Multiplying Fractions

🎯 What Will We Learn Today?

What's half of a half of a pizza? That's 1/4 of a pizza! Today we'll learn multiplying fractions — and it's actually much easier than you think!

📚 The Super Simple Rule for Multiplying Fractions

Multiplying fractions is just three steps:

Multiply the numerators (top numbers) together

Multiply the denominators (bottom numbers) together

Simplify if needed

That's it! Unlike adding or subtracting, you DON'T need common denominators!

🎮 Step-by-Step Examples

Example 1: 1/2 × 1/3

Numerators: 1 × 1 = 1

Denominators: 2 × 3 = 6

Answer: 1/6

Example 2: 3/4 × 2/5

Numerators: 3 × 2 = 6

Denominators: 4 × 5 = 20

Simplify: 6/20 → divide both by 2 → 3/10

💡 Important Patterns

1/2 × 1/2 = 1/4（multiplying fractions can give you smaller numbers!）

3/5 × 1 = 3/5（anything times 1 stays the same）

2/3 × 0 = 0（anything times 0 equals 0）

🎮 Mixed Numbers Trick

For mixed numbers like 1½, first convert to improper fractions:

1½ = 3/2, and 2⅓ = 7/3

Then multiply: 3/2 × 7/3 = 21/6 = 3½

📝 Practice Problems

1/3 × 1/4 = ?

2/5 × 3/7 = ?

3/8 × 4/9 = ?（hint: simplify!）

1½ × 2/3 = ?

Why don't you need a common denominator when multiplying fractions?

🎮 Play a Game!

Practice multiplication with Meteor Multiplication!