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Lesson · Grade 5 · Mathematics

Fraction Benchmarks: Is 3/8 Closer to 0, One Half or 1?

  • Grade 5
  • Mathematics
  • 1 min 8 s
  • British Columbia
  • BC5-MA-07

A number line from 0 to 1 is cut into 8 equal parts, and counting the parts from 3/8 shows it is 3 parts from 0, 1 part from one half (4/8) and 5 parts from 1, with 3 + 5 = 8 checking the counts. Since 1 part is the fewest, 3/8 is closest to one half, which the shortcut "half of 8 is 4, and 3 is close to 4" confirms before a one-line recap.

Concept: Fraction benchmarks: closer to 0, one half or 1?

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In one sentence

The question this lesson answers

Is three eighths closer to 0, one half or 1?

0, one half and 1 are handy numbers called benchmarks.

Transcript

What the lesson says

Is three eighths closer to 0, one half or 1?

0, one half and 1 are handy numbers called benchmarks.

To show eighths, cut the line into 8 equal parts.

Count 3 parts from 0 to reach three eighths.

So three eighths is 3 parts away from 0.

Half of 8 is 4, so one half is the same as four eighths.

From three eighths to one half is just 1 part.

From three eighths to 1 is 5 parts.

Check: 3 parts plus 5 parts make all 8 parts of the line.

1 part is the fewest of the three.

So three eighths is closest to one half.

Another way to see it: half of 8 is 4, and 3 is close to 4.

The closest benchmark is the one that is the fewest parts away.

Curriculum

Where this fits

British Columbia, Grade 5

Mathematics, Number: whole-number, fraction, and decimal benchmarksBC5-MA-07

Previous: Making Equivalent Fractions: Multiply the Top and the BottomNext: Comparing fractions on a number line

The outcomes and strands follow the British Columbia curriculum.

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