Learn some basic facts and principles about fractions. By definition, a fraction is a math concept we use to describe a part of something. According to coolmath4kids.com, "Fractions are for counting PART of something." If you have an uneaten pizza, you have one whole pizza, but if there are sliced missing, you only have part of a pizza, or a fraction of the pizza.
Think of an uneaten pizza. You have one whole pizza, but if there are slices missing, you only have part of a pizza, or a fraction of the pizza. This is how you could visually identify a fraction.
Write a fraction. To do so, you need a numerator and a denominator. It will look like this: 5/6. The numerator is the number on top and represents the number of pieces you are looking for. The denominator on the bottom represents the total number of pieces that are there. Using the pizza example, if you cut a whole pizza into eight slices, and took away 3 of them, than the fraction for the pieces that you took away is 3/8. The fraction for the remaining pieces would be 5/8.
Use Improper fractions when you are counting how many whole items and how many fraction items you have. For example, If you have two whole pizzas and 5/8 of a pizza, you have 2 and 5/8 pizzas.
Fractions are equal to one whole if the numerator and denominator are equal. For example, if you cut a pizza into 4 pizzas and you did not take any, there are 4/4 of the pizza left. (Four slices out of a total of 4.) 4/4 is the same as one whole pizza, so 4/4 is equal to one.
Reduce a fraction by seeing if one number can go evenly into the numerator and denominator. Look at this fraction: 12/16. The number two can go evenly into both 12 and 16. It goes into 12, six times (12 divided by two). It goes into 16, 8 times (16 divided by two). The new fraction is 6/8. Always reduce until one number can no longer go evenly into both numbers. In this case, two can go into both number again. It will give you a result of 3/4. Looking at both of these numbers, we see there is no longer any one number that will go into the numerator and denominator evenly. It can no longer be reduced.
Master the four operations of math. They are addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
Addition means you are adding items together. For example, if you have three bananas, and two apples, together you have five items. Three plus two is five. If you have a number line, start with the three and count up (or to the right) two more times: three, four, five.
Subtractions means you are taking items away. It means you are starting with a set number of items and then taking some away to see how many are left. If you had five apples, and you took away two of them, you would have three left. Five minus two equals three. Looking at a number line, start at the number five, than go down (to the left) two spaces: five, four, three.
Multiplication means you are adding a particular number of items a certain number of times. If you had three oranges, and you added another three oranges and another three, you would end up with nine oranges. Three times three equals nine. This represents that you added three items together three times.
Division means you are seeing how many times a particular number will come out of or go into a number. For example, you have eight apples. You want to know many times you can take two apples out evenly. Start this problem by seeing how many times two goes into eight. Count by two's: two, four, six, eight. You counted by twos four times, so two must go into eight four times. You can take away two apples four times before there are none left. Eight divided by four must be two.