This task is from Tools4NCTeachers. Students explore a 3-part task focused on comparing fractions and determining if the wholes are equal. This is remixable. 

Task preview

Task 1:

Two friends each ate ½ of a pizza.  Joselin says they must have eaten the same amount, but Donnie says they could have eaten different amounts.  Who do you think is correct, and why? Explain your thinking in words, pictures, and numbers. 

Possible solution:  The two friends could have each eaten half of two different size pizzas. Half of a large pizza is more than half of a medium pizza, because the wholes are not the same size.

Task 2:

Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Black each gave ½ of their students a pencil.  Mrs. Johnson handed out 5 more pencils than Mrs. Black.  What can we say about the number of students in each class?  If Mrs. Johnson handed out 16 pencils and that was 5 more than Mrs. Black, how many students are in each class?

Possible solution:  Mrs. Black must have 22 students in her class.  Mrs. Johnson must have 32 students in her class.

Task 3:

Jerry made one gallon of sweetened tea and one half gallon of lemonade for a picnic.  If he drank ¼ of each container, how many cups of tea did he drink?  How many cups of lemonade?  *1 gallon = 16 cups

If Jerry drank 2 cups of lemonade and 2 cups of tea, what fraction of the tea did he drink? What fraction of the lemonade did he drink?               

Possible solution:

Question 1:  Jerry drank 4 cups of tea and 2 cups of lemonade.

Question 2:  Jerry drank 1/8 of the gallon of tea and ¼ of the half gallon of lemonade.