So far it’s been useful to
use fraction ID cards to help answer comparison of
fraction questions. But that's like having training
wheels on your bicycle. We need a better way to find
out EXACTLY how much more one fraction is than
another.
By now, you should notice that every costume in a particular fraction's costume closet is the same size. But how do you compare with other fraction's costume closets? For example, how much bigger is 1/2 than 1/3?
So far we know that you can tell that 1/2 is bigger
than 1/3 by comparing their ID pictures, but you can't
tell by how much. This is where each fraction looks in
their costume closet for the same denominator.
The 1/2 closet has 1/2, 2/4, 3/6, 4/8, 5/10, 6/12, etc.
The 1/3 closet contains 1/3, 2/6, 3/9, 4/12, etc.
What is the denominator match in this listing? It's 6!
By now, you should notice that every costume in a particular fraction's costume closet is the same size. But how do you compare with other fraction's costume closets? For example, how much bigger is 1/2 than 1/3?
The 1/2 closet has 1/2, 2/4, 3/6, 4/8, 5/10, 6/12, etc.
The 1/3 closet contains 1/3, 2/6, 3/9, 4/12, etc.
What is the denominator match in this listing? It's 6!