Fractions: Halves, Thirds, and Fourths — Answer Key
Part A: Sort the Words
Sort each word or number into the correct category box.
1. Sort each description into the correct category.
Equal Parts
circle cut in halfpizza in 4 equal slicespie in 3 equal parts Not Equal Parts
square cut unevenlycake with 3 uneven piecesbread split into 2 unequal pieces Fractions only work when the parts are the same size, so a circle cut in half, a pizza in 4 equal slices, and a pie in 3 equal parts all show equal parts. Uneven cuts and unequal pieces cannot be named with a fraction because the parts are not the same size.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. A pizza cut into 4 equal pieces shows fourths.
A pizza split into 4 equal pieces shows fourths, since the whole pizza is divided into 4 equal parts and each piece is one-fourth.
2. Two halves make one whole.
Two halves snap back together to make the original whole, so 12 + 12 = 1.
3. If a shape has 3 equal parts, each part is one third.
Three equal parts of a shape are thirds, so each single part is one-third of the whole.
4. A rectangle split into 2 equal parts shows halves.
Splitting a rectangle into 2 equal parts makes halves, because each part is one-half of the rectangle.
5. Four equal parts of a circle are called fourths.
Four equal parts of a circle are fourths, with each part naming one-fourth of the whole circle.
Part C: True or False?
Read each statement. Circle True or False.
1. One-half of 8 is 4.
True False
True. Splitting 8 into 2 equal groups gives 4 in each group, so one-half of 8 is 4.
2. One-fourth of 12 is 4.
True False
False. One-fourth of 12 means splitting 12 into 4 equal groups, which is 3 in each group, not 4.
3. One-third means 2 parts out of 3.
True False
False. One-third means just 1 part out of 3 equal parts, not 2; the fraction 23 would mean 2 parts out of 3.
4. A shape must have equal parts to show a fraction.
True False
True. A fraction names a piece of a whole, and the pieces only count as a fraction when they are the same size.