Chapter - 5

FRACTIONS

After studying this Chapter you can,

n explain the meaning of fraction,

n write fraction for the given situation,

give examples for fractions,

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n compare the fractions having,
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a) equal denominators b) equal numerators.

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n identify the greater or smaller fractions,

n explain the meaning of equivalent fraction,

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n write equivalent fractions for a given fraction,

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identify equivalent fractions,

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n locate , , on the number line,

n estimate the degree of closeness of a given fraction,

n simplify the larger unit fractions into smaller unit fraction

(dividing by common number).

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Fraction as a part of the whole.
Example 1 Yes,
half-half
Let's share this
biscuit.

When you say ‘half- half’, into how many parts are you going to

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break the whole ? Two parts.
Two halves make one whole. I SH
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Study the pairs given below.

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A B C
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Two unequal parts Two unequal parts Two equal parts

Which ones do you call halves . Why ?
See, both are of
the same size
Have you made
equal parts ?

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 In fig , the whole is divided into two equal parts.
Each part is a half.
Half is expressed as .
Example 2g
Look at these circular cutouts. Each has been divided into four
parts. Is there any difference in the way they have been divided?

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fig 2 a) fig 2 b)

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In fig 2 a) we can choose any part and say that it is one fourth
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of the circular cutout, as equal parts are made.

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an we do the same in fig 2 b) No. Why

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The important point is that, to express a fraction as part of a

whole, we must divide the whole into equal parts.
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Example 3
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Look at the rectangle. What portion of the rectangle is coloured

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green ?
It is one out of the three. Here, the whole
rectangle is divided into 3 equal parts.
One such equal part is coloured green. It is
written as
Example 4
Look at this circle.
Into how many equal parts is the circle divided ?
It is divided into 6 equal parts.
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How many parts of the circle is marked with plus sign (+) ?
It is one out of six parts. It is written as .
How many parts of the circle is marked with dots ?
It is two out of six. It is written as .
Numerator and Denominator
Look at the fractions : , ,
A fraction consists of two numbers written one above the other,
separated by a line. The number above
the line is called the numerator and
the number below the line is called the

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denominator.

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A cake is divided into 8 equal parts. One equal part is represented
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as .
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is a fraction. The total number

of parts is the denominator. The
part taken out is 1. This is repre-
sented as the numerator.
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1 Numerator
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8 Denominator
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In this figure 1 out of 4 equal

parts is coloured.
1 Numerator
4 Denominator

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Observe the triangle given below.
No. of coloured parts 1 Numerator
=
Total no. of equal parts made 2 Denominator

No. of uncoloured parts 1 Numerator

=
Total no. of equal parts made 2 Denominator

From these examples we conclude that,

n Fraction is a part of a whole.
n To write a fraction we need two numbers.

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n The number of equal parts into which the whole is divided,

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forms the denominator.
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The number of equal parts selected or shaded, forms the nu-

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merator.
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3 Numerator 7
4 Denominator 8
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Three by four Seven by eight

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Fraction as a part of collection

Example 1
This is a collection of 10 labels.
Divide this collection into two
equal parts. Each of these parts
will have 5 labels.
So of 10 is 5.

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Example 2
Study the fractional part of the following collections.
a) of this collection is coloured.

∴ of 6 is 3

b) of this collection is coloured

∴ of 8 is 6

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c) of this collection is coloured.
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∴ of 6 is 4
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Example 3
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Abdul has 13 pieces of Mysore paks in

his plate. e gives 2 pieces of ysore
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paks to his friend D’ souza.

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an you tell what part of ysore paks does Sou a get It is 2

out of 13.
ere 13 is total number in the collection. 2 is the number taken.
Therefore it can be represented by .
It is read as two by thirteen or two thirteenth.

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Example 4
Manohar sells tomatoes in his shop.

There are 17 tomatoes of equal size in the tray. He weighs half a kg

tomatoes and gets 5 tomatoes. Can you tell what part of tomatoes
does he get ? It is 5 out of 17.
Here 17 is the total number in the collection. 5 is the number of
tomatoes taken.

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Fraction as a part of the Group

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Example 1 :
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This is Hari’s sweet shop.

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Mysore paks Laddus Jilebees.

What are the sweets available in Hari’s sweet shop ?

On what part of the shelf does he keep Laddus ?
It is and read as one third or one by three.
Hari wants to sell of Laddus to Viju.
How many Laddus does Viju get ? It is 7.

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Example 2
This is Mani’s vegetable shop.
Brinjals Potatoes Tomatoes

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Chillies CarrotsI SH
Tomatoes
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Which vegetable is kept in the largest area ? ..............................

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What part is it ? ..................... It is or

What part of the area is used to keep carrots ? It is
From the above examples we conclude that, fraction is a part of a
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collection in a group.
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Exercise 5.1
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1) Which of the following figures have been divided into parts

of the same size ?

a b c d

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2) Draw a line or lines to divide each of these figures into the
required number of equal parts.

2 parts 4 parts 6 parts 8 parts

3) Write each of the following as a fraction.
a) Half f) Five-twelveth
b) Two-third g) Eight-nineth.

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c) Two-tenth h) Four-nineth

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d) Five-seventh i) Three-fourth
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e) ive sixteenth ) Two fifth

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4) Write each of the fraction in words.

a) b) c) d) e)
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f) g) h) i) j)
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5) What fraction of the figure is shaded ?

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a b c

d e f
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6) Fill in the blanks.
a) The denominator of the fraction is .

b) The numerator of the fraction is .

c) 3 is the ..of the fraction .

d) 1 is the of the fraction .

e) In a fraction, the denominator is written below the

.. separated by a line.

7) Write down the fraction of the coloured portions in these figures.

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a)
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b)
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c)
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d)

e)

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8) Write the fraction for the shaded part in each of the
following figures.

.................. .................. ..................

9) Colour the figures as instructed.

Example : Colour

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a. Colour b. Colour
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c. Colour

10) Represent the given fraction by drawing a line.

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a) What is of 12
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b) What is of 15 ?

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c) What is of 21

11) Shade the figures to show the fractions.

a) b) c)

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12) Which of the following shaded figures represent ?

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fig 1 fig 2 fig 3

fig 4 fig 5 fig 6 fig 7

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13) Which of the following shaded figures represent ?
Discuss the reason.

a b c

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d e
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14) Represent the grouped parts as fractions.

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Example
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a)
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b)

c)

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Comparison of fractions
Comparison of fractions having same denominators.
Example 1
ook at the shaded parts of the following figures.

Are the shaded parts of each figure equal in si e

Here is smaller than .
Symbolically, we write <

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Observe that denominator 7 is the same, in both fractions.

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Numerator 1 is smaller than numerator 3.
Example 2 I
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Here is greater than .

enominator 8 is same. Numerator 5 is greater than numerator 3.

Symbolically, we write >

From these examples, we conclude that if fractions have the same
denominator, then
i) smaller the numerator, smaller is the value of the fractional number,
ii)greater the numerator, greater is the value of the fractional number.

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Comparison of fractions having same numerators.
Example 1 :
ook at the shaded parts of the following figures.

Which shaded part is greater ?

is greater than

Example 2

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Which shaded part is greater ?

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is greater than
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Symbolically we write >

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In both these cases, the numerator is same. We observe that, a frac-

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tion having lesser denominator is greater.

We can conclude that, if fractions have the same numerator, then
i) greater the denominator, smaller the value of the fractional number,
ii) smaller the denominator, greater the value of the fractional number.
Example :
1) is lesser than 2) is greater than

< >

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 Exercise 5.2
Fill in the gaps using > or < signs.

1. 2. 3.

4. 5. 6.

7. 8. 9.

10. 11. 12.

EQUIVALENT FRACTIONS
Example 1 :

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Look at these cakes.
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The shaded part of all the figures are equal in si e.

We notice that in each case half of the figure is shaded.
∴ = =
These fractions are called ‘‘Equivalent fractions.’’

Fractions which indicate the same value are

said to be equivalent fractions.

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Example 2 : bserve the following figures.

∴ = = =

and so on

Thus, to find equivalent fractions, multiply the numerator and the

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denominator of the fraction by the same number (other than zero).
Example 3 : Write two equivalent fractions of
I SH .
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∴
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Checking the equivalence of fractions.

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Example 4 : a) and b) and

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(cross multiply) (cross multiply)

3 × 12 = 36 2 × 18 = 36
4 × 9 = 36 7 × 6 = 42
36 = 36 36 42
∴ =

is equivalent to is not equivalent to

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 We conclude that in given two fractions,
i) if the two fractions are cross multiplied and the products are
equal, then the fractions are equivalent.
ii) if the two fractions are cross multiplied and the products
are not equal, then the fractions are not equivalent.

Finding equivalent fraction with given numerator and denom-

inator.

Example 5 : a)

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b)
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Exercise 5.3
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I Complete the series.

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1)

2)
II. Write the next three equivalent fractions.

1) , , ........., ........., ......... .

2) , , ........., ........., ......... .

3) , , ........., ........., ......... .

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III. Are the two fractions equivalent ? Mark with ✓ or ✗

1) and

2) and

3) and

4) and

IV. Find an equivalent fraction of having

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1) 16 as numerator

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2) 24 as numerator
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3) 21 as denominator
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4) 84 as denominator
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Simplification of fractions
Example 1
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Look at the equivalent fractions.

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∴ We can write these as

How can we get and as the equivalent fractions of ?

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 From the above examples, we can conclude that, equivalent
fractions are obtained by dividing the numerator and the denominator
of the given fraction by the same number (except 0).

Thus,
Example 2 :

Thus,

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Thus,
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Thus,
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Thus,
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To get a simplified form of a fraction with lower terms, divide

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the numerator and the denominator of the given fraction by the

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same number.
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In this case the value of the equivalent fractions remain the same
as the given fraction.
Example 3
Reduce the fraction to its lowest form.

(both the numerator and

denominator are divided by
same number 2.)

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 Can you reduce further ?

(divide both by the same number 3.)

Can you reduce further ?

The only number by which both 6 and 7 can be divided is 1.

When you reach this stage, you get the lowest form.

Or

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1. Reducing a fraction to its lowest form is called simplification of
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fraction.
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2. To get the simplest form of a given fraction, go on dividing the

numerator and the denominator by the same number until you
get lowest form.
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Exercise 5.4
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I. Reduce each of the following fractions into its lowest form.

1) 2) 3) 4) 5)

6) 7) 8) 9) 10)

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