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Equivalent Fractions

Equivalent fractions are fractions that represent the same value, even though they look different. For example, if you have a cake, cut it into two equal pieces, and eat one of them, you will have eaten half the cake. If you cut a cake into eight equal pieces and eat four of them, you will still have eaten half the cake. These are equivalent fractions. This section explains equivalent fractions in more detail.

Example & Activity

Example

Find a fraction with a denominator of 21 that is equivalent to 2 over7.

To find equivalent fractions, we multiply the numerator and the denominator by the same number, so we need to multiply the denominator of 7 by a number that will give us 21. Since 3 multiplied by 7 gives us 21, we can find an equivalent fraction by multiplying both the numerator and denominator by 3.

2 times 3 over 7 times 3 equals 6 over 21

Therefore, 6 over 21 is an equivalent fraction to 2 over 7.

Activity

Try this activity to test your skills. If you have trouble, check out the information in the module for help.

Summary and Worksheet

Attribution

Example Source: "Prealgebra - opens in a new window" by Lynn Marecek & Mary Anne Anthony-Smith is licensed under CC BY 4.0 - opens in a new window / A derivative from the original work - opens in a new window