Let’s talk about fractions.
A fraction is a number that shows part of a whole. You’ve probably seen fractions like one-half or three-fourths. On the CAEC test, you only need to understand the basics—just enough to work with them in simple math problems.
A fraction has two parts. The top number is called the numerator, and the bottom number is called the denominator.
The numerator tells you how many parts you have.
The denominator tells you how many total parts the whole is divided into.
So if you see 1/2, that means you have one part out of two total parts.
3/4 means three parts out of four.
5/6 means five parts out of six.
Here’s something important to know:
If the top number and the bottom number are the same, the fraction equals one whole.
So:
2/2 = 1
3/3 = 1
4/4 = 1
This trick will help you later when we talk about simplifying and turning mixed numbers into fractions.
Sometimes two fractions may look different but mean the same thing.
For example:
2/4 is the same as 1/2
3/6 is also 1/2
These are called equivalent fractions.
You don’t need to memorize them, but it helps to know a few common ones in case they show up.
That’s really all you need to know to get started.
Fractions are just a way to show parts of a whole.
In the next lesson, we’ll use this knowledge to add and subtract simple fractions with the same denominator.