AI Tutor
Imagine you have 56\frac{5}{6} of a pan of brownies left over, and two friends want to take some home.
How many different ways can you split up those 55 pieces and write it down as a math sentence?
To decompose a fraction means to break it apart into a sum of smaller fractions with the same denominator (bottom number).

Sum of Unit Fractions

A unit fraction is a fraction where the numerator (top number) is 11, like 16\frac{1}{6}.
You can break 56\frac{5}{6} into five single unit fractions: 56=16+16+16+16+16\frac{5}{6} = \frac{1}{6} + \frac{1}{6} + \frac{1}{6} + \frac{1}{6} + \frac{1}{6}
What if you want to give 22 pieces to one friend and 33 pieces to another?

Grouping Fraction Pieces

You don't always have to write every piece as a unit fraction — you can group them together into larger parts.
For example, grouping 22 pieces and 33 pieces gives the equation: 56=26+36\frac{5}{6} = \frac{2}{6} + \frac{3}{6}
How can you be sure an equation is true without drawing a picture every time?