Introducing fractions
Fractions are a way of expressing parts of a whole or equal parts of an amount. The number on top is the numerator and shows the number of parts you are dealing with. The number on the bottom is the denominator and shows the total number of equal parts that something has been divided into.
Introduction to fractions
If you get \({7}\) out of \({10}\) in a test, you can write your score as \(\frac{7}{10}\).
\({7}\) expressed as a fraction of \({10}\) is \(\frac{7}{10}\).
Similarly, if there are \({20}\) socks in a drawer and \({4}\) of them are blue, \(\frac{4}{20}\) of the socks are blue.
\({4}\) expressed as a fraction of \({20}\) is \(\frac{4}{20}\).
- Question
a) What fraction of the large shape is the small one?
b) What fraction of the small shape is the large one?
a) The small shape is \(\frac{3}{10}\) of the large shape.
b) The large shape is \(\frac{10}{3}\) or \({3}\frac{1}{3}\) of the small shape.
- Question
What fraction of \({1}\) metre is \({42}~cm\)?
\({42}~cm\) as a fraction of \({100}~cm\) is:
\[\frac{42}{100}\]