Locate a Fraction on a Number Line
Use equal intervals from zero to locate a fraction.
Supplied materials
- Paper and pencil.
- Supplied number line: 0 to 1 is one whole unit, split into six equal intervals.
Learn the idea
A fraction names a distance as well as a shaded amount. On a number line, the distance from 0 to 1 is our whole. Split that distance into six equal intervals, so each interval is one sixth of the whole unit.
Count intervals from zero, not the tick marks themselves. The first tick after zero is 1/6; the next is 2/6. Three one-sixth moves locate 3/6. The zero tick is the starting point and does not count as one completed move.
- Draw a line and mark 0 and 1 with six equally spaced intervals between them.
- Label each successive tick 1/6 through 6/6.
- Move three intervals from zero, then locate five intervals from zero.
See the method in action
Three one-sixth moves total 1/6 + 1/6 + 1/6 = 3/6. The third tick after zero is halfway to 1 because three of the six intervals have been covered.
Check your reasoning
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See the answer and explanation
5/6
Each interval is 1/6 of the unit. Five intervals from zero give 5/6, less than the whole 6/6 = 1.
Take it further
Split 0 to 1 into four equal intervals instead. The third tick after zero is 3/4: three moves of length 1/4. The denominator changes because the interval size changes.
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