Unit fractions

Hello, and welcome to Myriora Maths! Would you rather have one half of a chocolate bar, or one quarter? Four is bigger than two. But is a quarter bigger than a half? Let's find out!

A unit fraction has a one on top. One half, one third, one quarter, one fifth: these are all unit fractions. Each one is just one piece of the whole.

Here's the same bar, cut into two, three, four, five, and six equal parts. Let's colour in one piece from each bar. One half is the biggest piece. One sixth is the smallest!

Think about sharing a pizza. Shared between two people, each person gets a big half. Shared between four people, each person gets a smaller quarter. The more people share it, the smaller each piece!

So with unit fractions, the bigger the bottom number, the smaller the piece. One third is bigger than one fifth. One tenth is smaller than one half.

Let's try one together. Which is bigger: one third, or one quarter? Say it out loud!

One third! A bar cut into three has bigger pieces than a bar cut into four.

Here's a question that catches lots of people. Which is bigger: one quarter, or one eighth? Some people say one eighth, because eight is bigger than four. But eighths are smaller pieces! So one quarter is bigger.

Your turn! Which is the smallest piece? Pick the right card. You've got fifteen seconds, or pause the video. Go!

Time's up! The bigger the bottom number, the smaller the piece. Ten is the biggest bottom number here. So one tenth is the smallest!

Quick review. A unit fraction has a one on top. It's one piece of the whole. The bigger the bottom number, the more pieces, so each piece is smaller. A half is bigger than a quarter! See you next time!