Fractions: Slices of Pizza

A fraction is a part of a whole. Cut a pizza into 4 equal slices and each slice is one part of four — written as 1/4.

The two numbers of a fraction

• The top number counts how many parts you have. 🍕🍕 = 2 slices.
• The bottom number tells how many parts make the whole. A pizza in 4 slices → bottom is 4.

So 2 slices of a 4-slice pizza is 2/4 — which is also half the pizza (1/2)!

Meet the family

• 1/2 — one half (like half a cookie)
• 1/3 — one third
• 1/4 — one quarter
• 3/4 — three quarters

Adding with the same slices

When the bottom numbers match, just add the tops:

1/4 + 2/4 = 3/4   (one slice plus two slices equals three slices)

Fractions in real life

Half an hour (1/2 of 60 minutes), a quarter of a year, three-quarters of the way home… fractions are everywhere once you start looking!

Practise in the fractions trainer — with pizza pictures, of course. 🍕