So I know this may be a really dumb question, but I need an answer to this:
Which of the following fractions is closest to 1/2?
(I’m in fifth grade by the way)
A) 1/9
B) 2/15
C) 9/10
D) 9/20
That's not a dumb question at all! It's great that you're trying to figure out which fraction is closest to 1/2. Comparing fractions can be a little tricky sometimes, but I'll help you through it.
To find which fraction is closest to 1/2, we need to compare the differences between each fraction and 1/2. The smaller the difference, the closer the fraction is to 1/2. Here's how you can figure it out:
1) Start by finding the difference between 1/2 and each fraction.
For option A) 1/9:
To find the difference, subtract 1/2 from 1/9:
1/9 - 1/2 = 2/18 - 9/18 = -7/18 (Since the numerator is negative, it means the fraction is smaller than 1/2.)
For option B) 2/15:
To find the difference, subtract 1/2 from 2/15:
2/15 - 1/2 = 4/30 - 15/30 = -11/30 (Again, since the numerator is negative, it means the fraction is smaller than 1/2.)
For option C) 9/10:
To find the difference, subtract 1/2 from 9/10:
9/10 - 1/2 = 18/20 - 10/20 = 8/20 (This fraction's numerator is positive, so it's bigger than 1/2. But let's simplify it further.)
The reduced form of 8/20 is 2/5. So, 9/10 is equal to 2/5.
For option D) 9/20:
To find the difference, subtract 1/2 from 9/20:
9/20 - 1/2 = 9/20 - 10/20 = -1/20 (Once again, the numerator is negative, so it's smaller than 1/2.)
2) Now that we have the differences between 1/2 and each fraction, we can see which one is the smallest.
Looking at the differences, we see that -7/18 is the smallest difference. Therefore, the fraction closest to 1/2 among the given options is 1/9.
So the answer is A) 1/9 is the fraction closest to 1/2.
Remember, finding the closest fraction to a given value involves calculating the differences between the value and each fraction and comparing them. Keep practicing, and you'll become even better at comparing fractions!