Year 5 Multiply improper fractions and mixed numbers by a whole number worksheet

“Multiply the top only” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 5 maths unit “Multiply improper fractions and mixed numbers by a whole number”, for children aged 9 to 10, 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

Multiply the top only

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 5 · Maths · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can multiply an improper fraction by a whole number by multiplying only the numerator.

A Look back3 min

1.
2/5 + 1/5 = /5
2.
2/3 = /6
3.
How many quarters make 1 whole?

B Watch me, then you4 min

Ola has 3 bags. Each bag holds 5/4 kg of sand. How much sand is there altogether?

Three cloth sand bags lined up on a wooden garden step

Watch me

3 groups of 5 quarters is 15 quarters.

15 quarters is 15/4, so 3 × 5/4 = 15/4.

The bottom number stays 4, because the quarter is still the piece.

Now you

1.
4 × 7/3 = /3

C Your turn5 min

Write the top number. Keep the bottom number the same.

1.
2 × 7/4 = /4
2.
3 × 7/4 = /4
3.
4 × 7/4 = /4
4.
2 × 5/4 = /4

Say it out loud: The bottom number stayed the same in every row. What changed from row to row?

D Spot the mistake3 min

Ria says: “3 × 5/4 = 15/12, which is 1.25.”

1.
Ria's answer is 15/12. Write the correct top number: 3 × 5/4 = /4

E Think deeper4 min

1.
Which whole numbers from 1 to 5 can you multiply 5/3 by to get more than 5? Write them all.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Multiply the top only · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. 3/5

2. 4/6

3. 4

B

1. 28 If your child writes 28/12, they multiplied the bottom number too. 4 × 3 = 12 is the wrong bottom number. The pieces are still thirds, so keep the 3.

C

1. 14 If your child writes 14/8, they doubled the bottom number. 2 × 4 = 8 is the wrong bottom. Keep the quarters as quarters.

2. 21

3. 28

4. 10

D

1. 15 Ria multiplied the bottom number, so 4 became 12. Ask your child whether the pieces changed size. They did not, so the bottom stays 4.

E

1. 4 and 5 If your child includes 3, then 3 × 5/3 is 5, which is not more than 5. Ask them to work it out with the top number only.

Words to use

Say“Which number changes, the top or the bottom? Why?”

Instead of“Multiply the top and the bottom, the same as you do for equivalent fractions.”

After the sheet

Cut two paper strips into quarters. Colour one whole strip and one quarter of the other to show 5/4. Make 3 sets and count the coloured quarters.

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:

Mixed numbers times whole numbers(with a plan)
Bridging a whole(with a plan)
Walks with mixed numbers(with a plan)
Fractions in real problems(with a plan)

Every Year 5 maths worksheet

The worksheets plan opens a printable sheet for every lesson in Years 1 to 6, each with its answers on a separate page for you. It costs £6.99 a month or £59 a year for the whole family, with no free trial.

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