Fraction Notation
Read, write, and use fraction notation correctly — fraction, numerator, denominator, unit fraction, non-unit fraction, proper fraction, improper fraction, mixed number, equivalent fraction, simplest form — and understand what each term describes, including the roles of the numerator and denominator in expressing parts of a whole
What a learner can do afterwards
- Point to and name the numerator and denominator in any given fraction and explain what each tells you
- Correctly classify fractions as unit, proper, improper, or mixed number with an example of each
- Explain in own words why 2/4 and 1/2 are equivalent fractions
The lesson
A fraction shows part of a whole. It has two numbers with a line between them. The bottom number is called the denominator. It tells you how many equal parts the whole is cut into. The top number is called the numerator. It tells you how many of those parts you are counting.
Look at 1/3. Its numerator is 1, so it is a unit fraction: just one part. Look at 3/4. Its numerator is bigger than 1, so it is a non-unit fraction. In 3/4 the top number is smaller than the bottom number, so it is a proper fraction. In 5/4 the top number is bigger than the bottom number, so it is an improper fraction. You can write 5/4 as a mixed number too: 1 whole and 1/4 left over, written 1 1/4.
When two fractions show the same amount, they are equivalent fractions. If you can write the same amount with smaller numbers, that smaller version is called the simplest form. 1/2 is the simplest form of 2/4.
The denominator counts the equal parts, the numerator counts how many you have, and fractions like 2/4 and 1/2 can look different but mean the same amount.
Watch it
Where it sits
Learn first
Nothing; this is a starting point.
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.