Mixed numbers

Hello, and welcome to Myriora Maths! Here are seven quarters of pizza. That's more than one whole pizza! We can write it as seven quarters, or as one and three quarters. Let's see how to swap between them.

A fraction with a bigger top than bottom is called an improper fraction. Seven quarters is improper: seven is bigger than four. A whole number and a fraction together is called a mixed number. One and three quarters is a mixed number.

Let's turn eleven quarters into a mixed number. Four quarters make one whole. So how many fours are in eleven? Eleven divided by four is two, remainder three. That's two wholes, and three quarters left over: two and three quarters!

And backwards. Let's turn three and two fifths into fifths. Each whole is five fifths, so three wholes are fifteen fifths. Add the two fifths: seventeen fifths!

Let's try one together. What is nine halves as a mixed number? Say it out loud!

Two halves make one whole. Nine divided by two is four, remainder one. So it's four and a half!

Here's a question that catches lots of people. What is two and one third, as an improper fraction? Some people put two add one on top, and say three thirds. But each whole is three thirds, so two wholes are six thirds. Add one more: seven thirds!

Your turn! What is fourteen fifths as a mixed number? Pick the right card. You've got twenty seconds, or pause the video. Go!

Time's up! Five fifths make one whole. Fourteen divided by five is two, remainder four. So it's two and four fifths!

Quick review. An improper fraction has a bigger top than bottom. A mixed number is wholes and a fraction. To get a mixed number, divide the top by the bottom: the remainder is the fraction part. To go back, multiply the wholes by the bottom, then add the top. See you next time!