Year 6 Subtracting Fractions
Subtracting fractions is a key part of the work in Year 6, but this involves several levels of difficulty.
The easiest subtraction of fractions is when the two fractions have the same denominator; such as 5/7 take away 3/7. Five of something take away three of the same thing will always be two of something. So 5/7 – 3/7 = 2/7.
It gets harder when the two fractions do not have the same denominator (the somethings are different) such as 3/5 – 2/10. Equivalence now comes into play as we write both fractions as tenths: 6/10 – 2/10. Now it is easy: 6/10 – 2/10 = 4/10.
Make sure that children are not subtracting fractions by subtracting the numerator and then subtracting the denominator as this will not result in a correct answer.
Tricky? The good news is, we have a great selection of resources to help with adding and subtracting fractions both in Year 5 and Year 6.