Order fractions from smallest to largest
for 2nd grade

Order fractions from smallest to largest

Knowing which fraction is biggest or smallest is not always obvious. If we compare fractions that have the same number on the bottom (the denominator) like ⅖, ⅗ and ⅘, then the bigger the number on the top (the numerator) the bigger the fraction is.

If we compare ⅘, ⅗ and ⅖, we can see that all those fractions have the same denominator of 5. The numerators are 4, 3 and 2. So we can say that to arrange those fractions in order from smallest to biggest will be :

⅖     ⅗     ⅘

Order unit fractions from smallest to largest

There is another type of fraction that we need to talk about, unit fractions.
A unit fraction is the name for a fraction where the number on the top is a 1.

So ½ is a unit fraction and so are ⅐ and ⅛ but ⅖ is not because it's numerator is not 1, it is 2.

Arranging unit fractions from smallest to biggest is not as easy as our first example. If we think about the two most common unit fractions, ¼ and ½, we will see why. Which is bigger, ¼ of a cake or ½ a cake? The answer is that ½ a cake is bigger than ¼ of a cake even though the denominator of ½, which is 2, is smaller than the denominator of ¼, which is 4.

So, when we are asked to arrange fractions which are unit fractions, we have to remember that we need to compare the denominators, but that the fractions with the biggest denominators are the smallest fractions. If we are asked to arrange ⅕ ⅙ ⅐ in order from smallest to largest, we compare the denominators and order the fractions with the bigger denominators first and those fractions with the smaller denominators last. Arranging ⅕ ⅙ ⅐ in order from smallest to largest gives :

⅐     ⅙     ⅕