Comparing and ordering fractions

All fractions are not same in value. One fraction may be smaller than the other fractions and it may be larger than
some other fractions. Hence, kids need to know comparing fractions. Comparing can be subdivided into three
sections. So kids need to know three tricks to learn this skill.
Trick Number 1:
First trick to compare fractions is to see if they have got the same numerators. If the numerators are same then the
fraction with the largest denominator is smallest. For example; consider the following fractions:
3/5, 3/4, 3/8 and 3/7
As all of the above fractions have the same numerator (3), so to compare them we need to compare their
denominators. The largest denominator makes the fraction smallest, therefore 3/8 is smallest of all and 3/4 is the
largest. Let's rewrite all of the fractions in an order from smallest to largest as shown below:
3/8, 3/7, 3/5 and 3/4
The above order (smallest to largest) is also known as ascending order.
Trick Number 2:
The second trick is same easy as the first one. This trick is about comparing fractions, when they have same
denominators. When the denominators are same, then the fraction with the smallest numerator is smallest and one
with largest numerator is the largest. For example;
Consider we want to compare 3/9, 1/9, 7/9 and 2/9; write them in ascending order.
Look at the given fractions, all of them have the same denominator (9). So, 1/9 is the smallest because it has the
smallest numerator and 7/9 is the largest with largest numerator. Below they are written in ascending order.
1/9, 2/9, 3/9 and 7/9
Trick Number 3:
Above two tips explain the comparing fractions with either same numerators or same denominators. But most often
the kids are asked to compare and order fractions with different numerators and denominators.
In such a case they need to make denominator of all the fractions same. To do this they need to know the least
common factor (lcm) of all the denominators also known as least common denominator (lcd).
Consider the following example on comparing fractions:
Write the following fractions in descending order (largest to smallest)
2/3, 1/4, 5/6, 3/4 and 1/2
Solution: Look, most of fractions got different denominators. Write all the denominators as shown below and write first
six multiples of all of them.
2 = 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 3 = 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 4 = 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24 6 = 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36
Now, look at the factors of all the numbers and find the smallest and common in all, which is 12 in this case. Hence
the lcm or lcd is 12. The next step is to rewrite all of the fractions into equivalent fractions with denominator as 12.
This step is shown below:
2/3, we need to multiply its denominator (3) with 4 to change it to 12. But to keep the value of the fraction same, don't
forget to multiply the numerator (2) with the same number 4. Let's do it;
(2 x 4)/(3 x 4) = 8/12
Similarly write all the fractions with denominator equal to 12 as shown below:
1/4 = (1 x 3)/(4 x 3) = 3/12 5/6 = (5 x 2)/(6 x 2) = 10/12 3/4 = (3 x 3)/(4 x 3) = 9/12 1/2 = (1 x 6)/(2 x 6) = 6/12
Now all the fractions have been written into equivalent fractions with same denominator 12 and it's easy to compare
these. Write all the equivalent fractions in descending order (largest to smallest)
10/12, 9/12, 8/12, 6/12 and 3/12
But these are not the fractions asked to be compared. So, this is not our answer, but now it's very easy to write the
original fractions in the required order by looking at above order. We know 10/12 is equal to 5/6 and 3/12 is equal to
1/4 hence write the original fractions in order
5/6, 3/4, 2/3, 1/2 and 1/4
Finally, it can be said that to compare and order fractions, kids need to keep above three tips in mind. Of course, the
knowledge of least common multiple (lcm) is the key to compare two or more fractions with different denominators.
For more information about comparing fractions and any other math homework help on fractions or fractions
worksheets and lessons for all grades, any of the given links can be clicked. One of our co-tutor have some excellent
content on the topic.
Also you can keep visiting this site for more math content by me.
Thank you very much for sharing your time.
Manjit


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Comparing Fractions
Sometimes we need to compare two fractions to discover which is larger or
smaller. There are two easy ways to compare fractions: using decimals; or
using the same denominator
The Decimal Method of Comparing Fractions
Just convert each fraction to decimals, and then compare the decimals.
Example: which is bigger:
3
/
8
or
5
/
12
?
You need to convert each fraction to a decimal. You can do this using your
calculator (38 and 512), or you can read about Converting Fractions to
Decimals .
Anyway, these are the answers I get:
3
/
8
= 0.375, and
5
/
12
= 0.4166...
So,
5
/
12
is bigger.
The Same Denominator Method

The denominator is the bottom
number in a fraction.
It shows how many equal parts the
item is divided into
If two fractions have the same denominator then they are easy to compare:
Example:
4
/
9
is less than
5
/
9
(because 4 is less than 5)
But if the denominators are not the same you need to make them the
same (using Equivalent Fractions ).
Example: Which is larger:
3
/
8
or
5
/
12
?
If you multiply 8 3 you get 24 , and if you multiply 12 2 you also get 24, so
let's try that (important: what you do to the bottom, you must also do to the
top):
3

3
=
9

and
2

5
=
10

8 24

3

12 24

2

It is now easy to see that
9
/
24
is smaller than
10
/
24
, (because 9 is smaller than 10).
so
5
/
12
is the larger fraction.
How to Make the Denominators the Same
The trick is to find the Least Common Multiple of the two denominators. In the
previous example, the Least Common Multiple of 8 and 12 was 24.
Then it is just a matter of changing each fraction to make it's denominator the
Least Common Multiple.
Example: Which is larger:
5
/
6
or
13
/
15
?
The Least Common Multiple of 6 and 15 is 30. So, let's do some multiplying to
make each denominator equal to 30 :
5

5
=
25
6 30

5

and
2

13
=
26
15 30

2

Now we can easily see that
26
/
30
is the larger fraction
so
13
/
15
is the larger fraction.

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