Find 1/3 of Numbers

In this activity, we will be looking at how to find a third of a number. 

We can use pictures and we can draw our own pictures to help us to work these out. 

So, let's have a look at the different ways we can find a third of 12. 

 

Things to remember:

-  A third written as a fraction is 1/3

-  Numerator is the name of the first number (top number) in a fraction, which for 1/3 is 1

-  Denominator is the name of the second number (bottom number) in a fraction, which for 1/3 is 3

 

 

Example 1 

Find 1/3 of 12. 

Here we have 12 stars:

 

       

 

To find 1/3 we need to look at the denominator of the fraction, which is 3. 

This means we need to split the stars into three equal groups. 

 

  

 

Here, we have three equal groups of stars - there are four in each group. 

The numerator is one, so we are only looking at one of the groups. 

So 1/3 of 12 is four. 

 

Example 2 

Find 1/3 of 12. 

Another way to find a third is to draw a picture to help us. 

The denominator in 1/3 is 3, so this means we need to share 12 between three groups. 

We can draw a circle and split it into three parts, then we can share 12 dots between the three groups. 

Share the dots counting them out like this:

 

  

 

Keep sharing the dots between the three groups until all 12 have been shared:

 

There are four dots in each group. 

 

  

 

This also shows us that 1/3 of 12 is four.  

 

Let's use these methods to help us solve these questions.