Fractions (Math for Kids)

Fractions are fundamental concepts in mathematics and have various real-world applications.

A fraction represents a part of a whole thing or number. Fractions divide things in equal portion. Each part of the whole thing or number is a fraction.

When something is broken up into a number of parts, the fraction shows how many parts a thing is divided into.

For example, if we take a pizza, let’s divide it with the help of fractions.

Thus, 1 whole pizza can be cut into 1/2 pizza. A 1/2 pizza can be cut into two quarters 1/4. A quarter pizza is 1/4th of the pizza, while the three parts of a pizza are 3/4th of a pizza.

Parts of a Fraction

A fraction is made up of two parts: Numerator and Denominator.

A Numerator is the number on the top in a fraction. It tells us how many parts of a thing we have.

A Denominator is the number at the bottom in a fraction. It tells us how many parts a thing is divided into.

Types of fractions

Like Fractions: Fractions having the same denominators are called “Like Fractions”.

Example: 2/9, 3/9, 4/9, 7/9 are all like fractions.

Unlike Fractions: Fractions having different denominators are called “Unlike Fractions”.

Example: 2/3, 3/4, 5/9, 7/11 are all unlike fractions.

Unit Fractions: Fractions having 1 as numerator are called “Unlike Fractions”.

Example: 1/3, 1/4, 1/9, 1/11, 1/16 are all unit fractions.

Proper Fractions – This is a fraction where the numerator is less than a denominator.

Example: 1/3, 3/5, 5/8, 9/10 are all Proper Fractions.

Improper Fraction – This is a fraction where the numerator is equal to or greater than the denominator.

Example: 5/3, 7/2, 9/4, 11/5 are all Improper Fractions.

Mixed Fraction – In this, we have a proper fraction and a whole number together. When we multiply a natural number by the denominator and add to the numerator, we get a mixed fraction. The required fraction is formed by the new numerator over the denominator.

Example: 5 and 1/2 becomes (5×2+1)/2 = 11/2

Here we get a mixed fraction with 11 as the numerator and 2 as the denominator.

Projects / Activities

Mathematics Fraction Activity for Class V1

From 2 different colour chart papers cut 5 circles of radius 4 cm (of both the colours) , Scissor, Scale, Pencil, fevicol.

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