Page 193 - Basic College Mathematics with Early Integers

Objectives 3.1 INTRODUCTION TO FRACTIONS AND MIXED NUMBERS

Identify the Numerator and the
Denominator of a Fraction.
Objective Identifying Numerators and Denominators
Write a Fraction to Represent
Parts of Figures or Real-Life Data. Whole numbers are used to count whole things or units, such as cars, horses, dollars,
and people. To refer to a part of a whole, fractions can be used. Here are some
Identify Proper Fractions, examples of fractions. Study these examples for a moment.
Improper Fractions, and Mixed
Numbers. a cup a foot 5 parts 6 equal parts
considered
2 parts considered
Graph Fractions on a Number
Line.
1 part 2 equal parts
Review Division Properties considered 3 equal parts
of 0 and 1.
1 2
of a cup of a foot
2 3 5 of a pizza
6
In a fraction, the top number is called the numerator and the bottom number is
called the denominator. The bar between the numbers is called the fraction bar.

Names Fraction Meaning
numerator ¡ 5 — number of parts being considered
denominator ¡ 6 — number of equal parts in the whole

PRACTICE 1–2 Examples Identify the numerator and the denominator of each fraction.
Identify the numerator and the
3 ; numerator
denominator of each fraction. 1.
7 ; denominator
11
1. 13 ; numerator
2 2.
10 5 ; denominator
2.
17 Work Practice 1–2

3
; Remember that the bar in a fraction means division. Since division by 0 is
7
3
undefined, a fraction with a denominator of 0 is undefined. For example, is
0
undefined.

Objective Writing Fractions to Represent Parts of Figures
or Real-Life Data

One way to become familiar with the concept of fractions is to visualize fractions
with shaded figures.We can then write a fraction to represent the shaded area of the
figure (or diagram). Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
Answers
1. numerator = 11, denominator = 2
2. numerator = 10, denominator = 17
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