Year 4 Addition and subtraction of fractions and mixed numbers (within a whole) worksheet

“Adding mixed numbers” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 4 maths unit “Addition and subtraction of fractions and mixed numbers (within a whole)”, for children aged 8 to 9, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Week 26 of the year, 5 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Adding mixed numbers

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 4 · Maths · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can add mixed numbers by adding the whole numbers and the fractions separately.

A Look back3 min

1.
3/8 + 2/8 = /8
2.
Half of 12 is
3.
Half a bar is the same as quarters.

B Watch me, then you4 min

Ola has 2 1/5 litres of juice. She adds 2/5 of a litre more. How much juice is there now?

Watch me

The whole number 2 stays as 2.

1 fifth and 2 fifths make 3 fifths.

So 2 1/5 + 2/5 = 2 3/5.

Now you

1.
1 1/4 + 2/4 =

C Your turn6 min

Add the whole numbers and the fractions separately. Write each answer in the box.

1.
2 1/5 + 3/5 =
2.
3 1/5 + 2/5 =
3.
3 1/5 + 2 2/5 =
4.
3 2/5 + 2 2/5 =

Say it out loud: What changed from one row to the next, and what stayed the same?

D Spot the mistake3 min

Kit says: “2 1/5 + 1/5 = 3 2/10 = 3.2, because 5 and 5 make 10.”

1.
Work it out properly. 2 1/5 + 1/5 =

E Think deeper3 min

A pipe carries water across a farm. It is made of two parts joined together.

A clear plastic pipe with water flowing through it on a farm

1.
The pipe is 4 2/5 metres long. Write two different mixed numbers that could be the lengths of its parts. Explain how you know.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Adding mixed numbers · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. 5

2. 6

3. 2

B

1. 1 3/4 = 1.75 If your child adds the bottoms too, 4 + 4 = 8, and writes 1 and 3/8 (which is 1.375), the bottom has changed. Quarters stay quarters, so 1 quarter and 2 quarters make 3 quarters.

C

1. 2 4/5 = 2.8 If your child writes 2 4/10 (which is 2.4), the bottom numbers were added too. The bottom stays 5, so count the fifths.

2. 3 3/5 = 3.6

3. 5 3/5 = 5.6

4. 5 4/5 = 5.8

D

1. 2 2/5 = 2.4 If your child writes 3 2/10, they added the bottoms and counted a top 1 as a whole. 1/5 has no whole part. The bottom stays 5, and 1 fifth + 1 fifth is 2 fifths.

E

1. Look for: Two different mixed numbers that add to 4 2/5, such as 3 1/5 and 1 1/5 or 1 3/5 and 2 4/5, with an explanation.

Words to use

Say“Add the whole numbers first, then the fractions. Which bottom number stays the same?”

Instead of“Add the tops and the bottoms together.”

After the sheet

Fold a strip of paper into fifths. Shade 2 pieces, then 1 more, and count the shaded pieces together.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

4 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Taking away mixed numbers(with a plan)
Mixed numbers into quarters(with a plan)
Fifths: mixed and improper(with a plan)
Mixed numbers into fractions(with a plan)

Every Year 4 maths worksheet

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