Fractions

To understand fractions you should be familiar with the terms part and whole. The whole is everything and the part is just a piece of it. Fractions are used to figure out just how much of the whole the part represents.

Part = Fraction x Whole

Ex: A whole pizza is ordered for a family of 4 and cut into 8 slices. If everyone agrees to eat the same amount, how much of the pizza will each person eat?

Part = Fraction x Whole

Part = 1/4 x 8

Part = 2 slices

Ratio:

When you discuss the ratio between different things you are relating the quantity of one of those things to the other. Ratios are usually represented as fractions or with colons.

What is the ratio of books to magazines if there are 4 times as many books as there are magazines?

As a fraction:

Using a colon:

4 : 1 or 4x : 1x

The ratio is 4 to 1, so for every 4 books there is 1 magazine. If there are 100 books, (or 25 x 4 books), then there are 25 magazines, (25 x 1 magazines).

There will always be 4 times as many books as there are magazines.