Fractions on a number line
Recognise and use fractions as numbers: place unit fractions and non-unit fractions with small denominators on a number line
What a learner can do afterwards
- Place 1/2, 1/4, 3/4 on a number line from 0 to 1
- Identify that 1/3 lies between 0 and 1/2 on the number line
- Understand that a fraction is a single number, not just 'part of a shape'
The lesson
A fraction is not just a slice of pizza. It is a number, just like 1, 2, or 3. Every fraction has its own exact spot on a number line, somewhere between 0 and 1.
Mia wants to mark 1/3 on a number line from 0 to 1. She cuts the line into 3 equal parts instead of 4. Her first mark is 1/3, and it lands before halfway, closer to 0 than to 1/2.
The bottom number in a fraction tells you how many equal jumps fit between 0 and 1. The top number tells you how many of those jumps you have taken.
A fraction is a point on a number line: the bottom number sets the jump size, and the top number counts the jumps from 0.
Watch it
Where it sits
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.