The numerator is the top number, the denominator is the bottom number.

The numerator shows how many pieces you are concerned with.

The denominator shows how many pieces the whole thing is split into.

On this exercise you need to match the shaded in part of the fraction to the fraction. Sometimes the denominator will match the number of segments, other times you will need to find the equivalent fraction that allows you to match the fractions.

Example:

If the circle is split into 8 pieces and you need to shade in ¹⁄₄ you need to find the equivalent number of eighths to ¹⁄₄.

Look at the denominators: 8 and 4.

To multiply the 4 to get an 8 you would use X2.

4 X 2 = 8

You must do the same to the numerator: 1 X 2 = 2

¹⁄₄ = ²⁄₈

Shade in two sections of the circle.