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Lesson 1 of 9

Fair parts, or no name at all

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5 min

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Tear a roti into 3 pieces. One piece is thin. The pieces are not equal.

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The rule

A fraction names one piece of a whole. The whole is the full thing before cutting. It works only for equal parts. Equal parts are exactly the same size.

A roti torn into 3 parts.
Step 1 of 4
  1. A roti torn into 3 parts.
  2. The parts do not match. No name yet.
  3. Cut the roti into 3 equal parts instead.
  4. Now each part is 1/3.
Cutting a roti into equal parts
Equal partsEach part is called
21/2, one half
31/3, one third
41/4, one quarter

Example

Three torn pieces are still 3 pieces. They are not thirds, because they do not match.

In the lab, drag the cuts until every part is equal. Then the strip gets a name.

Try the lab to finish this lesson.