2.

What are you going to

learn?
The Meaning of Fraction
To define fractions In our everyday life, sometimes we have to divide
To simplify fractions
something into some equal parts. For instances:
To change a mixed
number into fractions • A slice of bread divided into three equal parts,
and its inverse
To compare fractions • A piece of paper cut into two equal parts,
To write a fraction in a
• An orange sliced into some equal parts,
decimal form
To write a fraction in a
percent form
All situations above are related to fractions.
Key Terms :
• fraction
• numerator Look at the picture below.
• denumerator
• decimal
• percent

Tools and Material :

• paper
• pencil
• ruler

Firstly, an orange is sliced into two equal parts. Each

part is called one over two or one-half or half and it is
1
written as .
2

Then, each of the two equal parts is divided into two

Mathematics for Junior High School – Year 7 / 39

 equal parts so that we obtain four equal parts. Each part
of four equal parts is called one over four or one-fourth,
1
written as .
4

1 1 3
The numbers , , and are examples of fraction
2 4 2
numbers, or fractions for short.

A fraction is a number that can be written in the form of

a
, where a and b are integers and b ≠ 0, and b is not a
b
factor of a. The number a is called the numerator, b is
called the denominator. Why b cannot be zero?

1
For the fraction , 1 is the numerator, and 4 is the
4
denominator.
3
For the fraction , 3 is the numerator, and 2 is the
2
denominator.

Simplifying Fractions
Look at the shadowed parts of the bars on the left. How
many parts are in each bar? How many parts are
shadowed? Which fractions represent the shadowed
parts?

Simple Fractions
1 2 3 4
Fractions , , , and have equal values. Of these
2 4 6 8

40 / Student’s Book – Fractions

 1
fractions, is the simplest form. A fraction is called the
2
simplest form (simple fraction) if the Greatest Common
Factor (GCF) of the numerator and the denominator is 1.

You can write the simplest form of a fraction by

dividing the numerator and the denominator with the
GCF of the numerator and the denominator.

EXAMPLE 1 20
Write in the simplest form.
28

The GCF of 20 and 28 is 4.

Divide the numerator and the

denominator by 4.

20
Therefore, the simplest form of fraction is 5 .
28 7

Converting a Mixed Number into a

Fraction

Two men rode horses. One rode for 1 1 km., and the
2

other covered a distance of 1 1 km.

4

1
The numbers 1 1 and 3 are called mixed numbers.
2 4

A mixed number can also be written as a fraction form.

Work out the following Mini Lab.

Mathematics for Junior High School – Year 7 / 41

 Mini-Lab
Work in pairs.
Material and equipment: paper, pencil, and ruler.

Draw a model for a mixed number 1 1 in the following steps.

4
Draw a quadrilateral as shown below. Shade the quadrilateral to get 1.

Draw an identical quadrilateral beside the first one. Divide the

quadrilateral on the right side into four equal parts to get one-fourth.
Shade in one part to show 1 . Thus, we will get the model for 1 1 .
4 4

Divide the model of a quadrilateral into four equal parts (one-fourth).

The shadowed areas on the last picture show the mixed numbers 1 1 .
4
Discuss:

b. How many shadowed one-fourth areas are there in the above

picture?
c. How many unshadowed one-fourth areas are there in the above
drawing?
d. What fraction has the same value as 1 1 ?
4

Based on the Mini-Lab, you may conclude that a

mixed number can be written as a fraction that is
called an improper fraction.

You can also use a different way to convert the

form of a mixed number.

42 / Student’s Book – Fractions

 Converting an Improper Fraction
into a Mixed Number

Suppose you have 28 liters of gasoline. You are

asked to fill it in 8 containers. Each container will
be filled with equal volume of gasoline. How many
liters should be filled into each container?

Solution:
28 ← Write down the division in the form of
8
fraction
3
8 28 Divide 28 by 8

24
4 −
Write down the remainder as
34 = 31 a fraction, and then simplify
8 2 it.

1
Therefore, each container is filled with 3 liters of
2
gasoline.

Comparing and Ordering Fractions

Suppose there was a vote for chairperson of the

Student Organization at your school. The result of
the vote was as follows :

• 1 of the students voted for Candidate I.

3

Mathematics for Junior High School – Year 7 / 43

 • 2 of the students voted for Candidate II
7
Based on the above result, which candidate got more
votes, Candidate I or Candidate II? To answer the
question, you need to know how to compare
fractions.

There are two aspects you should know to compare

fractions:

(1) Comparing like fractions

Examine the length of the shaded parts of the two

models of fraction below.

Based on these models, you can conclude that

5 5 > 4 . Why?
6 6 6

4
6 Also, check that one-sixth can be considered as a
new unit.
5 means 5 sixths, and 4 means 4 sixths.
6 6

Which one is greater, 5 sixths or 4 sixths?

Based on the explanation, it is clear that 5 > 4 .

6 6

Therefore, to compare some like fractions, you just

need to compare the numerator. If the numerator of
one fraction is greater, then the fraction is also
greater than the other.

(2) Comparing unlike fractions

44 / Student’s Book – Fractions

 Let us begin by comparing 1 to 1 .
2 3

We know that 1 is equal to 3 and 1 is equal to 2 .

2 6 3 6
The four fractions above can be modeled as follows.

is equal to

1 3
2 6

1 is equal to 2
3 6

Which fraction is greater? It is clear that 1 > 1 and

2 3
3 > 2 , because 1 = 3 and 1 = 2 .
6 6 2 6 3 6

Therefore, one way to compare fractions is to express

Note
the fractions to like fractions, and then compare the
In a measurement the
sizes can be compared
numerators. To get the same numerator, we use the
if they have the same Least Common Multiple (LCM) of two numbers.
units. Analogically, to
compare fractions, we
have to change the For more explanation, look at the procedures to
fractions so that they
have the same compare fractions 1 with 2 in Example 2 below.
denominators 3 7

Use the sign <, =, or > to compare 1 to 2 .

3 7

Step I: Find LCM of 3 and 7.

Multiple of 3 are 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 ,24
Multiple of 7 are 7, 14, 21 ,28

Mathematics for Junior High School – Year 7 / 45

 LCM of 3 and 7 is 21, because 21 is the least number in
which 3 and 7 match for the first time.
Step II: Find the fraction which is equivalent to
1 and 2 using the LCM in Step I, as its
3 7

denominator.

1 = ... , so that 1 = 7
3 21 3 21

2 = ... , so that 2 = 6
7 21 7 21

Step III: Compare the like fractions in Step II.

Compare the numerator of 7 and 6 .

21 21

Since 7 > 6, then 7 > 6 .

21 21

We may conclude that 1 > 2 . Since 1 > 2 , the answer

3 7 3 7

to the question about the election of the chairperson

of the Student Organization is that Candidate I got
more votes than Candidate II.

Use the sign <, =, or > to compare 7 with 5 .

24 18

Remember
Find the LCM of 18 and 24
24 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 then circle all different factors
To write an equivalent that ap pear most frequently.
fraction, multiply the 18 = 2 × 3 × 3
numerator and the
denominator with the
same number,
Multiply all circled factors to get the LCM of 24 and
excluding zero.
18.

46 / Student’s Book – Fractions

 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 × 3 = 72

Write equivalent
7 21 5 20 fractions
= =
24 72 18 72 using LCM as the
denominator.

21 > 20 Compare the numerator.

21 20 7 5
Since > , then > .
72 72 24 18

Ordering Fractions

Look at the fraction bars on the left.

1. What fraction represents each model?
2. Which fraction is the greatest? The smallest?
3. Put them in sequence from the smallest to the
greatest.

To put fractions in sequence is the same as to compare

three or more fractions.
If you want to put like fractions in sequence, then order
them based on the numerator. However, if you want to
put unlike fractions in sequence, you need to find the
LCM of the denominator of the original fractions. The
LCM will be their denominators.

EXAMPLE 4 3 2 7
Put the fractions , , and in sequence from the
8 5 20
least to the greatest.

Mathematics for Junior High School – Year 7 / 47

 8= 2× 2 × 2 Find the LC M of 8, 5, and 20 by
writing down all prime factors of each
number, an d then circle all different
5= 5 factors th at appear most frequently.
20 = 2 × 2 × 5

Multiply all circled factors.

The LCM of 8, 5, and 20 is 40.
2 × 2 × 2 × 5 = 40

3 = 15 2 = 16 7 = 14
8 40 5 40 20 40

16 > 15 > 14 Compare the numerator and

put them in order.

Since 16 > 15 > 14 , then 2 > 3 > 7 .

40 40 40 5 8 20

Therefore, if we put the fractions in order, from the

least to the greatest, we get: 7 , 3 , 2 .

20 8 5

Decimal

A fraction or a mixed number can also be expressed

as decimal. Similarly, a decimal can be expressed as
a fraction or a mixed number.

Get a calculator and do the following activities.

48 / Student’s Book – Fractions

 9
Find the value of using a calculator.
40
Push the bottom: 9 / 4 0 =

What number do you get?

Such a number as 0.225 is called decimal and read

“zero point two two five”.

Likewise, a decimal can be converted to a simple

fraction. For example, convert 0.225 to a simple
fraction.

Solution:
Write it as a simple fraction.
0,225 = 225
1000

Simplifiy by dividing the numerator

225 = 9 and the denominator by the GCF.
1.000 40 The GC F of 225 and 1,000 is 25.
Remember

You may read 1.32

as one-thirty two per Therefore, 0.225 = 9 .
40
one hundred”
When a decimal is greater than 1, it can be written
in a mixed number.

Write 1.32 as a mixed number in the simplest form.

Mathematics for Junior High School – Year 7 / 49

 Solution:

An integer is written separately from

1.32 = 1 32
100 the fraction .

Simplify the fraction.

The GCF of 100 and 32
is 4.

Therefore 1.32 = 1 8 .
25

In addition, to write a fraction in a decimal form,

you may divide the numerator by the denominator.

0.75
For instance, 3 can be calculated as 4 3
4
2.8
0.2
0.2
0

You could also use a calculator to divide the numerator

by the denominator.

EXAMPLE 7 Relationwith the Real World

A carpenter wants to make a hole with a diameter of not
5
more than 0.6 inch. Could he use inch drill?
8
You may also use a calculator to divide 5 by 8.

Since 0.625 > 0.6, the carpenter could not use a drill with

50 / Student’s Book – Fractions

 5
a size of inch because the hole is too big.
8

For a fraction, if you divide the numerator by the

denominator and the remainder is zero, then the
quotient is in the form of an irrecursive decimal
number. On the other hand, if the quotient repeats a
number or a set of certain numbers without ending,
then such a decimal number is called a recursive
decimal number.

Example:
The bar over the number
me ans that the number 4 is
0.4444 . . . . = 0.4 recursive.

Rounding off
If the decimal number is rounded off up to one
decimal place, it can be written as 0.4. The number
4 cannot be changed because the number on its
right (that is 4) is less than 5.

Write down the following fractions as decimal

numbers.
4 Solution:
a.
15
0.266
15 4
The number 6
3 is recursive.
1
0.9
0.1
0.09
0.1
Therefore, 4 = 0.26
15

Mathematics for Junior High School – Year 7 / 51

 8
b.
11
Solution:
By using a calculator, we know that 72 is recursive.

Th erefore, 8 = 0.72
11

Rounding off
• If the number 0.266 is rounded off up to one
decimal place, it becomes 0.3 ( because 6 is larger
than 5)
• If the number 0.266 is rounded off up to two
decimal places, it becomes 0.27 (because 6 is
larger than 5)
• If the number 0.725 is rounded off up to one
decimal place, it becomes 0.7 ( because 2 is less
than 5)
• If the number 0.725 is rounded off up to two
decimal places, it becomes 0.73.

Besides protein, meat

contains fat, Percent and Permil
carbohydrate, vitamins,
minerals and water. The Consider the copy of an article on the left. In this article,
amount of each depends
on species, age and sex. it is written 18% and 60-70%. Do you know what
Chicken, for example,
has about 18% protein percentage is? If you compare a number to 100, then
and 60-70% water.
you will have a percentage.

Percent means “per hundred”.

52 / Student’s Book – Fractions

 75 12.5
You may write a ratio 15 as 15%, as 75%, as
100 100 100
12.5%, and so on.

You could make a model of percent with a scale paper

of 10 x 10 as follows.

Modeling
EXAMPLE 9

What is the percentage of the shadowed parts?

the number of shadowed parts 15

=
the number of all parts 100

Write down the ratio as percentage.

15
= 15%
100

Therefore, the shadowed parts are 15% of all parts.

What is the percentage of partitioned paper in Example

9 that is not shadowed? How do you answer it without
counting the number of squares?

You may use what you already know about percent to

express a percentage as a fraction.

EXAMPLE 10
Express 36% as a fraction in its simplest form.

Express the percent as a fraction

36% = 36 having 100 as th e denominator.
100

Mathematics for Junior High School – Year 7 / 53

 36 = 9 Express the fraction in its simplest form.
100 25

Sometimes, you need to express a fraction as a

decimal first, before writing the equivalent
percentage.

Natural Science
EXAMPLE 11

About 7 of the earth surface is covered by water.

10

Express 7 in percent.
10

7 = 70 = 70%
10 100

0.7 = 70%
You may use a calculator to convert a fraction to a
percent as demonstrated in the following example.

EXAMPLE 12 Use a calculator to express the fraction 2 as a

3

percent.

Therefore, the fraction 2 is about 66.7%.

3

EXAMPLE 13
Express 14 as a percent.

1 = .....
4 100

1 = 1 × 25 = 25
4 4 × 25 100

54 / Student’s Book – Fractions

 Thus, 1 is equal to 25%.
4

Permil
Percent mean per hundred, while permil means
23
‘per thousand’ symbolized o / oo . can be read 23
1000
17.5
per thousand, can be read 17.5 per thousand.
1000

EXAMPLE 14
13
Express in per thousand.
25
Solution:
13 13 × 40 520
= = .
25 25 × 40 1000
13
Therefore, is equal to 520 per thousand.
25

EXAMPLE 15
Express 125 per thousand as a fraction in its
simplest form.

125 Express per thousand as a

125 per thousand=
1000 fraction of which 1,000 is
the denominator.

125 1 Express th e fraction in

= its simples t form.
1000 8

Mathematics for Junior High School – Year 7 / 55

 1. Thirty-five percent of the members of a club play
football as their hobbies. What is the percentage of the
members that do not play football as their hobbies?

2. Write down the following percentages as fractions in

the simplest forms.
a. 15% b. 75% c. 88% d. 18%

3. Express each of the following fractions in per

thousand.
3 34 18 23
a. b. c. d.
20 50 150 250

4. Biology. The exhaled air consists of about 80%

nitrogen and 20% oxygen. Write down each percentage
as a fraction in its simplest form.

5. Write down each fraction below as a percentage.

a.
19
b. 7 c. 1 d. 1 e. 3
20 50 4 8 200

f. 9 g. 8 h. 3 i. 12 j. 2
50 20 10 30 25

6. Express each of the following decimal numbers as a

fraction or a mixed number in its simplest form.
a. 0.3 b. 0.004 c. 2.625 d. 1.35
e. 5.500

7. Round off the following decimal numbers up to one

56 / Student’s Book – Fractions

and two decimal places. Give your reason for rounding
them off.
a. 0.075 b. 1.627 c. 0.155 d. 0.074 e. 10.023

8. Ali has 1-meter length of rope. This rope is cut into

two parts, and one part has 0.55 meter length. Express
the length of each part of the rope as a simple fraction.

9. Writin. Describe the steps to convert 0.8 to a fraction

in its simplest form.

10. Express the following fractions as a decimal number.

3 9 7 5 11
a. b. c. d. e.
20 50 32 6 16

11. Arrange the following numbers from the least to the

greatest.

7 9 2 3
a. ; 0.8; ; 0.87 b. 1.65;1 ; 1 ; 1.7
8 11 3 5

1 1 1
c. 3 ; 3.1 ; 3 ; 3 ; 3.01
12 5 20

3 7
12. Ali ran as far as 1 km, and Budi ran as far as 1
4 10
km. Who ran farther than the other?
13. Arrange the following fractions in sequence, from
the least to the greatest.

a. 2 , 2 , 2 b. 4 , 5 , 7 c. 1 2 ,1 3 , 1 5
3 5 7 8 6 9 3 4 6

d. 3 , 2 , 3 e. 2 8 , 2 17 , 2 5 f. 11 , 5 , 5
5 7 8 9 18 6 24 8 12

Mathematics for Junior High School – Year 7 / 57

 g. 7 , 1 , 7 h. 1 8 , 2 1 , 1 3
15 3 12 11 4 4

14. Critical Thinking. I am a fraction in my simplest

form. My numerator and denominator are prime
numbers having 2 as their differences. The sum of my
numerator and denominator are the same as 12. What
number am I?

15. Writing. When you are given two different and

unequal fractions, write in your own words how you
determine the greater fraction.

16. Open Question. Write down three fractions and

arrange them in order, from the least to the greatest.
Describe the steps that you apply to put the fractions in
order.

17. Describe in your own words how you find out

that a fraction is less than, the same as, or greater
than 1.

18. Choose A, B, C, or
D. Which mixed
number describes the
shaded parts?

A. 4 3 B. 3 3 C. 3 15 D. 3 1
4 4 16 4

58 / Student’s Book – Fractions

19. Critical Thinking. Express 100 as a fraction
using four similar numerals. Can it be expressed
using six similar numerals?

20. Express each of the following fractions as a

mixed number.

a. 17 b. 13 c. 27 d. 37 e. 21 f. 16
5 7 5 12 4 5
21. Writing. Think of two different situations in your
everyday life in which you use a mixed number.
22. Physics. The formula to convert the degree in the
9 o
Celsius scale into the Fahrenheit scale is C + 32 = o F .
5

Express the fraction 9 in this formula as a mixed

5
number.
23. Research. Measure the height of your classmate or
family in a centimeter unit. When the height is over 100
cm, express such a measurement in a meter unit by
using a mixed number.

24. Write down two fractions that are equal to each of

the following fractions.

a. 1 b. 10 c. 4 d. 15 e. 6
4 20 5 45 8

25. Open Question. Use the numbers 2, 3, 4, 6,

12, 18, and 24 to write 3 pairs of equal fractions.

Mathematics for Junior High School – Year 7 / 59

60 / Student’s Book – Fractions