Fractions are usually thought of as ½, ¾, or maybe the decimal fraction 0.5. Perhaps some think of a fraction as a part of a circle or 5 parts out of 10 parts. The word "fraction" itself is related to a word meaning broken, as in "fracture."

Historically, fractions have been thought of and written in many different ways. Apparently the Babylonians, about 4,000 years ago, wrote fractions in a way similar to our decimal fractions, but instead of our base-10, they used base-60. They also used a space instead of a decimal point. This relatively simple system, however, does not reappear in common usage until about 3,600 years later in Europe.

Understanding Fractions

One mathematics dictionary defines a fraction as "a number less than 1." But this definition is too simple. The number is certainly not "less than one," but most people would still call it a fraction. Indeed, this same dictionary calls an important...