To understand the concept of mixed number, we first need to remember the types of fractions that exist.
Proper Fraction: is any fraction that represents a quantity smaller than 1. A feature that allows us to easily recognize this type of fraction is that they have the numerator smaller than the denominator;
Improper Fraction: is any fraction that represents a quantity greater than 1. They also have a feature that allows them to be easily recognized: the numerator is greater than the denominator;
Apparent Fraction: is a special type of improper fraction. It has two outstanding characteristics: they represent an integer quantity and the numerator is a multiple of the denominator.
Examples of own fractions:
Examples of improper fractions:
Examples of apparent fractions:
Well, since we've remembered the types of fractions, let's talk about mixed numbers. Mixed numbers are another way to represent an improper fraction. They are called mixed numbers because they mix a whole number with a fraction.
Let's better understand this concept.
Look at the figure below:
The fraction representing the colored part of the figure is:
Note that this is an improper fraction. Now, see how we can write the colored part of the figure using a mixed number:
We see that one of the figures has been colored completely, or in full. The other rectangle, of the six parts, only two were painted. Thus, we have the mixed number:
Note the figures below and the mixed numbers representing the part that has been colored.
Let's think about an everyday situation. Imagine that 5 friends went out for pizza. They decided to order two pizzas divided into 8 slices each. They managed to eat a whole pizza and 6 pieces of the other. The mixed number representing the amount of pizza the 5 friends ate together is:
Whenever we have a non-integer quantity greater than 1, we can use a mixed number to represent that quantity. One more example to finish: I had two and a half glasses of water
By Marcelo Rigonatto
Mathematical
Take the opportunity to check out our video lesson on the subject:
