Fraction words

Area model

A rectangle split one way to show one fraction and the other way to show a second. The overlap shows their product.

To find 1/2 of 1/2, shade half of a rectangle with a vertical line, then shade half of that half with a horizontal line. The part shaded both ways is 1/4 of the whole rectangle.

Area models show why multiplying by a fraction less than one gives a smaller result: we are taking only part of an amount.

See also: Fraction