Dividing with Unit Fractions
Aligned to 5.NF.B.7 — Common Core State Standards for Mathematics.
What this lesson teaches
When you split a unit fraction into equal groups, each piece gets even smaller. When you divide a whole number by a unit fraction, you count how many of those small pieces fit inside. Draw a picture if it helps.
Worked example
Divide 1/2 ÷ 3. You are splitting half of something into 3 equal parts. Half of a pizza shared by 3 people gives each person 1/6 of the whole pizza, so 1/2 ÷ 3 = 1/6. Going the other way, 3 ÷ 1/2 asks how many halves are in 3 wholes, which is 6.
Practice questions
- Find 1/4 ÷ 2.
- Find 4 ÷ 1/3.
- A 2-foot ribbon is cut into 1/4-foot pieces. How many pieces are there?
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Dividir con fracciones unitarias
Cuando divides una fracción unitaria en grupos iguales, cada pedazo se hace aún más pequeño. Cuando divides un número entero entre una fracción unitaria, cuentas cuántos de esos pedacitos caben adentro. Haz un dibujo si te ayuda.
Ejemplo: Divide 1/2 ÷ 3. Estás repartiendo la mitad de algo en 3 partes iguales. La mitad de una pizza repartida entre 3 personas le da a cada una 1/6 de la pizza entera, así que 1/2 ÷ 3 = 1/6. Al revés, 3 ÷ 1/2 pregunta cuántas mitades hay en 3 enteros, que son 6.
More Number & Operations—Fractions lessons
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