I’m sorry for using absolutes in this post. It is just a suggestion. But I’m 33, have a degree in mathematics and until this year I likely would have said 5%, 3%, 2% of something was pretty insignificant. 😬 Then, I had a friend share she received a bonus at work. It was a 2.5% bonus on a $4.5 million contract she closed. I don’t know about you, but I’d happily accept that 2.5% bonus! I’d be thrilled! Now for something a little less happy. We keep hearing there is a 98% survival rate with the virus. Makes our odds seem pretty good, doesn’t it? Until you factor in 2% of the 328+ million people in the United States is over 6 million. 6 million sounds a lot scarier. I personally do not recommend using that example in class but I do think examples like it can be helpful. Look for things like what percentage of people are left handed? What percentage use some kind of eyesight correction? What percentage of people are only children? Percentages that help students see they are not alone - even though they may feel like it. That understanding will translate to things like “hmm maybe that 2% is more than I thought!” Any other percentage ideas you can think of that use larger values?