Number- Numerators and Denominators
Topic: What are numerators and denominators?
Can you remember the first time you saw a fraction, you probably noticed that there were two
numbers involved: a top number and a bottom number.
These two numbers are called a numerator and a denominator, and they both represent
different things.
The simplest way to define a numerator and a denominator is the following:
- Numerator: the top number of a fraction
- Denominator: the bottom number of a fraction
Consider these examples.
1. The fraction 3/8 has a top number 3 and a bottom number 8. Therefore, the numerator is 3,
and the denominator is 8.
2. The fraction 13/2 has a top number 13 and a bottom number 2. Thus, the numerator is 13,
and the denominator is 2
What Do the Numerator and Denominator Represent?
One representation of fractions defines a fraction as ‘a part as distinct from the whole of
anything; portion or section.’
Basically, a fraction represents a part of a whole.
In a fraction, the denominator represents the number of equal parts in a whole, and
the numerator represents how many parts are being considered.
For example, in the fraction 8/10, the numerator is 8 and the denominator is 10, so the fraction 8/10 means 8 parts of a whole object, which is divided into 10 parts of equal size.
Pizza Example
1.
