Fractions - A Math Games Lesson

Topics Covered: Fractions, Numerators, Denominators, Highest and Lowest Terms, Equivalent Fractions

A fraction describes some part of a whole object.

 

The circle below is a whole object but the red and white pieces of the circle are each a fraction of the circle.

Lets label the fractions in our circle. The red piece is 1/4 of the whole circle. The white piece is 3/4 of the whole circle.

 

Definitions:

The top number of a fraction is the numerator.

The bottom number of a fraction is called the denominator.

Examples:

The numerator of the fraction is 3.

The denominator of the fraction is 4.

 

Definitions:

Equivalent Fractions are fractions that are equal.

Examples:

and are equivalent fractions.

You can find equivalent fractions that have higher terms by multiplying the numerator and denominator by the same number.

Examples:

is a higher term of since 3x2=6 and 4x2=8

You can find equivalent fractions that have lower terms by multiplying the numerator and denominator by the same number.

Examples:

is a lower term of since 6 divided by 2 is equal to 3 and 8 divided by 2 is equal to 4

 

Multiplying or Dividing a fraction by the same number is equivalent to multiplying or dividing the fraction by 1. Let's look at our example again.

When we multiplied the numerator 3 and denominator 4 by 2 it was the same as multiplying by 1 since 2 divided by 2 is equal to 1. Therefore the resulting fraction is an equivalent fraction to .