Level 5-6 Numbers - Fractions - Multiplication and Division

You will come across fractions in everyday life - half a pint of milk, quarter of an ounce of butter, an eighth of a pizza etc. Fractions are everywhere so you won't be surprised to find them in KS3 Maths.

Multiplying fractions is relatively easy. All you have to do is change any mixed numbers to top heavy fractions, then multiply the top row, and multiply the bottom row. So, to multiply 1¹⁄₄ x ²⁄₅ first change 1¹⁄₄ to ⁵⁄₄. Next multiply 5 x 2 and 4 x 5 to get ¹⁰⁄₂₀. Always look to see if you can cancel down: ¹⁰⁄₂₀ is the same as ¹⁄₂.

Dividing fractions is similar to multiplying, except you invert the second fraction, and change the divide sign to multiply. So, 1¹⁄₄ ÷ ²⁄₅ would be ⁵⁄₄ x ⁵⁄₂. 5 x 5 = 25 and 4 x 2 = 8 so your answer is ²⁵⁄₈ or 3¹⁄₈.

Have a read of our Helping Children Learn Fractions page. It explains how fractions work and gives handy tips.