An

An Introduction
Introduction to
to
Fractions!
Fractions!
Defining, visualizing, comparing and
finding equivalent fractions
 Fractions
• A fraction is part of a whole number.
• Can you think of examples of
fractions?
• The following numbers are all
fractions:
1/2, 3/7, 6/10, 4/99
 Definitions of Fractions
• A fraction is a way of representing
division of a 'whole' into 'parts'. It
has the form
Numerator
Denominator

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 Numerators and
Denominators
• Numerator is the number of parts chosen
and the
• Denominator is the total number of parts.
• Another way which fractions are represent
is in the form or a/b, where a and b are
whole numbers, and the number b is not 0.
In this example, a is the numerator and b
is the denominator.
 Representation of
Fractions

• In this example 3 of the 7 parts of

the pie chart are shaded. Therefore
the numerator is 3 and the
denominator is 7.
 Now You Decide:
• How many of the pieces are in the circle?
• How many pieces are shaded in?
• What fraction could be used to represent the amount of the circle
which is shaded in?
 Comparing Fractions
• When comparing fractions, you will be given two
fractions to compare as in the example below:
• You are to choose which of the two fractions is
the larger.
• Keep this in mind as you make your choice - the
larger the numerator the larger the fraction and
the larger the denominator the smaller the
fraction. If the denominators are the same, the
fraction with the larger numerator is larger and if
the numerators are the same, the fraction with
the larger denominator is smaller.
 Visualizing the fraction
• One method is to visualize the
fractions, as pictured below in red:
 Discussion of two
fractions
• As you can see 1/4 is less than half the circle
while 5/6 is more than half the circle - so 5/6 is
larger.
• Here, the idea of the least common denominator
or LCD is used. LCD is an idea we have discussed
that can be used in comparing fractions. The LCD
is the smallest number that both 4 and 6 will
divide into evenly. 12 is the LCD for the fractions
1/4 and 5/6 because both 4 and 6 divide evenly
into 12.
 Now You compare:
• Which is greater 2/7 or 1/11 ?

• Which is less 6/11 or 22/51 ?

• Which is greater 1/2 or 4/8 ?

• What do you notice about the last pair of

fractions we compared?
 Equivalent Fractions
• Fractions are equivalent if they represent the same amount of the
whole or the same value
• Why are these two fractions equivalent? Can you think of more
equivalent fractions?
 More Equivalent
Fractions
• Is this fraction equivalent to 2? How
can you tell? 3
 Why do you think fractions are
useful?
• If Jimmy at 3 of the 9 pieces of pizza how much
of the pizza did he eat?
• If Rieta drove 2 of the 5 miles to school how
much of the trip to school has she traveled?
• If Andy read 22 of the 55 pages in his book how
much of the book has he read?
• Can you think of other examples of fractions?
• https://toytheater.com/fraction-strips/#