When you divide a whole into equal parts, each part is called a fraction. Halves and quarters are examples of fractions. You can divide whole objects, shapes or numbers into smaller and smaller fractions, such as tenths, fifteenths, twentieths, and even one-hundredths (1/100).

Half and quarter

When you divide something into two equal parts, each piece is called a half. Two halves make a whole.
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If you take each half and divide it in half again, you get quarters. Four quarters make a whole.

Writing fractions

To write a fraction, we use two numbers, one on top of the other. The bottom number is called the denominator. It shows the total number of equal parts in the whole. The top number is called the numerator. This shows how many of the parts we are talking about.

Let’s say you have 3 berries, of which 2 are green.

​​​​​​​What fraction of the berries are green?

The total number of berries is 3, so this is the denominator—it goes on the bottom. 2 of the berries are green, so this is the number of parts we are talking about: the numerator. It goes on the top.

​​​​​​​Two-thirds of the berries are green. We write this fraction as ⅔​​​​​​​.

Key words

divide break into parts

equal the same

total all together

fraction a part of something

denominator the bottom part of a fraction. It tells us how big the whole is

numerator the top part of a fraction. It tells us how many parts of the whole we are talking about

half one of two equal parts of a whole. Two halves make a whole

quarter one of four equal parts of a whole. Four quarters make a whole

whole not divided into parts