The Task

Louise used number lines to think about adding fractions. Her answer was 7/12. One of her fractions was 1/4. Can you make the sum she made?

Teachers' Notes

This task encourages students to use fractions with unlike denominators to find the missing fraction. You could challenge students to ensure that all three fractions have different denominators, or you could choose to allow them to make a fraction with a denominator of 12, which many students find more straightforward.

To extend this task, you could ask students to write their own tasks that require fractions with different denominators, and challenge peers to answer them.

You can also read how to add fractions with unlike denominators by reading the Quick Start Guide, "Adding and subtracting fractions" and how to check them in "The operations box: compare, add or subtract".