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Grade 2 · Maths · Lessons
Fair shares
🍕pizza🍫bar🍪cookie🎂cake
Share it fairly.
The big ideaEqual shares are the same size, and all of them make the whole.

How it works

A fair share means equal parts: the same size. Parts that are not equal are not fair.

Two equal parts are halves. Three are thirds. Four are fourths, or quarters.

More equal parts means each part is smaller: a fourth is smaller than a half.

1/3 is shaded
A bar cut into 3 equal parts, one part shaded: one third.
1/4 is shaded
A bar cut into 4 equal parts, one part shaded: one fourth.

Example 1: Is it cut fairly?

  1. A square is cut into 3 pieces. Two pieces are the same size and one is bigger.
  2. Fair shares must all be the same size, so these are not thirds.
  3. A square cut into 3 equal pieces is cut into thirds.

Example 2: Which is smaller?

  1. Cut one pizza into 2 equal parts. Cut another pizza of the same size into 4 equal parts.
  2. The pizza cut into 4 has smaller pieces.
  3. So a fourth is smaller than a half.

Example 3: Spot the half

  1. A circle is cut into 2 equal parts, and 1 part is shaded.
  2. Two equal parts are halves, and one of them is shaded.
  3. That circle is half shaded.

Words to know

half
One of two equal parts.
third
One of three equal parts.
fourth
One of four equal parts. Also called a quarter.

Watch out

Try it

  1. A pizza is cut into 4 equal parts. What is each part called?
  2. Which is smaller, a half or a fourth of the same pizza?
  3. A square is cut into 3 pieces. Two are small and one is big. Are they thirds?
  4. How many equal parts make halves?
Answers: 1. a fourth (or quarter) · 2. a fourth · 3. no · 4. 2
For grown-upsCut a sandwich into two, then four. Ask 'which pieces are the same?' and 'which is bigger, a half or a fourth?'
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