Students’ reasoning in comparison, ordering and representation of fractions and decimal numbers tasks

Abstract

A cross-sectional study from 5th to 10th grade has been performed to analyse the levels of success and students’ reasoning in fraction and decimal number comparison tasks, and tasks of representing fractions and decimal numbers in the number line. Our study provides evidence of the use of different incorrect reasonings inferred in previous quantitative studies and also provides information on how these reasonings are used along grades. Results show that, although the natural number-based reasoning decreased, other incorrect reasoning appears in these types of tasks.