Idea 4of 22Builds onCount in thirds
4 × 1/3 is 4 groups of one third
What does 4 × 1/3 mean?
Today you'll discover
- what each number in 4 × 1/3 says
- how to draw it with fraction strips
- how much 4 groups of one third make
Think first4 × 1/3
What does 4 × 1/3 mean?
Decide first, then press Next. Find the number that counts and the number that is a size.
Four separate tinted pieces, each marked 1/3, slide together into bars one whole wide. Three fill the first bar, marked = 1 whole; the fourth sits in a dashed second bar marked 1/3 of one. Then the sentence 4 × 1/3 = 4/3 = 1 1/3. The last step shows 3 × 1/5.
See the whole ideathe big idea and the key word, in one place
The big idea
4 × 1/3 means 4 equal groups, and each group is one third.
Drawn three waysFour strips of 1/3, four jumps of 1/3 on a number line, or four thirds of a pizza: each shows 4 groups of one third.
Easy to get wrongThe whole number counts groups; it is never a size. In 4 × 1/3, there are 4 pieces, and each is small.
Key word
- equal groups
- groups that are all the same size; multiplying counts them, like 4 groups of 1/3
Ready to use it?
- Say what each number in 4 × 1/3 means.
- Find how much several groups of a unit fraction make.