Fractions

Fractions is a great study

A very great study indeed,

We can count them like whole numbers

Thought not with the same speed.

Zero, one, two, three, four

You can see on a number line

But in between consecutive numbers

The fractions you’ll also find.

They may be written in decimal form

Or in the common-fraction way,

It doesn’t matter which form you use

We have to use them everyday.

They are used to measure distance

And width and height and depth,

They can record the exact length

That an athlete has leapt.

They are used to approximate

As in pour half or a little more

But they can be also precise

As in mixing medicines and more.

View them in capacity and weight

In large sums of money as well,

The scales on which we weigh

Or to record the rain that fell.

Half a portion of chips

Or a quarter pound of cheese,

A quarter past eight in the morning,

Can I have a third of that please?

Fractions are prevalent in circles

An example is the clock face

But also in rectangles and squares

And in any shape you can trace.

In decimal form there’s a point

That comes between ones and tenths,

You’ll find this in capacity and weight

And you’ll also find it in length.

  

That point is very important

It separates the parts from the wholes,

Use it to separate the ones and tenths

Please do as you are told.

The common fraction is very different

With its numerator and denominator,

These are separated by a vinculum

One on top of the other.

The denominator names the fraction

Be it fourths, or fifths or sixths

And the number of which we are taking

Over of the vinculum is fixed.

The vinculum can indicate division

As in three divided by four,

If you knew that is 0.75

You have already begun to soar.

Therein you see a relationship

Between decimals and fractions

Now calculate one-half and two-fifths

Using the above operation.

Remember when adding fractions

They must carry a common name,

The same must be done for subtraction

But in multiplication and division refrain.

Fractions are a part of everyday life

They feature in so much we do,

Perhaps you can list a number of ways

In which fractions can work for you.

Stewart Russell © October 2018