← Back to course
Number Trail Grade 3 / Week 12 / Wednesday
3/6
Week 12 · Shapes and the end of the trail

Wednesday

Equal parts of a shape
// Quadrilaterals, equal parts and a big review
⏱ about 15 min

Wednesday: Equal parts of a shape

Ferris and Bennie find a flat garden bed shaped like a rectangle.

"Four friends want to plant here," says Ferris.

"How can we share it fairly?"

Bennie draws lines in the soil.

"Cut it into 4 parts with equal areas," he says.

"Then each friend gets one fourth of the garden."

Learn it: equal areas and unit fractions

Split a shape into parts with equal areas. Each part is a unit fraction.

Four equal parts: each part is 1/4 of the area.

Three equal parts: each part is 1/3 of the area.

A rectangle cut into four equal parts, one shaded

One of 4 equal parts is shaded. It is 1/4 of the rectangle's area.

A rectangle of unit squares, two rows of four

This rectangle has 8 unit squares.

Split it into 4 equal parts. Each part has 8 ÷ 4 = 2 squares.

Each part is 1/4 of the area, whatever its shape.

EACH PART IS WHAT FRACTION?
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
A rectangle cut into four equal parts, one shadedThis rectangle is cut into 4 equal parts. Each part is what fraction of the area?
A circle cut into three equal parts, one shadedThis circle is cut into 3 equal parts. Each part is what fraction of the area?
A bar cut into six equal parts, one shadedThis bar is cut into 6 equal parts. Each part is what fraction of the area?
A bar cut into eight equal parts, one shadedThis bar is cut into 8 equal parts. Each part is what fraction of the area?
A circle cut into two equal parts, one shadedThis circle is cut into 2 equal parts. Each part is what fraction of the area?
NAME THE SHADED PART
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
A bar cut into four equal parts, one shadedWhat fraction of the bar is shaded?
A bar cut into three equal parts, one shadedWhat fraction of the bar is shaded?
A bar cut into eight equal parts, three shadedWhat fraction of the bar is shaded?
A bar cut into six equal parts, five shadedWhat fraction of the bar is shaded?
SHARE THE AREA
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
A rectangle has 12 unit squares. Split it into 4 equal parts. How many squares in each?
A garden has 24 square meters. Six friends share it equally. How many square meters each?
A quilt has 16 squares. Cut it into 8 equal parts. How many squares in each?
A patio has 18 square feet. Split it into 3 equal parts. How many square feet each?
FROM BIGGEST PART TO SMALLEST
  • Picture one whole shape cut into equal parts.
  • Put the unit fractions from biggest part to smallest.
11st
22nd
33rd
44th
SentenceTrue or false?
If a shape is cut into 6 equal parts, each part is 1/6 of it.?
Parts must have equal areas to be fourths.?
1/3 > 1/4?
1/8 > 1/2?
WHY THIS EXERCISECutting into 8 parts makes smaller parts than cutting into 2, so 1/8 < 1/2.
Try it
Fold a square sheet of paper into 4 equal parts.
Try a second sheet, folded a different way.
Color one part of each. Each part is 1/4 of the sheet.
Draw a rectangle split into 6 equal parts. Shade 1/6.

Fair sharing! Tomorrow Chris tells the story of our whole trail.

← Tuesday