Engage your students with effective distance learning resources. ACCESS RESOURCES>>

Locating Fractions Greater than One on the Number Line


Alignments to Content Standards: 3.NF.A.2

Task

  1. Mark and label points on the number line for $\frac12$, $\frac22$, $\frac32$, $\frac42$, $\frac52$, and $\frac62$.

    1_cf2dd54e2ed40c47c409f8265c0962d0

  2. Mark and label a point on the number line for $\frac{11}{3}$. Be as exact as possible.

    1_cf2dd54e2ed40c47c409f8265c0962d0

IM Commentary

This first part of this task requires students to represent a fraction $\frac{a}{b}$ on a number line diagram by marking off $a$ intervals of length $\frac1b$ (in this case $\frac12$) starting at 0.

Students may solve the second part of the task either by marking of 11 intervals of length $\frac13$ or by knowing that $\frac{11}{3}$ is $\frac23$ of the way between 3 and 4. Although a few students may be able to do it using the later of these approaches, most students will identify all of the points related to $\frac13$, $\frac23$, $\frac33$, etc., even if they do not label those points.

The following lists related tasks in order of sophistication:

  • Locating Fractions Less than One on the Number Line
  • Locating Fractions Greater than One on the Number Line
  • Closest to $\frac12$
  • Find 1
  • Find $\frac23$
  • Which is Closer to 1?

Solution

  1. Here is one way to draw and label the number line for this task:

    2_bc08d96d97654d51d85acaffd0e892ce


  2. Here is one way to draw and label the number line for this task:

    3_1536e8d8b8f22f225eca8b23ea0e74a0