Definition
Fraction
A fraction is a number that represents division and can describe equal parts, quantities, or number-line positions.
What it means
The denominator tells the size of one equal part: fifths come from splitting a unit into 5 equal parts. The numerator tells how many of those parts the number contains. Fractions are numbers, so they can be less than 1, equal to a whole number, or greater than 1.
Remember it
Bottom names the equal-part size; top counts how many of those parts.
Example
Divide one strip into 4 equal lengths. Three of those lengths make 3/4. On a number line, 3/4 is the point reached after three jumps of size 1/4 from 0.
Watch for
Four unequal pieces do not represent fourths of the same whole. The parts must be equal in the measured amount.
Common mix-up
A fraction is one number, not two unrelated whole numbers stacked above and below a bar.
Exact meaning
A fraction is a number written a/b, where a is an integer and b is a non-zero integer; it represents a divided by b. In primary maths, fractions often describe equal parts of a whole, a quantity, or a point on a number line.