Different Shapes, Same Fractions

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Different Shapes, Same Fractions
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.NF.A.3

Basics on the topicDifferent Shapes, Same Fractions

Different shapes can represent the same fractions.

First, identify the denominator to find out how many equal parts make up the shape. Then count the shaded parts of the shape to find out the numerator, or how many parts you have in all. Next, you can write the fraction, and begin matching up the shapes that show the same fraction!

There are worksheets below on same fractions, different shapes!

Different Shapes, Same Fractions exercise

Would you like to apply the knowledge you’ve learned? You can review and practice it with the tasks for the video Different Shapes, Same Fractions .
• Can you find the shapes with the same fractions shaded?

Hints

Can you figure out what fraction of each shape is shaded before finding a matching one? Look at the total number of parts to help.

In this example, $\frac{1}{2}$ of the shape is shaded because 1 out of 2 equal parts is shaded.

Solution
• The square and the rectangle both had $\frac{1}{4}$ shaded.
• The circle and the triangle both had $\frac{1}{3}$ shaded.
• The star and the pentagon both had $\frac{1}{5}$ shaded.
• The heart and the hexagon both had $\frac{1}{2}$ shaded.
• Can you assign the shape to the matching fraction?

Hints

How many parts is the shape split into? That is the denominator.

How many parts are shaded in? That is the numerator.

For example, this circle is split into three equal parts and one part is shaded, so it would be assigned to $\frac{1}{3}$.

Solution
• Find the number of equal parts the shape is split into; this is the denominator.
• Find the number of parts that are shaded in; this is the numerator.
• Which is the correct shape?

Hints

How many parts is the shape split into? This should be the same as the denominator.

How many parts are shaded in? This should be the same as the numerator.

Remember:

• the top number is the numerator.
• the bottom number is the denominator.

Solution

The shapes that should have been highlighted are:

• $\frac{1}{6}$ - the circle because it is split into six equal parts and one is shaded in.
• $\frac{3}{5}$ - the star because it is split into five equal parts and three are shaded in.
• $\frac{4}{7}$ - the hepatgon because it is split into seven equal parts and four are shaded in.
• $\frac{3}{5}$ - the rectangle because it is split into ten equal parts and seven are shaded in.

These shapes were incorrect because:

• The rectangle on the third row was only split into 6 equal parts.
• The square was only split into 8 equal parts.

• Which fraction of the shaded parts are being represented?

Hints

Find out how many equal parts the shape has been split into and how many parts are shaded.

Remember:

• the numerator (top number) represents the shaded parts.
• the denominator (bottom number) represents the total number of equal parts.

Solution

Here are the correct fractions.

Circle

• The circle has 7 equal parts and 3 are shaded.
• The matching fraction is $\frac{3}{7}$.
Rectangle (top row)
• The rectangle has 9 equal parts and 5 are shaded.
• The matching fraction is $\frac{5}{9}$.
Hexagon
• The hexagon has 6 equal parts and 2 are shaded.
• The matching fraction is $\frac{2}{6}$.
Square
• The square has 4 equal parts and 2 are shaded.
• The matching fraction is $\frac{2}{4}$.
Rhombus
• The rhombus has 8 equal parts and 6 are shaded.
• The matching fraction is $\frac{6}{8}$.
Rectangle (bottom row)
• The rectangle has 8 equal parts and 2 are shaded.
• The matching fraction is $\frac{2}{8}$.

• Which shapes are $\frac{1}{3}$ shaded?

Hints

$\frac{1}{3}$ has a numerator of 1 so you are looking for shapes that only have 1 part shaded.

$\frac{1}{3}$ has a denominator of 3 so you are looking for shapes that are split into 3 equal parts.

Solution

This circle and triangle both have $\frac{1}{3}$ shaded.

They are both split into 3 equal parts and both have 1 part shaded.

• Find the pairs.

Hints

Create a fraction for each shape by finding how many equal parts the shape is split into and how many are shaded.

Remember:

• the shaded parts represent the numerator (top number)
• the total number of equal parts represent the denominator (bottom number)

Can this fraction be simplified? To simplify a fraction we look for a factor that both the numerator and denominator share.

For example, we could simplify $\frac{2}{4}$ to $\frac{1}{2}$ by dividing both the numerator and the denominator by 2.

$\frac{6}{8}$ of the circle is shaded. If we divide both the numerator and denominator by 2, what do we get?

Solution

$\frac{3}{4}$

• The circle and the rhombus should have been highlighted in green.
• The circle has $\frac{6}{8}$ shaded which can be simplified to $\frac{3}{4}$ by dividing the numerator and denominator by 2.
• The rhombus has $\frac{9}{12}$ shaded which can also be simplified to $\frac{3}{4}$ by dividing the numerator and denominator by 3.
$\frac{1}{3}$
• The triangle and the tall rectangle should have been highlighted in blue.
• The triangle has $\frac{1}{3}$ shaded which cannot be simplified further.
• The tall rectangle has $\frac{3}{9}$ shaded which can be simplified to $\frac{1}{3}$ by dividing the numerator and denominator by 3.
$\frac{1}{5}$
• The star and the wide rectangle should have been highlighted in violet.
• The star has $\frac{1}{5}$ shaded which cannot be simplified further.
• The wide rectangle has $\frac{3}{15}$ shaded which can be simplified to $\frac{1}{5}$ by dividing the numerator and denominator by 3.
$\frac{2}{3}$
• The square and the hexagon should have been highlighted in yellow.
• The square has $\frac{6}{9}$ shaded which can be simplified to $\frac{2}{3}$ by dividing the numerator and the denominator by 3.
• The hexagon has $\frac{4}{6}$ shaded which can also be simplified to $\frac{2}{3}$ by dividing the numerator and denominator by 2.