Finding the Fraction of a Whole

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!

categories

Fractions and Operations, Math

subject
Math
learning style
Auditory, Visual
personality style
Lion, Golden Retriever
Grade Level
Intermediate (3-5)
Lesson Type
Quick Query

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio: Image - Button Play
Image - Lession Started Image - Button Start

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.

kids waiting to eat pizza

  • What can you do?

Easy! You can calculate the fraction of the whole!

Get ready to dive into the world of fractions!

  • How do you find the fraction of a whole number?

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.

  • But how can you do that when 24 is a whole number?

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

 

  • What is the next step?

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!

Image - Video

Below are the simple steps for this approach to finding the fraction of a whole.

  1. Change the word "of" to multiplication.
  1. Turn the whole number into a fraction by making it the numerator and the denominator 1.
  1. Multiply both the numerator and denominator across.
  1. Divide the numerator by the denominator.
  1. Simplify if necessary.

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!

Image - Video

Below are the simple steps for this approach to finding the fraction of a whole.

  1. Change the word "of" to multiplication.
  1. Divide by the denominator
  1. Multiply by the numerator
  1. Simplify if necessary

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!

Image - Button Next