Questions: Introduction to Fractions

Question 1

If you fold a piece of paper into two equal pieces, what do you call each piece?

• A. A whole
• B. A half
• C. A quarter
• D. A third

Answer: (B)

When something is divided into 2 equal parts, each part is called a half. The key word is 'equal' — both pieces must be the same size for each one to be a half.

Question 2

If you cut a sandwich into two pieces and one piece is bigger than the other, each piece is called a half.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

Halves must be equal in size. If the two pieces are different sizes, neither one is truly a half. Fractions only name the parts correctly when the whole is divided into equal pieces.

Question 3

A pizza is cut into 4 equal slices. What do you call each slice?

Model answer: A quarter, or one-fourth

When a whole is divided into 4 equal parts, each part is called a quarter or one-fourth. The number of equal pieces tells us the name of each fraction part.