Equivalent fractions
Recognise and show, using diagrams, equivalent fractions with small denominators
What a learner can do afterwards
- Show that 1/2 = 2/4 using a diagram of equal parts
- Use a fraction wall or bar model to find equivalent fractions
- Explain why two fractions are equivalent by comparing the shaded areas
1 · Read
Equivalent fractions are fractions that look different but stand for the same amount. If you split a shape into more equal parts and shade more of them to match, the amount you shaded stays the same.
Mia has a chocolate bar split into 2 equal parts and eats 1 part. Zara has the same size bar split into 4 equal parts and eats 2 parts. The bars look different, but both girls ate the same amount.
To check if two fractions are equivalent, do not just look at the numbers. Compare how much space is shaded. If the shaded space is the same size, the fractions are equivalent.
Same amount, more parts: that is what makes two fractions equivalent.
More to read
Equivalent fractions review
Equal fractions are the same amount wearing different costumes. One half of a pizza covers exactly as much as 2 quarters of the same pizza. Cut each half into 2 and the 2 halves become 4 quarters, with 1 half matching 2 quarters. Shade both forms on paper plates and hold them against the light.
Visualizing equivalent fractions review
Doubling the cuts doubles both numbers but keeps the value frozen. Two thirds sliced again becomes 4 sixths: same shaded dinner, thinner slices. Build it with a fraction wall: lay 2 thirds on the top row and 4 sixths below, edge to edge. Matching lengths prove the match.
4.2: Equivalent Fractions
Two fractions match when their shaded areas match. Lay 3 quarters over 6 eighths and the borders line up exactly, proving 3/4 equals 6/8. Multiply top and bottom by the same number to travel between matching forms. Test every claim with shaded bars before trusting the arithmetic.
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2 · Watch
En anglaisTake it off screen
Where it sits
Learn first
Optional connections
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Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
17 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.