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 item into the correct category.
Part of a Whole
half a sandwichone-third of a pieone-fourth of a cake A Whole Thing
a whole applean entire cookiea full glass of milk Words like half, one-third, and one-fourth describe a piece of something that has been split into equal parts. Things like a whole apple, an entire cookie, or a full glass mean nothing has been taken away, so they are whole.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. A cookie shared equally among 4 friends gives each friend one fourth.
Sharing 1 cookie fairly among 4 people means cutting it into 4 equal pieces. Each person gets 1 of the 4 pieces, which is called one-fourth.
2. If you fold a paper in half, you get 2 equal parts.
Folding a paper in half creates one crease that splits it into 2 equal pieces, which is why we call that fraction one-half. Each of the 2 parts is the same size.
3. Three thirds make one whole.
When a whole is split into 3 equal parts, each part is a third. Putting all 3 thirds back together rebuilds the whole, so 13 + 13 + 13 equals 1.
4. 13 means one part out of 3 equal parts.
In the fraction 13, the bottom number tells you how many equal parts the whole has. That number is 3, so the whole is split into 3 equal parts.
5. A ribbon cut into 4 equal strips has been divided into fourths.
Anything split into 4 equal parts is divided into fourths, with each strip being one-fourth of the ribbon. All 4 fourths combined equal the whole ribbon.
Part C: True or False?
Read each statement. Circle True or False.
1. Four fourths make one whole.
True False
When a whole is split into 4 equal parts, putting all 4 back together rebuilds the whole. That's why 14 + 14 + 14 + 14 equals 1 whole.
2. One-fourth is bigger than one-half.
True False
Cutting a whole into 4 parts gives smaller pieces than cutting it into only 2, so one-fourth is actually smaller than one-half. One-half is the bigger fraction.
3. A pizza cut into 3 equal slices shows thirds.
True False
Any whole split into 3 equal parts shows thirds, and each slice is one-third of the pizza. That's exactly what the fraction 13 means.
4. One-half of 6 is 4.
True False
One-half of 6 means splitting 6 into 2 equal groups, and since 3 + 3 = 6, each group has 3. So one-half of 6 is 3, not 4.