PlusyThe Fractions road
The Fractions road is Plusy's fifth road: 10 worlds that run from naming a part of a whole to adding mixed numbers. Every new idea is shown as a picture first, and a list you type or scan can hold fraction questions too.
What does the Fractions road cover?
The Fractions road in Plusy covers fractions and mixed numbers in 10 worlds: naming a fraction from a picture, finding it on a number line, equal fractions, comparing, simplest form, and adding and subtracting, first with the same bottom number and later with different ones. The bottom numbers are 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 12.
| World | What your child does |
|---|---|
| 1. Parts of a whole | Names the fraction of a bar that is filled, and picks the circle that shows a fraction. |
| 2. On the number line | Names the fraction at a dot on a line from 0 to 1. |
| 3. Equal fractions | Types the missing top number, as in 1/2 = ?/4. |
| 4. Which is bigger? | Taps the bigger of two fractions, or They are equal. |
| 5. Simplest form | Writes a fraction such as 6/8 in its simplest form. |
| 6. Add and subtract | Adds and takes away fractions with the same bottom number. |
| 7. Mixed numbers | Names a mixed number from bars that go past 1, and from a dot on a line from 0 to 3. |
| 8. Fractions bigger than 1 | Writes 7/4 as a mixed number, and 1 3/4 as one fraction. |
| 9. Different bottom numbers | Adds and takes away fractions with different bottom numbers, such as 1/3 + 1/4. |
| 10. Adding mixed numbers | Adds and takes away mixed numbers with the same bottom number, then sums where the parts make a new whole. |
The road works like the other four. Each world is its parts, then All of them, then a Test, and passing the test opens the next world. To open the road, tap Worlds on Home and tap the small 1/2 tile at the top of Your journey. See the five roads and their worlds.
Every child starts Fractions at its first world, whatever their age. A child who knows the early worlds can tap Take the test on a later world to skip ahead.
How does my child answer a fraction question?
A fraction answer in Plusy is typed into two boxes, one above the other: the top number, then the bottom number. The cursor starts in the top box and moves down by itself, and a tap moves it. A new kind of question is first asked with tiles to pick from, and then typed.
- A fraction: two boxes, top number then bottom number. On a computer, Tab moves between them.
- A mixed number: one box for the whole number, then the two stacked boxes. The cursor goes whole number, top, bottom.
- Which is bigger?: the screen says Tap the bigger one. Tap a fraction, or They are equal.
- Tiles: the wrong tiles are mistakes children really make, such as the top and bottom numbers swapped.
Plusy checks the amount and how it is written. In adding and subtracting, an equal fraction is right: 10/16 for 5/8. Simplest form takes only the simplest form. When naming a picture, the answer is the fraction the way the picture is cut: 2/4 for 2 of 4 parts.
A mixed-number answer has to be a finished number. 3 2/8 is right for 3 1/4. 2 5/4 is the same amount but not finished, so it is not counted as right: Plusy shows a calm Same amount! with the finished number beside it, and the question comes back later in the round.
How does help work on a fraction question?
Help on the Fractions road starts with a picture: a bar, a circle or a number line. Hint asks a guiding question without the answer. Show me does one step on your child's own screen, with its picture, and fills in what that step writes. Next step asks for the one after. Every step is worked out by Plusy's own code, with no AI.
After a wrong answer, one line names the slip where the answer shows it, such as The parts stay eighths. Only the top numbers are added. Then Walk me through it shows the steps, and Try the same trap gives one more question of the same kind. There is no help in a test. More in Hint, Show me and Next step and what Plusy does after a wrong answer.
Nothing on the Fractions road is spoken by itself, and no fact is said after an answer. Hear it reads a hint with the device's own voice, in English and Hebrew.
Can I put fraction questions in my own list?
Yes. A list you type or scan can hold fraction questions, mixed freely with whole-number questions in one list and one round. Type a fraction with a slash and Plusy draws it stacked, with the top number over the bottom number. Make a list and AI list make whole-number questions only.
| What you type | What Plusy asks |
|---|---|
| 1/5 + 2/5 or 7/10 - 4/10 | Add or take away, with the same bottom number. |
| 1/2 + 1/4 or 3/4 - 1/3 | Add or take away, with different bottom numbers. |
| 1 1/2 + 2 1/4 | Add or take away mixed numbers. Type the whole number, a space, then the fraction. |
| 6/8 = | Write it in its simplest form. |
| 1/2 = ?/4 | Find the missing top number. |
| 3/8 ? 5/8 | Which is bigger, or are they equal? |
| 7/4 = | Write it as a mixed number. |
| 1 3/4 = | Write it as one fraction. |
You do not type the answers. An answer someone wrote, as in 1/5 + 2/5 = 3/5, is ignored, and Plusy works out its own. A slash is also a division sign, so a smaller number over a bigger one, such as 6/8, is read as a fraction. To divide 6 by 8, type 6 ÷ 8 or 6 : 8.
A list's fraction questions get the same Hint, Show me and one-line explanation as the road's. Matching and Speed run leave fraction questions out, and on a list with only fraction questions those two say Not for fraction questions. To read them from paper, see scan a worksheet. To type them, see make your own list.
What is not covered?
Plusy's fractions stop at adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers. There is no multiplying or dividing fractions, and there are no decimals or percentages. A subtraction of mixed numbers that has to break a whole, such as 3 1/5 - 1 3/5, is not in yet. A line like these in a list is skipped, with the reason shown beside it.
| A line in your list | What Plusy says |
|---|---|
| 2/3 x 3/4 | Multiplying and dividing fractions is not in Plusy yet |
| 1/5 + 1/3 | The shared bottom number would be more than 12 |
| 3 1/5 - 1 3/5 | Not yet: taking away that has to break a whole |
| 6 1/2 + 1 1/4 | A whole number in a fraction question can be 5 at most |
| 2/7 + 3/7 | The bottom number can be 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 or 12 |
| 3/4 = | Already in its simplest form |
| 0.5 + 0.25 | Whole numbers only |
The other four roads have not changed. They are whole numbers only, and every division on them comes out even.
Questions
Which grades is the Fractions road for?
The Fractions road is built for grades 3 to 5. Worlds 1 to 6 are grade 3 and 4 work, and worlds 7 to 10, with mixed numbers and different bottom numbers, are grade 5 work. It is open to every child from the first day.
Does my child have to finish the other roads first?
No. All five roads are open from the first day and each keeps its own place. Every child starts Fractions at its first world, and Take the test in the Worlds sheet skips ahead.
Is 2/4 marked wrong when the answer is 1/2?
It depends on the question. In adding and subtracting, any equal fraction is right. Simplest form takes only the simplest form and says That is equal, but not the simplest yet. When naming a picture, the answer is the fraction as the picture is cut.
Can Plusy scan a worksheet of fractions?
Yes. Scan a worksheet reads fraction questions as well as whole-number ones, and both can sit in the same list. Decimals and questions that multiply or divide fractions are skipped, with the reason shown.
Are the fraction hints written by AI?
No. Every hint, step, picture and explanation on the Fractions road is worked out by Plusy's own code from the numbers in the question, so the steps always match the question.
Does the Fractions road cost extra?
No. The Fractions road is open on a free account, like every other road. A round uses one heart, and Unlock Plusy removes the heart limit.