Video Transcript
James is using a number line to
understand fractions. Which one should he use to show
sixths? Pick the reason why he should use
this number line. It has been divided into six
unequal parts. It has been divided into six equal
parts. Or, it shows six lines between zero
and one.
Number lines can be a very useful
way to help us understand fractions. And in this problem, this is
exactly what James is doing. He’s using a number line to help
him understand fractions.
We’re shown three different number
lines. And, we’re asked which out of the
three James should use to show sixths. And then we’re given three possible
reasons why James should use the number line. Each of the reasons matches one of
the number lines that we’re given. And so, instead of thinking about
the first part of the question and then looking at the second part. It might make sense to look at both
parts together.
Let’s think about the first number
line to begin with. What do we notice? Well, it starts at zero and ends
with one. So, we can see that one whole has
been split up into sections. And in between zero and one, the
number line has been split into sections. And, the number of lines that there
are to show those sections is six. If we look at the possible reasons
for James using the number lines, we can see that it matches the final sentence. It shows six lines between zero and
one.
What can we say about the second
number line. Again, this number line starts at
zero and ends in one. It’s labeled one whole. This time, there are five lines in
between zero and one. But we can see where James gets the
number six from because there are six sections between zero and one. These sections are not all the same
size. We can see that the last section is
a little bit smaller. We can see that this matches the
first reason in our list. It has been divided into six
unequal parts. Is this a way of showing
sixths?
Our final number lines starts with
zero, ends in one as they all do. And has five lines in between zero
and one. The lines are all equally spaced
out. So, the line has been divided into
six equal parts. This is the same as the second
sentence in our possible reasons.
So, the question we need to ask
ourselves is how do we show sixths? Is it by dividing something into
six unequal parts? Dividing it into six equal
parts? Or having six lines between where
you start and where you finish? When we divide a number or a shape
or a number line into sixths, we split it or divide it into six equal parts. The number line that shows six
equal parts is the last one. So, the correct reason why James
should use this number line is the second one on our list. It has been divided into six equal
parts.
