A unit is what we count one at a time. When we count one cookie at a time then each cookie is a unit. When we count a ‘$10 note’ at a time then each ‘$10 note’ is a unit. When we count a ‘50¢ coin’ at a time then each ‘50¢ coin’ is a unit. The word UNIT comes from a Latin word “unitus” which means “one.”
A fraction is a quantity that is part of a unit. Thus, a proper fraction is always less than a unit. If we are counting in units of a cookie then, a broken piece of a cookie is fraction of a cookie. If we are counting in units of ‘$10’ then, $5 is a fraction of ‘$10’. If we are counting in units of ‘50¢’ then, ‘10¢’ is fraction of ‘50¢’. The word FRACTION comes from a Latin word “fractere” which means, “a broken piece.”
Common fractions are ‘half’, ‘quarter’, etc. It must be stated that a fraction appears relative to the unit. Thus, if we are counting in units of ‘$10’ then, $5 is HALF of ‘$10’. Thus, we see large numbers being fractions of still larger numbers. Here are some exercises in this subject for the kindergarten level.
Once again, a unit is what we count one at a time. Thus, if we are counting ‘half a cookie’ at a time then ‘half a cookie’ is the unit. This can appear very confusing unless we go strictly by the definitions of UNIT and FRACTION.
- UNIT: what we count one at a time.
- FRACTION: a part of a unit.
A unit can be arbitrary. A fraction is always relative to the unit. Fractions address ways to represent quantities, which cannot be represented by whole numbers.
We are always looking at a fraction of the universe.
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