Multiplication of Fractions Review

The procedure of multiplying numerator by numerator and denominator by denominator starts from fraction times whole number and whole number times fraction and spreads out from there. Simplifying Along the Way, forms Including Mixed Numbers and Fill in the Blank follow, along with word problems on Area (Length×Width), per-unit quantity, finding a compared quantity, and products of three terms.

Failing to turn a mixed number into an improper fraction, and multiplying the whole-number part and the fraction part separately, stands out. An answer well below the original number is this pattern. Children also pick the wrong expression because they expect multiplication to make things bigger, when multiplying by a fraction less than 1 leaves a smaller product.

Multiplication and division join fraction work here as new operations. The addition and subtraction skill settled by Fraction Subtraction and Mixed Operations in grade 5 is the base this widening of operations builds on. The unit that follows, Division of Fractions, runs on the same mechanism as multiplying whole numbers, but the procedure flips for the reverse operation.