The Task

Michael says 3/4 is equivalent to 1/12 because 3 x 4 = 12. Do you agree or disagree with Michael? Explain.

Teachers' Notes

Students make this error when they see the numerator and denominator as whole numbers rather than constituent parts of a fraction. One way to help students to address this is to encourage them to look at the representation on the screen and consider the size of the 3/4 and 1/12. One way of helping students to begin address this common error is to refer to the fraction as a number that represents the part of the whole showed by the denominator - how many equal-sized parts are there in total - and the numerator - how many of those parts are being referred to.

You can also allow the Fractions Lab compare box to challenge students' ideas by discussing with students why the ¾ is greater than 1/12.