Fractions: Halves, Thirds, and Fourths — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. Jake has 12 raisins. He eats one-fourth of them. How many raisins does he eat?
A) 2
B) 3
C) 4
D) 6
One-fourth of 12 means splitting 12 raisins into 4 equal groups, and 12 divided by 4 equals 3. Jake eats one of those groups, which is 3 raisins.
2. A ribbon is cut into 3 equal pieces. What fraction is each piece?
A) 12
B) 13
C) 14
D) 33
The ribbon is split into 3 equal parts, so the bottom of the fraction is 3. Each single piece is 1 of those 3 equal parts, which we write as 13.
3. Which is greater: one-half of 8 or one-fourth of 8?
A) One-half of 8
B) One-fourth of 8
C) They are equal
D) Cannot tell
One-half of 8 splits 8 into 2 groups of 4, while one-fourth of 8 splits it into 4 groups of 2. Since 4 is more than 2, one-half of 8 is the bigger amount.
4. Emma shares 9 strawberries equally among 3 friends. Each friend gets what fraction of the strawberries?
A) 12
B) 14
C) 13
D) 19
Splitting the strawberries fairly among 3 friends divides the whole set into 3 equal parts. Each friend gets 1 of those 3 parts, which is 13 of the strawberries.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. One-third of 21 buttons is 7 buttons.
One-third means splitting 21 buttons into 3 equal groups, and 21 divided by 3 equals 7. Each group holds 7 buttons.
2. One-half of 10 oranges is 5 oranges.
One-half means splitting 10 oranges into 2 equal groups. Since 5 + 5 = 10, each group has 5 oranges.
3. One-fourth of a day has 6 hours. (Hint: A day has 24 hours.)
A full day is 24 hours, and one-fourth means splitting those 24 hours into 4 equal parts. Since 24 divided by 4 equals 6, one-fourth of a day is 6 hours.
4. If you shade 2 out of 4 equal parts, the fraction shaded is 24.
The bottom number 4 tells us the whole is split into 4 equal parts, and the top number 2 counts the shaded parts. So 2 out of 4 shaded is written as 24, which is also the same as one-half.
5. One-third of 12 eggs is 4 eggs.
One-third means splitting 12 eggs into 3 equal groups, and 12 divided by 3 equals 4. Each group has 4 eggs.