What is a fraction?

The best way to consider a fraction is as part of a pie

where the pie represents the number 1.

=1 For example, half of the pie would be represented in maths as

i.e.

literally means one divided by two. The two numbers contained in the fraction each have a name: the number on the top is called the numerator and the number on the bottom is called the denominator. It is important to note here that not all numbers can be represented as a fraction - a fact that is not immediately obvious and indeed this is an instance where the great Pythagoras got his maths wrong! Numbers that can be represented by fractions are called rational numbers and those that can't are irrational numbers. For example, pi ( or 3.1415927) can't be represented as a fraction. Neither can . Both of these numbers are irrational.

Whole Numbers As Fractions

Whole numbers can be represented as a fraction because, for example, two divided by one is just 2. So the number '2' as a fraction is written as

To write a whole number as a fraction simply write that whole number over 1.

putting it mathematically

Equivalent Fractions
Below is a table showing how different fractions fit into the number 1. It is worthwhile seeing if you can understand this table before you read on

See that 2 lots of quarters In other words

represents the same amount as one half

One divided by two leaves me with a half of one. Two divided by four leaves me with a half of two. The amount represented by both fractions is one half. Technically speaking, the ratio of the numerator and demoninator in both fractions is the same. Although the numerators and

denominators are different in both fractions both of these fractions represent the same amount. They are equivalent. See if you can spot other equivalent fractions in the table above. This idea that we can convert a fraction into an equivalent fraction - same amount but different numbers top and bottom - becomes very important when we start working with them, as you will now see.

Adding Fractions
If we are adding fractions that have the same denominator then this is easy

Because we have 3 lots of 14ths and 5 lots of 14ths then the sum of these two fractions will be 8 (5 + 3) lots of 14ths, or . The sum is easy because the denominators are the same. Maths with fractions becomes complicated when the denominators are different, for example:-

The trick to adding these two fractions together is to convert one or both of the fractions into equivalent fractions so that the denominators become the same number. In other words, if we find a common denominator then they will be easy to add together! Can you spot the two fractions from each list that have the same denominators? That's right: and . So our question can be rewritten as

Subtracting Fractions
The trick is the same when subtracting fractions: we need to find a common denominator. For example

Convert and into equivalent fractions where the denominators are both the same

 If we choose equivalent fractions from the lists above with the same denominators then our question becomes

Multiplying Fractions
This is much easier! To find the answer to

we need to find the new numerator by simply multiplying the two numerators together. Do the same with the denominators to find the new denominator.

Dividing Fractions By Fractions

Again, this is pretty straightforward. To divide one fraction by another you just have to remember The number you are dividing by turn upside down and multiply For example,

The number we are dividing by is so let's turn this upside down to give and then multiply

Fractions - The Basics explained what a fraction actually was, how not all numbers can be represented as fractions, and how to add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions. This article builds on this work to show you how to handle more complicated fractions.

Different Types Of Fractions

The first type of fraction we need to be able to recognise is the proper fraction. Here are a couple of proper fractions

These are proper fractions because the numerator (the number on the top) is smaller than the denominator (the number on the bottom). Note that a proper fraction always represents a number smaller than 1. The next type of fraction is where the numerator is larger than the denominator. This type is called an improper fraction. Here are a couple of examples

Note that an improper fraction always represents a number greater than 1. The final type we need to be able to recognise is the mixed number fraction. A mixed number fraction contains a fractional part and a whole number part. For example: or A mixed number fraction also (obviously) represents a number greater than one - just like an improper fraction does. In fact, we can convert mixed number fractions into improper fractions (and vice versa), as you will see in the next section. The tools that we learnt in Fractions - The Basics -where we looked at how to add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions - we can also use with improper fractions. However, they don't work with mixed number fractions. If you are given a mixed number fraction you will need to convert it into an improper fraction. The next section explains how.

Converting Mixed Number Fractions Into Improper Fractions

Given a fraction like it is fairly easy to turn it into an improper fraction.

First, you have to take the whole number, in this case 2, and convert it alone into a fraction. To do this is simple, multiply it by the denominator (number 'on the bottom') of the fraction it is with, and put it over that number also. In this case, it is 3. Written down this is:

So we have converted the whole number to a fraction. Now we must add the fraction we already had, which was :

So the mixed number

is exactly the same as the improper fraction .