Your child nails numerators and dominates denominators. Now that your student understands what a fraction is, it’s time to help them learn about equivalent fractions. Equivalent fractions are fractions that look different, but are actually the same. If your student needs a refresher, you can revisit our fractions resources. If your child feels ready to take on equivalent fractions, dive into our resources below.
Learn More About Equivalent Fractions
Equivalent fractions are fractions that look different, but they actually have the same value if you simplify them down. You can make equivalent fractions by multiplying or dividing the numerator and denominator by the same whole number. Need some more explanation? See our examples below!
Multiplication
You can multiply the numerator and denominator by the same number to get an equivalent fraction. Let’s take a look at how to make three equivalent fractions of 2⁄3 through multiplication:
2⁄3 × 2⁄2 = 4⁄6
2⁄3 × 3⁄3 = 6⁄9
2⁄3 × 4⁄4 = 8⁄12
Looking at these fractions, we can see that 2⁄3 = 4⁄6 = 6⁄9 = 8⁄12. These are all equivalent fractions!
Division
Now that you’ve seen how to find equivalent fractions by multiplication, you can now make equivalent fractions by division. Let’s divide 18⁄36 to get equivalent fractions:
6⁄12 ÷ 2⁄2 = 3⁄6
6⁄12 ÷ 3⁄3 = 2⁄4
6⁄12 ÷ 6⁄6 =1⁄2
Similar to what we did earlier, we have now made four equivalent fractions: 6⁄12 = 3⁄6 = 2⁄4= 1⁄2.
If you keep in mind that in order to work with equivalent fractions you must multiply or divide the numerator and denominator by the same whole number, you’ll be blazing through our equivalent fractions worksheets in no time!
