What's in between 1/4 and 1/2?
Understand the Problem
The question is asking for a number that lies between the fractions 1/4 and 1/2. This can be solved by finding the average or a fraction that effectively lies between the two given fractions.
Answer
The number between the fractions is \( \frac{3}{8} \).
Answer for screen readers
The number between the fractions ( \frac{1}{4} ) and ( \frac{1}{2} ) is ( \frac{3}{8} ).
Steps to Solve
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Identify the fractions The fractions provided are ( \frac{1}{4} ) and ( \frac{1}{2} ).
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Convert the fractions to a common denominator To find a fraction between ( \frac{1}{4} ) and ( \frac{1}{2} ), we convert both fractions to have a common denominator. The least common denominator (LCD) of 4 and 2 is 4.
- ( \frac{1}{2} = \frac{2}{4} )
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Determine the fractions on the number line Now we have:
- ( \frac{1}{4} = \frac{1}{4} )
- ( \frac{1}{2} = \frac{2}{4} )
This gives us two fractions: ( \frac{1}{4} ) and ( \frac{2}{4} ).
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Find the average of the two fractions To find a number that lies between both fractions, we can calculate the average:
$$ \text{Average} = \frac{ \frac{1}{4} + \frac{2}{4} }{2} = \frac{ \frac{3}{4} }{2} = \frac{3}{8} $$
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Conclusion Thus, ( \frac{3}{8} ) is a number that lies strictly between ( \frac{1}{4} ) and ( \frac{1}{2} ).
The number between the fractions ( \frac{1}{4} ) and ( \frac{1}{2} ) is ( \frac{3}{8} ).
More Information
The number ( \frac{3}{8} ) is exactly halfway between ( \frac{1}{4} ) and ( \frac{1}{2} ) when expressed in the context of a number line. You can find other numbers as well by selecting other fractions between these two values.
Tips
- Confusing the average with simply selecting another fraction without calculation.
- Misaligning the fractions on a number line, leading to incorrect assumptions about where they lie relative to one another.
