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Math 5: More Than Just a Fraction Bar 49 Views


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Description:

So guess what? Fractions are just the same thing as division... That one made us question reality for a few weeks.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:13

We often think of fractions as parts of larger wholes, right? [fractions of circle]

00:16

Like, say we have a whole pizza…

00:18

….one eighth might be the fraction that's left after we're done chowing down. [pizza fractions represented]

00:22

…What?

00:23

We were hungry.

00:24

And sure, that might make fractions seem puny and unimportant, like they're just leftovers. [sad fraction leftovers]

00:28

Which… hey, we love leftovers.

00:30

No complaints here.

00:31

However, it turns out there's a lot going on in a fraction. [numbers fly by]

00:34

You might have noticed that all fractions have a little line in their middle, like they're

00:38

wearing a little belt. [adorable fraction belts]

00:40

That lil' belt is called the fraction bar. [fraction bar labelled]

00:42

And it's not just there to look stylish, even though fraction bars are definitely slimming. [runway fraction]

00:46

It turns out the fraction bar is actually a division sign in disguise. [bar turns into division sign]

00:51

Every fraction has a numerator above the fraction bar…

00:54

…and a denominator down below. [fraction diagram]

00:56

And even though it's fine and dandy to leave a fraction as a fraction, we can also transform

01:01

it into a division. [Coop illustrates concept]

01:03

We just take our numerator…

01:04

…and divide it by the denominator. [fraction division shown]

01:05

Plus, if you actually want to carry out the division, you'll get a decimal number, free

01:11

of charge. [person celebrates decimals]

01:12

Fractions…they really are the gift that keeps on giving. [person opens disappointing gift]

01:14

Oh, and pro-tip: never give fractions as presents.

01:18

They're the number two most re-gifted gift, right after candles.

01:21

Anyway…it kinda makes sense that we should be able to translate from fractions to decimals. [fraction turns into decimal]

01:26

Sure, we don't often talk about having "0.125 of a pizza," but decimals are still a handy

01:32

tool for representing parts of wholes… [pizza man is confused]

01:34

…and the fraction bar provides a great bridge from fractions to decimals.

01:38

Luckily for you, writing a fraction bar only requires you to draw a tiny horizontal line… [person draws fraction]

01:42

…rather than making an actual bridge.

01:44

It'd be a real pain if you needed a few tons of steel and concrete every time you wanted [bridge building videos]

01:48

to make a fraction.

01:49

So there ya have it.

01:50

Thanks to the fraction bar, fractions aren't a bunch of puny nobodies, but the ambassadors [fractions guard world of decimals]

01:55

to the world of decimal numbers.

01:57

Now if you'd excuse us, we've got an eighth of a pizza to finish off. [person eats pizza]

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