AI Tutor
If you eat 3 slices from an 8-slice pizza, how did you actually build your plate?
You did not grab one giant chunk all at once — you took 1 slice, then another, and then one more.

Building Blocks of Fractions

A unit fraction is a fraction with a top number (numerator) of 1, such as 18\frac{1}{8}. It represents exactly one equal piece of the whole.
When we decompose a fraction, we break it down into smaller parts — just like taking apart a Lego tower brick by brick.
Every fraction ab\frac{a}{b} is simply aa copies of the unit fraction 1b\frac{1}{b} added together.
So, 38\frac{3}{8} is literally 3 copies of 18\frac{1}{8}, giving us 38=18+18+18\frac{3}{8} = \frac{1}{8} + \frac{1}{8} + \frac{1}{8}.
What if we have a larger fraction like five-sixths? Let's map it out on a model.

Worked Example: Decomposing 5/6

To decompose 56\frac{5}{6} into unit fractions, look at the denominator first: the whole is divided into 6 equal parts, so each unit fraction is 16\frac{1}{6}.
Since the numerator is 5, we count 5 of those 16\frac{1}{6} parts and write: 56=16+16+16+16+16\frac{5}{6} = \frac{1}{6} + \frac{1}{6} + \frac{1}{6} + \frac{1}{6} + \frac{1}{6}