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Basic Fraction Concepts |
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By Tina Shiplet |
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The most common definition is that a fraction is
a part of a whole. For example, if
I bring home a whole pie and my family eats part of it, I have a fraction
of a pie left. |
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Basically, a fraction is a division
problem. It means that there is
something divided into parts and some of the parts are missing. |
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Yes. A
fraction can represent a ratio or proportion. Like the Trident commercial that says “4 out of 5 dentists
surveyed…”, the number of dentists who prefer Trident can also be
represented as 4/5. |
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Knowing that a fraction is a division problem is
helpful when changing the fraction to a decimal number or a percent. For example, ¾ can be expressed as 3 ÷
4, 0.75 or 75%. Try it on a
calculator. Then try a few others
like 2/3, 5/6 or 4/5. |
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A fraction has 3 parts, the numerator, the
division bar and the denominator. |
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The denominator represents how many equal parts
something is divided into. |
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The numerator represents how many parts of the
whole are available. |
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The division bar is a division symbol. It’s useful for converting fractions. |
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Using the same example, we can convert 3/8 to a
decimal number by dividing the numerator by the denominator, 3 ÷ 8 = 0.375. |
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Proper fractions are what we are used to seeing
like 1/2, 2/3, 3/4, etc. |
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Proper fractions are less than one or less than
a whole. |
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Proper fractions have a numerator that is less
than the denominator. |
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Improper fractions look strange like 9/3, 5/2 or
15/6. |
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Improper fractions are equal to or greater than
one or more than a whole. |
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Improper fractions have a numerator that is more
than the denominator. |
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Improper fractions should be converted to a
mixed number or a whole number. |
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A mixed number is a whole number (like 1, 4, 9,
etc.) written next to a fraction. |
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Examples: 2 ¾ or 9 ½ |
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Notes
