Saturday, March 30, 2013

Fractions: The First Piece of a Whole

Hiya everybody!

Do you know what a fraction is? (ex. 5/8) It's 5 out of 8, right? WRONG! We eventually learn it that way, but it's easier for people to learn fractions as five 1/8th pieces. The top number is called a numerator. A numerator tells you the number of pieces you have. The bottom number is a denominator. The denominator tells you the denomination, or size, of the pieces.

Try identifying other fractions here. Practicing saying "(enter numerator) 1/(enter denominator) pieces" as you try each fraction. It really helps you start saying it automatically. 2/7 becomes two 1/7 pieces naturally.


There are different ways of identifying fractions too.
For example,

Is this 3/4, or is it 1 1/2? This is where something called a unit becomes very important. Units are what make a whole. If the circle is a unit, then we have 3 of the 1/4 pieces necessary to make a whole. If half the circle is a unit, then we have 1 whole and 1 of the 1/2 pieces needed to make another whole.