Lesson 1: What is a Fraction. Fraction Types.

1. What Is a Fraction.
2. Fraction Examples.
3. Fraction Parts:  Numerator , Denominator ,  Vinculum.
4. Fraction Types:  Proper Fractions , Improper Fractions ,  Mixed Fractions.
5. Play the Practice Game

WHAT IS A FRACTION

When an object is divided into a number of equal parts then each part is called a fraction.

There are different ways of writing a fraction. For example, two fifths of an object can be written as

• a common fraction 
• a decimal 0.4
• a percentage 40%

We will learn about percentages and decimals later.

Now let us have a closer look at the common fraction:
 

  2       numerator says how many parts in the fraction
          vinculum  = "divide by"
  5       denominator says how many equal parts in the whole object

Always remember: denominator can NEVER be 0.
Why? Because you cannot divide by 0.

 FRACTION EXAMPLES

Example 1:

We divide a chocolate bar into 5 equal parts.

Each part is of the whole bar.
We read  as one fifth.
The whole bar has 5 fifth parts.
We write it: 1 = 

Example 2:

We have a box of gingerbread men. There are 5 men in the box.
Each man is  of the box contents. 

The whole box has 5 fifth parts.
We write it: 1 = 
Two gingerbread men are pink.
Two pink men are  of the box contents.

 FRACTION TYPES

There are 3 different types of fractions:

• Proper Fractions Numerator < Denominator
  Proper fractions have the nominator part smaller than the denominator part,
  for example , or  .
• Improper Fractions Numerator > Denominator or Numerator = Denominator,
  Improper fractions have the nominator part greater or equal to the denominator part,
  for exampleor .
• Mixed Fractions
  Mixed fractions have a whole number plus a fraction, for example 2or 123 .