Contributor: Stefani Allegretti. Lesson ID: 14159
Fractions are parts of a whole and knowing how to find them can come in super handy. Get ready to become a fraction finding master and learn how to find the fraction of any whole number!
Sharing things is fun, especially when you're sharing them with your friends!
Think about a yummy pizza that has 8 slices.
You want to share the pizza with your friends so you and each of your three friend gets two slices of the pizza.
Easy! You can calculate the fraction of the whole!
Get ready to dive into the world of fractions!
To start, identify the whole number.
Say you have 24 stickers and want to know what ½ of 24 is.
Step 1 is to multiply.
For this problem, you will multiply ½ times 24.
A whole number is the same as having 1 as the denominator, so you can turn 24 into a fraction by making the whole number the numerator and 1 as the denominator.
So, here is your equation.
1 | x | 24 | = | ? |
2 | 1 |
Multiply the numerators.
1 x 24 = 24
Multiply the denominators.
2 x 1 = 2
That gives you
24 |
2 |
After that, you can divide the numerator by the denominator.
24 divided by 2 = 12!
There you go!
½ of 24 is 12.
Watch the beginning of this video to see more examples in action!
Below are the simple steps for this approach to finding the fraction of a whole.
Nice work!
Next, try another example using a slightly different approach!
Find 2/3 of 18.
The first step is still to change this problem to a multiplication problem.
2 | x | 18 | = | ? |
3 | 1 |
Instead of multiplying across, you can divide 18, the whole number, by 3, the fraction's denominator.
18 divided by 3 is 6. Replace 18 in the numerator with 6 and 3 in the denominator with 1.
2 | x | 6 | = | ? |
1 | 1 |
Next, you can simplify multiply across 6 x 2 = 12
So, your answer is 2/3 of 18 is 12!
2 | x | 18 | = | 12 |
3 | 1 |
Nice work!
Continue watching the video to see this different approach in action!
Below are the simple steps for this approach to finding the fraction of a whole.
It's your turn to practice some examples on your own.
Now, head to the Got It? section and have more fun finding fractions of whole numbers!