How_To_Be_Good_At_Math

40 NUMBERS •^ FRACTIONS

Fractions

A fraction is a part of a whole. We write a fraction as one number over another

number. The bottom number tells us how many parts the whole is divided into

and the top number says how many parts we have.

Each slice of cake is a quarter of

the whole cake. But what does

that mean?

The cake has been cut up to

make four equal-sized slices,

called quarters.

What is a

fraction?

Fractions are really

useful when we need

to divide things into

equal parts. Let’s use

this cake to show

what we mean when

we say something

has been divided

into quarters.

Unit fractions

A unit fraction has 1 as its numerator. It is one

part of a whole that is divided into equal parts.

Let’s divide our cake into different unit fractions,

up to one-tenth. Can you see that the larger the

denominator, the smaller the slice?

A half means “one part out

of a possible two parts” ONE-HALF ONE-THIRD ONE-QUARTER

TWO-FIFTHS ARE PINK

Non-unit fractions

A non-unit fraction has a numerator

that is more than one. Fractions can

describe parts of a whole, like the

cake above, or parts of a group, as

with these cakes.

There are five cakes. Two

of them are pink, so we

can say that two-fifths of the

cakes are pink.

(^2) ⁄ 5 of the cakes are pink,
so^3 ⁄ 5 of them are blue
1
2
1
3
1
4
2
5
040_041_Fractions.indd 40 29/02/2016 14:09