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Take a line segment of length 1. Remove the middle third. Remove the middle thirds of what you have left. Repeat infinitely many times, and you have the Cantor Set. Can you find its length?
Who first used fractions? Were they always written in the same way? How did fractions reach us here? These are the sorts of questions which this article will answer for you.
Take a line segment of length 1. Remove the middle third. Remove the middle thirds of what you have left. Repeat infinitely many times, and you have the Cantor Set. Can you picture it?
The Egyptians expressed all fractions as the sum of different unit fractions. Here is a chance to explore how they could have written different fractions.
Can all unit fractions be written as the sum of two unit fractions?
In a certain community two thirds of the adult men are married to three quarters of the adult women. How many adults would there be in the smallest community of this type?
What fractions of the largest circle are the two shaded regions?
This article, written by Nicky Goulder and Samantha Lodge, reveals how maths and marimbas can go hand-in-hand! Why not try out some of the musical maths activities in your own classroom?
Using the picture of the fraction wall, can you find equivalent fractions?
Pick two rods of different colours. Given an unlimited supply of rods of each of the two colours, how can we work out what fraction the shorter rod is of the longer one?
How can you cut a doughnut into 8 equal pieces with only three cuts of a knife?
In this problem, we have created a pattern from smaller and smaller squares. If we carried on the pattern forever, what proportion of the image would be coloured blue?
The Egyptians expressed all fractions as the sum of different unit fractions. The Greedy Algorithm might provide us with an efficient way of doing this.
Can you find different ways of showing the same fraction? Try this matching game and see.
Consider the equation 1/a + 1/b + 1/c = 1 where a, b and c are natural numbers and 0 < a < b < c. Prove that there is only one set of values which satisfy this equation.
At the corner of the cube circular arcs are drawn and the area enclosed shaded. What fraction of the surface area of the cube is shaded? Try working out the answer without recourse to pencil and. . . .
A task which depends on members of the group noticing the needs of others and responding.
Work out the fractions to match the cards with the same amount of money.
Watch the video to see how to fold a square of paper to create a flower. What fraction of the piece of paper is the small triangle?
There are some water lilies in a lake. The area that they cover doubles in size every day. After 17 days the whole lake is covered. How long did it take them to cover half the lake?
It would be nice to have a strategy for disentangling any tangled ropes...
Can you work out which drink has the stronger flavour?
Whenever a monkey has peaches, he always keeps a fraction of them each day, gives the rest away, and then eats one. How long could he make his peaches last for?
This list offers an introduction to fractions that will help children to develop an understanding of fractions and approaches to solving problems using them.
Use the fraction wall to compare the size of these fractions - you'll be amazed how it helps!
Can you tangle yourself up and reach any fraction?
Take a look at the video and try to find a sequence of moves that will take you back to zero.
The resources in this trail aim to enrich the experiences of children who are just being introduced to fractions.
Can you see how to build a harmonic triangle? Can you work out the next two rows?
Using some or all of the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and using the digits 3, 3, 8 and 8 each once and only once make an expression equal to 24.
The large rectangle is divided into a series of smaller quadrilaterals and triangles. Can you untangle what fractional part is represented by each of the ten numbered shapes?
Annie cut this numbered cake into 3 pieces with 3 cuts so that the numbers on each piece added to the same total. Where were the cuts and what fraction of the whole cake was each piece?
A Sudoku with clues as ratios or fractions.
Twice a week I go swimming and swim the same number of lengths of the pool each time. As I swim, I count the lengths I've done so far, and make it into a fraction of the whole number of lengths. . . .
This problem challenges you to work out what fraction of the whole area of these pictures is taken up by various shapes.
An environment which simulates working with Cuisenaire rods.
A personal investigation of Conway's Rational Tangles. What were the interesting questions that needed to be asked, and where did they lead?
At the beginning of the night three poker players; Alan, Bernie and Craig had money in the ratios 7 : 6 : 5. At the end of the night the ratio was 6 : 5 : 4. One of them won $1 200. What were the. . . .
There are lots of ideas to explore in these sequences of ordered fractions.
Use the lines on this figure to show how the square can be divided into 2 halves, 3 thirds, 6 sixths and 9 ninths.
There are three tables in a room with blocks of chocolate on each. Where would be the best place for each child in the class to sit if they came in one at a time?
An activity based on the game 'Pelmanism'. Set your own level of challenge and beat your own previous best score.
An interactive game to be played on your own or with friends. Imagine you are having a party. Each person takes it in turns to stand behind the chair where they will get the most chocolate.
In a race the odds are: 2 to 1 against the rhinoceros winning and 3 to 2 against the hippopotamus winning. What are the odds against the elephant winning if the race is fair?
Investigate the successive areas of light blue in these diagrams.
According to Plutarch, the Greeks found all the rectangles with integer sides, whose areas are equal to their perimeters. Can you find them? What rectangular boxes, with integer sides, have. . . .
What is the total area of the first two triangles as a fraction of the original A4 rectangle? What is the total area of the first three triangles as a fraction of the original A4 rectangle? If. . . .
Written for teachers, this article describes four basic approaches children use in understanding fractions as equal parts of a whole.