Word Problems: Fractions
Learn
Fractions are everywhere in real life! Learning to solve fraction word problems helps you understand parts of things.
Key Words in Fraction Problems
- Half, third, fourth, quarter - These tell you the fraction
- Equal parts, divided equally - Shows something is split into fractions
- Remaining, left over - What part is still there
- Ate, used, gave away - Part that was taken away
Problem-Solving Steps
- Read carefully - what's the whole?
- Find the fractions mentioned
- Draw a picture if it helps
- Solve and check your answer
Examples
Example 1:
"A pizza has 8 slices. Emma ate 2 slices. What fraction of the pizza did Emma eat?"
Solution: Emma ate 2 out of 8 slices = 2/8 = 1/4 of the pizza
Example 2:
"Sam read 3/4 of his book. What fraction is left to read?"
Solution: The whole book = 4/4. He read 3/4, so 4/4 - 3/4 = 1/4 is left.
Practice
1. A cake is cut into 6 equal pieces. Maria ate 2 pieces. What fraction of the cake did Maria eat?
A) 1/6
B) 2/6 or 1/3
C) 4/6
D) 6/2
Answer
B) 2/6 or 1/3 - Maria ate 2 out of 6 pieces = 2/6 = 1/3 of the cake.
2. A rectangle is divided into 4 equal parts. 3 parts are shaded blue. What fraction is NOT blue?
A) 3/4
B) 1/4
C) 4/4
D) 1/3
Answer
B) 1/4 - If 3/4 is blue, then 4/4 - 3/4 = 1/4 is not blue.
3. Jake has 8 marbles. Half of them are red. How many red marbles does Jake have?
A) 2 marbles
B) 4 marbles
C) 6 marbles
D) 8 marbles
Answer
B) 4 marbles - Half of 8 = 1/2 x 8 = 4 marbles.
4. A pie is cut into 8 equal slices. Tom's family ate 5 slices. What fraction of the pie is left?
A) 5/8
B) 8/5
C) 3/8
D) 1/8
Answer
C) 3/8 - 8/8 - 5/8 = 3/8 of the pie is left.
5. A garden has 6 sections. 2 sections have flowers and 4 sections have vegetables. What fraction of the garden has flowers?
A) 4/6
B) 2/6 or 1/3
C) 6/2
D) 2/4
Answer
B) 2/6 or 1/3 - 2 out of 6 sections = 2/6 = 1/3.
6. Lisa colored 1/4 of her paper blue and 2/4 red. What fraction did she color in all?
A) 1/4
B) 2/4
C) 3/4
D) 4/4
Answer
C) 3/4 - 1/4 + 2/4 = 3/4 of the paper is colored.
7. A ribbon is 12 inches long. Ben cut off 1/4 of the ribbon. How many inches did he cut off?
A) 2 inches
B) 3 inches
C) 4 inches
D) 6 inches
Answer
B) 3 inches - 1/4 of 12 = 12 / 4 = 3 inches.
8. There are 9 students. 1/3 of them are wearing glasses. How many students have glasses?
A) 1 student
B) 2 students
C) 3 students
D) 6 students
Answer
C) 3 students - 1/3 of 9 = 9 / 3 = 3 students.
9. Amy drank 2/3 of her milk. What fraction is still in the glass?
A) 2/3
B) 3/3
C) 1/3
D) 3/2
Answer
C) 1/3 - 3/3 - 2/3 = 1/3 of the milk remains.
10. A box has 10 crayons. 5 are red and 5 are blue. What fraction of the crayons are red?
A) 5/5
B) 10/5
C) 5/10 or 1/2
D) 1/5
Answer
C) 5/10 or 1/2 - 5 out of 10 = 5/10 = 1/2 are red.
Next Steps
- Practice finding fractions in everyday situations
- Draw pictures to help solve fraction problems
- Continue to Common Mistakes