Skip to content
Oak National Academy
Oak National Academy
Teachers
Pupils
icon-background-square
New
New
Year 5

Explain the relationship within families of equivalent fractions

I can explain the relationship within families of equivalent fractions.

Download all resources
arrow-right
Share activities with pupils
arrow-right
icon-background-square
New
New
Year 5

Explain the relationship within families of equivalent fractions

I can explain the relationship within families of equivalent fractions.

Download all resources
arrow-right
Share activities with pupils
arrow-right
warning

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.
View new resources
arrow-right

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. If the multiplicative relationship between the numerator and denominator is the same, the fractions will be equivalent.
  2. In equivalent fractions the numerators will share a common factor and the denominators will share a common factor.
  3. In equivalent fractions, the numerators and denominators have been scaled up or down by the same factor.

Keywords

  • Numerator - The numerator is the top number in a fraction and shows how many parts we have.

  • Denominator - The denominator is the bottom number in a fraction and shows how many equal parts the whole has been divided into.

  • Equivalent fraction - Equivalent fractions are fractions which have the same value, even though they may look different.

  • Scale up and down - Scaling is when a quantity is made a number of times the size. To scale up is to multiply by a factor. To scale down is to multiply by a fraction or to divide.

Common misconception

That equivalent fractions do not have the same value. Pupils can create them but do not always understand that they are equal in value.

Explore representations which show the same whole divided in different ways to show the same proportion of the whole. Represent equivalent fractions at the same point on a number line.

Give opportunities to explore equivalent fractions in a range of representations, emphasising the fact that they represent the same proportion of the whole. Encourage accurate use of the language of scaling up and scaling down so that pupils see that larger numbers do not mean larger fractions.
speech-bubble
Teacher tip
copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

Skip lesson video

Loading...

Starter quiz

Download starter quiz

6 Questions

Q1.
Which two equivalent fractions could label point a on the number line?
An image in a quiz
$${1}\over{6}$$ and $${3}\over{11}$$
Correct answer: $${1}\over{5}$$ and $${2}\over{10}$$
$${2}\over{5}$$ and $${3}\over{10}$$
Q2.
Which fractions in the list are equivalent to $${1}\over{2}$$?
$${2}\over{3}$$
Correct answer: $${2}\over{4}$$
$${2}\over{5}$$
$${3}\over{5}$$
Correct answer: $${3}\over{6}$$
Q3.
Match the pairs of equivalent fractions.
Correct Answer:$${1}\over{3}$$,$${3}\over{9}$$
tick

$${3}\over{9}$$

Correct Answer:$${2}\over{3}$$,$${4}\over{6}$$
tick

$${4}\over{6}$$

Correct Answer:$${2}\over{5}$$,$${4}\over{10}$$
tick

$${4}\over{10}$$

Correct Answer:$${2}\over{4}$$,$${3}\over{6}$$
tick

$${3}\over{6}$$

Q4.
What is the missing scale factor used to create this pair of equivalent fractions?
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 7, seven
Q5.
What is the missing denominator in this pair of equivalent fractions?
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 12, twelve
Q6.
What is the missing numerator in this pair of equivalent fractions?
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 18, eighteen

Exit quiz

Download exit quiz

6 Questions

Q1.
Which fractions can describe the shaded area of this shape?
An image in a quiz
$${4}\over{5}$$
$${6}\over{7}$$
Correct answer: $${6}\over{8}$$
Correct answer: $${9}\over{12}$$
$${2}\over{4}$$
Q2.
Which fractions can be used to label point a on the number line?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: $${4}\over{10}$$
$${5}\over{11}$$
Correct answer: $${2}\over{5}$$
$${3}\over{6}$$
Q3.
Which other fractions could be used to label point a on the number line.
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: $${6}\over{15}$$
$${3}\over{6}$$
Correct answer: $${4}\over{10}$$
$${5}\over{11}$$
Correct answer: $${10}\over{25}$$
Q4.
Which fraction is equivalent to $${4}\over{5}$$ ?
$${5}\over{6}$$
$${8}\over{9}$$
Correct answer: $${8}\over{10}$$
$${2}\over{3}$$
Q5.
Which fractions are less than $${4}\over{5}$$?
Correct answer: $${6}\over{10}$$
Correct answer: $${7}\over{10}$$
$${8}\over{10}$$
$${9}\over{10}$$
Q6.
Which fractions are greater than $${3}\over{5}$$?
$${5}\over{10}$$
$${6}\over{10}$$
Correct answer: $${7}\over{10}$$
Correct answer: $${8}\over{10}$$

Additional material

Download additional material