In this article, we will understand the concept of Equivalent Fraction from cutting a paper!
Let us start with a piece of paper, a pair of scissors, a pencil and notebook
Figure 1: The 'whole'
The entire piece of paper is what we will call 'one whole' or just 1.
Let us cut this paper into two equal pieces now.
Figure 2: The 'whole' cut into two equal pieces. Each piece is 1/2
Each of the cut pieces is now called as 'one out of two' or 'half' or just 1/2.
Let us cut each of these pieces, i.e halves into two equal pieces. By doing that, the entire piece of paper will be divided into 4equal pieces.
Figure 3: The 'whole' cut into four equal pieces. Each piece is 1/4
Each of the cut pieces is now called as 'one out of four' or 'one fourth' or just 1/4.
Let us now glue two of the smaller pieces together and compare the glued piece with a bigger piece that we had cut initially.
2 x 1/4 = 2/4 --------- A
2/4 = 1/2 -------------- B
It is clear from the picture that two of the 'one fourth's added together will be same as one 'half'.
We call 2/4 and 1/2 as Equivalent Fractions.
We could further cut each of the 1/4th pieces to two equal pieces and make 1/8th. The equivalent fractions will look like this:
4 x 1/8 = 4/8 --------- A
2 x 1/4 = 2/4 ---------- B
4/8 = 2/4 = 1/2 ------- C
Extending this further, 16/32, 8/16, 4/8, 2/4 and 1/2 are equivalent fractions.
As a rule, we need to multiply or divide the numerator and denominator of a fraction by the same integer to get its equivalent fraction.
Let us start with a piece of paper, a pair of scissors, a pencil and notebook
Figure 1: The 'whole'
The entire piece of paper is what we will call 'one whole' or just 1.
Let us cut this paper into two equal pieces now.
Figure 2: The 'whole' cut into two equal pieces. Each piece is 1/2
Each of the cut pieces is now called as 'one out of two' or 'half' or just 1/2.
Let us cut each of these pieces, i.e halves into two equal pieces. By doing that, the entire piece of paper will be divided into 4equal pieces.
Figure 3: The 'whole' cut into four equal pieces. Each piece is 1/4
Each of the cut pieces is now called as 'one out of four' or 'one fourth' or just 1/4.
Let us now glue two of the smaller pieces together and compare the glued piece with a bigger piece that we had cut initially.
2 x 1/4 = 2/4 --------- A
2/4 = 1/2 -------------- B
It is clear from the picture that two of the 'one fourth's added together will be same as one 'half'.
We call 2/4 and 1/2 as Equivalent Fractions.
We could further cut each of the 1/4th pieces to two equal pieces and make 1/8th. The equivalent fractions will look like this:
4 x 1/8 = 4/8 --------- A
2 x 1/4 = 2/4 ---------- B
4/8 = 2/4 = 1/2 ------- C
Extending this further, 16/32, 8/16, 4/8, 2/4 and 1/2 are equivalent fractions.
As a rule, we need to multiply or divide the numerator and denominator of a fraction by the same integer to get its equivalent fraction.
