Equivalent Fractions

Equiva lent mean equal, so equivalent fractions are equal fractions.

1/2
Equivalent fractions for one-half are easy, because the numerator is half of the denominator.

1/2 - 1 is half of 2
2/4 - 2 is half of 4
4/8 - 4 is half of 8
10/20 - 10 is half of 20
SO
1/2 = 2/4 = 4/8 = 10/20

Here is a song we learned to help us find equivalents of other fractions.
(to the tune of "Are You Sleeping?)

Equivalent Fractions
Equivalent Fractions
Multiply
Or Divide
By another Fraction
By another Fraction
Equal to One
Equal to One

To find an equivalent fraction, you need to multiply by a fraction equal to one.
Fractions equal to one are 2/2 3/3 4/4 5/5 6/6 ...etc.


So to find an equivalent fraction for 2/3, multiply 2/3 by 2/2. That would be 2x2 and 3 x2, which would be 4/6.

2/3 = 4/6
2/3 is equal to 4/6

Simplest Form
when finding simplest form, you are finding an equivalent fraction that has a numerator and denominator that cannot be reduced anymore.

To find simplest form you divide by a fraction equal to one.
The tricky part is finding a common factor of both the numerator and the denominator.


Put 15/20 in simplest form.
15 and 20 have a common factor of 5.
So divide 15/20 by 5/5. 15 divided by 5 is 3 and 20 divided by 5 is 4.

15/20 = 3/4
15/20 is equal to 3/4

3/4 is in simplest form because 3 is a prime number and because 3 and 4 have no common factors and cannot be divided further.