Fraction Notation

Question 1

Maya has a box with 12 equal stickers. She uses 5 stickers and writes this amount as the fraction 5/12. Looking at this fraction, which number is on the top, which is on the bottom, and what does each tell us?

Accepted Answer

The top number is 5; it tells how many stickers Maya used, and the bottom number is 12; it tells the total number of equal stickers.

Answer

The top number is 12; it tells the total number of stickers, and the bottom number is 5; it tells how many stickers Maya used.

Answer

The top number is 5; it tells the total number of stickers, and the bottom number is 12; it tells how many stickers Maya used.

Answer

The top number is 12; it tells how many stickers Maya used, and the bottom number is 5; it tells the total number of stickers.

Question 2

Sam cut a loaf of bread into 8 equal slices. He puts 3 slices on his plate and writes the amount as a fraction. Which of the following statements correctly names the numerator and denominator of the fraction Sam wrote and explains what each number tells us?

Accepted Answer

The top number, 3, is the numerator and it tells how many slices Sam took; the bottom number, 8, is the denominator and it tells that the loaf was divided into 8 equal slices.

Answer

The fraction 3/8 means Sam used 8 slices out of a total of 3, so 3 tells the total number of parts and 8 tells the number taken.

Answer

The top number, 3, is the denominator and it tells that the loaf was divided into 3 equal slices; the bottom number, 8, is the numerator and it tells Sam took 8 slices.

Answer

The numerator, 3, tells how many equal parts make up a whole loaf; the denominator, 8, tells how many of those parts Sam has on his plate.

Question 3

In the fraction 3/5, which number is the numerator and which is the denominator, and what does each tell you?

Accepted Answer

Numerator = 3 (shows how many equal parts are taken); Denominator = 5 (shows the whole is divided into 5 equal parts).

Answer

Numerator = 3 (shows the whole is divided into 3 equal parts); Denominator = 5 (shows how many parts are taken).

Answer

Numerator = 5 (shows how many equal parts are taken); Denominator = 3 (shows the whole is divided into 3 equal parts).

Answer

Numerator = 5 (shows the whole is divided into 5 equal parts); Denominator = 3 (shows how many parts are taken).

Try three questions

Maya has a box with 12 equal stickers. She uses 5 stickers and writes this amount as the fraction 5/12. Looking at this fraction, which number is on the top, which is on the bottom, and what does each tell us?

Sam cut a loaf of bread into 8 equal slices. He puts 3 slices on his plate and writes the amount as a fraction. Which of the following statements correctly names the numerator and denominator of the fraction Sam wrote and explains what each number tells us?

In the fraction 3/5, which number is the numerator and which is the denominator, and what does each tell you?

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