NUMBERS • EQUIVALENT FRACTIONS 45=
× 4Calculating equivalent fractions
To change a fraction to an equivalent fraction, we multiply or divide the numerator and
denominator by a whole number, making sure we use the same whole number both times!8
10
Look at the top two rows,
beginning 1 and 2. Imagine a
dividing line between them, making
the two rows into fractions, like this:The first fraction we have is^1 / 2. If we
read right along the row, we find that
all the other fractions, up to^12 / 24 , are
equivalent to^1 / 2.......This works even for rows that
aren’t next to each other in the
table. So, if we put rows 7 and 11
together, we get a row of fractions
that are equivalent to^7 / 11 :1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12× 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 122 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 243 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 364 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 485 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 606 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 54 60 66 727 7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56 63 70 77 848 8 16 24 32 40 48 56 64 72 80 88 969 9 18 27 36 45 54 63 72 81 90 99 10810 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 12011 11 22 33 44 55 66 77 88 99 110 121 13212 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96 108 120 132 144Dividing
We can change^8 / 10 into an equivalent fraction
by dividing the numerator and the denominator
by 2 to make^4 / 5. Look at the table on the opposite
page to check that^8 / 10 and 4 / 5 are equivalent.Multiplying
We can make^1 / 3 into the equivalent fraction^4 / 12
by multiplying the numerator and the denominator
by 4. Look at the table opposite to check that the
two fractions are equivalent.Using a multiplication grid to find equivalent fractions
We usually use this grid to help us multiply numbers, as on page 106, but it’s
also a quick and easy way to find equivalent fractions!4
5
=
1
3
4
12
Numerator is
multiplied by 4× 4÷ 2÷ 22
414
221
27
113
621
334
828
4435
55Denominator is
multiplied by 4Numerator is
divided by 2Denominator is
divided by 25
10044_045_Equivalent_Fractions.indd 45 29/02/2016 16:39