In this activity, we will learn how to change a mixed number into an improper fraction.
Example
To find the numerator of a mixed number, multiply the denominator by the whole number and then add on the numerator.
The denominator of a mixed number is the same as in the original fraction.
7 |
|
In the example above, we need to multiply the whole number 7 by the denominator of 12. This is to find out how many twelfths there are in 7 wholes.
7 x 12 = 84 So, 7 wholes contain 84 twelfths.
Then, we need to add on the 11 twelfths that is the numerator: 84 + 11 = 95
The denominator remains unchanged as 12.
So, our improper fraction is:
95 |
12 |
Did you follow that ok?
Here's another one for you to check out.
What is 3 4/9 as an improper fraction?
First of all, we want to find out how many ninths there are in 3 whole numbers, so we multiply 3 by 9
3 x 9 = 27 so we know that there are 27 ninths in 3 whole numbers.
But we have 4 more ninths to include (the numerator) so we do 27 + 4 = 31
So we have 31 ninths in total which we write as 31/9
Let's have a go at some questions now.