what is a fraction?

An Introductory Math Lesson By That Math Lady

A fraction is a part of a whole. Sometimes we use other words when we talk

about fractions:

part

piece

slice

section

portion

division

Have you ever taken one slice of pizza from entire pizza? Sure you have! Did you know that when you remove that one slice, you are taking one slice, or a fraction, of the whole pizza?!

Have you ever eaten just a few pieces of candy out of a bag? When you pour those candies into your hand, you are eating a portion, or a fraction of the whole bag of candy!

Have you ever participated in a team? Did you know that you’re one member of that whole team..a part of that whole team…a fraction of that whole team?!

Knowing the parts of a fraction are important!

There are two digits to consider when writing fractions:

There is a top digit, which is called the

numerator...

…and a bottom digit, which is called

the denominator.

numerator

denominator

The numerator shows how many pieces are taken.

The denominator shows how many equal pieces are available to be taken.

Always look at the big picture first…the whole. How many pieces is the whole divided into?

• This pie is divided into 2 pieces. • Therefore, my denominator would be 2.

2

What is the denominator of the ballet students in this whole class?

What is the denominator of the cookies on this entire baking sheet?

The correct denominator to represent all the girls in the ballet

class is 5

5

The correct denominator to represent all the cookies on the

baking sheet is 9

9

Now that you know how to find the denominator, let’s learn about the numerator!

Let’s look at that ballet class again…

Let’s answer the question: What fraction of the class are wearing purple shirts?

First, let’s see how many ballet students are wearing purple shirts:

Two students are wearing purple shirts. That is going to be our numerator.

Do you remember the denominator from the previous slides? If so, write it down beneath the numerator and the fraction bar to find your answer!

Question: What fraction of the class are wearing purple shirts?

Answer: 2 5

In other words, two out of five ballet students in the whole class are wearing purple shirts! That is a fraction of the class!

What other fractions can you find in this picture?