Year 8: Equivalent fractions

What are equivalent fractions?

Equivalent fractions are different fractions that represent the same value or amount.

Examples:
$1/2=2/4=4/8$
$3/5=6/10=9/15$

How to identify equivalent fractions:

• Multiply or divide the numerator and denominator by the same number.
• Example: $2/3$ × $2=4/6$ → So $2/3$ and $4/6$ are equivalent.
• Example: $8/12$ ÷ $4=2/3$ → So $8/12$ and $2/3$ are equivalent.

How to check if two fractions are equivalent:

• Cross multiply: If the cross products are equal, the fractions are equivalent.
• Example: Is $3/4$ equal to $6/8$?
  3 × $8=24$, 4 × $6=24$ → Yes, they are equivalent.

Remember: If two fractions look different but simplify to the same lowest terms, they are equivalent.