Hinglish

Fractional Units as Parts of a Whole

Class 6 Maths · Chapter 7: Fractions · NCERT Ganita Prakash section 7.2

Learn

Sahil's mother cuts a pizza into 8 equal slices. Each slice is 1/8 of the pizza. Sahil eats 3 slices: that is 1/8 + 1/8 + 1/8 = 3/8 of the pizza.

1/8 + 1/8 + 1/8 = 3/8

In a fraction like 3/8, the bottom number (the denominator) says how many equal parts the whole is cut into. The top number (the numerator) says how many of those parts we take.

3/8 = 3 parts of size 1/8

When all the parts are taken, we have the whole: 8/8 = 1. Also 4/4 = 1 and 2/2 = 1.

4/4 = 1

A fraction can also be part of a group. Nisha has 12 marbles and 1/4 of them are blue. Make 4 equal groups of 3: one group is blue, so 3 marbles are blue.

12 ÷ 4 = 3

Explore: shade fractions on the strip and the circle. The number under the picture tells you what you made.

  1. Shade 3/5 of the strip.
  2. Shade the whole strip. What fraction is it?
  3. Shade 5/8 of the circle.

Remember

  • Numerator (top) = how many parts taken. Denominator (bottom) = how many equal parts in the whole.
  • 3/8 means 3 units of 1/8. All the parts together make 1: 8/8 = 1.

Quick check

A chocolate bar has 10 equal pieces. Divit eats 7 pieces. What fraction of the bar did he eat?

  1. 7/10
  2. 10/7
  3. 3/10
  4. 7/3
Answer

7/10. 10 equal pieces is the bottom number; 7 eaten is the top number: 7/10.

Think about it

Farhan says the shaded part of a strip is 1/3 because one part of three is shaded. But the three parts are not the same size. Is he right?

One answer

No. 1/3 means one of three equal parts. If the parts are not equal, we cannot call one of them a third. We would need to cut the strip into equal parts first.

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.