Comparing fractions (age 10+)
Compare and order fractions including fractions greater than 1, by converting to common denominators or using benchmarks
What a learner can do afterwards
- Order 3/4, 7/8, 5/6, and 11/12 from smallest to largest
- Compare 7/5 and 4/3 using common denominators
- Place improper fractions and mixed numbers on a number line in correct order
The lesson
You already know how to compare two fractions by finding a common denominator. Now you will use that same skill to order more than two fractions at once, and to compare fractions greater than one whole.
To order several fractions, convert them all to the same denominator first. Once every fraction has the same bottom number, the one with the smallest top number is smallest, and the one with the largest top number is largest.
Compare 7/5 and 4/3. A common denominator is 15: 7/5 becomes 21/15, and 4/3 becomes 20/15. Since 21 is more than 20, 7/5 is the larger fraction, even though both fractions are greater than one whole.
Quick check: if the top number is bigger than the bottom number, the fraction is greater than 1. Use that to guess roughly where a fraction sits, then confirm with a common denominator when two fractions are close, like 7/5 and 4/3.
Convert fractions to a common denominator to compare or order them, even when they are greater than one whole.
Watch it
Where it sits
This opens up
Nothing builds on it yet.
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 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.