Meaning & use
improper fraction
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Meaning
nouncountablemathematics
A fraction whose top number is the same as or bigger than the bottom number, so its value is one or more.
Grammar: Countable: an improper fraction, two improper fractions.
Patterns
- write something as an improper fraction
Seven fourths is an improper fraction because 7 is larger than 4.
Convert the mixed number into an improper fraction before multiplying.
An improper fraction such as 9/9 equals exactly one.
Word forms
| plural | improper fractions |
|---|
Common combinations
- convert to an improper fraction
- Convert two and a half to an improper fraction, which is 5/2.
- write as an improper fraction
- Write the mixed number as an improper fraction.
- simplify an improper fraction
- Simplify the improper fraction by dividing top and bottom by 3.
- change an improper fraction into a mixed number
- Change the improper fraction 11/4 into a mixed number.
- add improper fractions
- It is easy to add improper fractions that share a denominator.
Synonyms and how they differ
- top-heavy fraction
- Top-heavy fraction is a friendly teaching phrase for the same thing, but it is not used in formal textbooks.
- vulgar fraction
- Vulgar fraction is an older term for any fraction written with numerator and denominator, so it is broader than improper fraction.
Opposites
Word family
- fraction noun
- a number that is part of a whole
- numerator noun
- the top number of a fraction
- denominator noun
- the bottom number of a fraction
- mixed number noun
- a whole number combined with a proper fraction
Commonly confused: improper fraction or proper fraction? improper fraction or mixed number?
improper fraction vs proper fraction
A proper fraction has a smaller numerator than denominator, so its value is less than one, which is the opposite of an improper fraction.
improper fraction vs mixed number
A mixed number shows a whole number and a fraction, like 2 1/2; it has the same value as an improper fraction but looks different.
Practice
Which of these is an improper fraction?
Choose one answer.
12/5 has a numerator larger than its denominator, so it is improper. 3/8 and 2/9 are proper fractions, and 1 1/2 is a mixed number.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “improper fraction”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.