Equivalent fractions can be described as fractions that vary in values of numerators and denominators, but they symbolize the same value. Two fractions are termed to be equivalent if their values are identical. To obtain an equivalent fraction of a value, the numerator and denominator are multiplied by a common number. This method is called the 'cross-multiplication method`, and it is used to determine if any two fractions are equivalent or not. Equivalent fractions can be determined by dividing the numerator and the denominator of a value by the same number. An equivalent fraction is obtained if the resulting fraction has whole numbers in both the numerator and denominator.
Examples of equivalent fractions are; 4/8 and 3/6 since both of them are equal to 1/2. Thus, if one multiplies 1/2 by 4/4, 4/8 is obtained.
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1/2*4/4 =4/8. This implies that 4/8 is equivalent to 1/2.
The same case also applies when 1/2 is multiplied by 3 to both the numerator and denominator. 1/2 * 3/3 = 3/6. In this case, 1/2 is said to be equivalent to 3/6. Hence, 3/6 and 4/8 are equivalent fractions. More examples include; 2/6 and 3/9, dividing 2/6 by 2/2 yields 1/3. When 3/9 is divided by 3/3, 1/3 is obtained. This is a clear indication that 2/6 and 3/9 are equivalent fractions.
One can teach the concept of equivalent fractions to students by providing them with a model which they can divide up into uniform portions. They would have already found four equivalent fractions when working through the first model (Putra & Winslow, 2018). Thus, the use of visual models is a significant way to build fractions knowledge and helps students understand the concept of fractions better.
References
Putra, Z. H., & Winsløw, C. (2018, September). Teachers’ collective knowledge: the case of equivalent fractions. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1088, No. 1, p. 012003). IOP Publishing.