Meaning & use
unit fraction
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Meaning
nouncountablemathematics
A fraction whose numerator is 1, such as 1/2 or 1/3.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a unit fraction' or 'unit fractions'.
Patterns
- a unit fraction of something
- express something as a unit fraction
In the lesson, the teacher asked us to write 1/5 as a unit fraction.
Unit fractions like 1/2, 1/3, and 1/4 are easy to compare because they all have 1 on top.
The ancient Egyptians wrote most fractions as sums of unit fractions.
Word forms
| plural | unit fractions |
|---|
Common combinations
- unit fraction of a whole
- A unit fraction of a whole represents one equal part.
- compare unit fractions
- We learned to compare unit fractions by looking at the denominators.
- write as a unit fraction
- Can you write 0.25 as a unit fraction?
- sum of unit fractions
- The fraction 3/4 can be written as a sum of unit fractions.
Word family
Commonly confused: unit fraction or proper fraction? unit fraction or unitary fraction?
unit fraction vs proper fraction
A proper fraction has a numerator smaller than the denominator (e.g., 3/4), but the numerator need not be 1.
unit fraction vs unitary fraction
Unitary fraction is a less common synonym; unit fraction is the standard term in schools.
Practice
Which of these is a unit fraction?
Choose one answer.
A unit fraction has numerator 1, so 1/8 is correct. 3/4 and 2/5 have numerators other than 1, and 5/2 is an improper fraction.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unit fraction”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.