What Are Fractions?

If you split a chocolate bar in half, you make a fraction 1/2.

Each piece is one half, or one out of two parts, of the whole.

"One out of two equal parts" is also written as 1/2.

1/2 is a fraction!

So What Exactly Are Fractions?

      Fractions shows you parts of a whole.

Fractions always have a top number and bottom number with a line between them.

      The top number is called the numerator. It shows how many parts you have colored.

      The bottom number is called the denominator. It tells you how many parts the whole is split into.

      A line goes between the numerator and denominator.

Tip: sometimes, we use a / instead of a line like 1/2. It means the same thing, and is easier to type. 😃

Imagine...

You have a chocolate bar. You divide it into 4 equal pieces.

You give 3 pieces to your friends.

The fraction you gave away is 3/4.

👉 The numerator, 3, shows the number of pieces you gave to your friends.

👉 The denominator, 4, is the total number of pieces the chocolate bar was cut into.

You eat the remaining 1 piece of the chocolate bar.

😋 The fraction you ate is 1/4.

More Fraction Examples

Example 1

Look at this rectangle. It's divided into 3 equal parts.

👉 2 parts are colored. The colored part is 2/3 of the whole rectangle.

👉 1 part is white. The white part is 1/3 of the whole circle.

Example 2

This circle is divided into 4 parts.

👉 3 parts are green. 3/4 of the circle is green.

👉 1 part is orange. 1/4 of the circle is orange.

Great job learning about fractions. 

Think you go it? Try the practice. You'll learn even more.