for the correct understanding and application of the percentage concept but also for the quality of the project developed, including the choice of theme, questionnaire development, data collection and analysis, and presentation of results.

In addition, socio-emotional skills such as time management, communication, problem-solving, creative thinking, and proactivity will be evaluated throughout the project development.