Question

Ms. Cook's class was discussing strategies to compare two fractions. One student, Levi, said, "When the top numbers are the same, you know that the one with the smaller number on bottom is bigger." Ms. Cook asked her students to explain why Levi's claim is True. After giving the class time to work, she asked another student, Maria, to present her explanation. Maria said, "It's just like Levi said. For 1/4 and 1/2, they both have ones on top, and 4 is greater than 2, so 1/4 is less, just like 1/4 of a pizza is less than 1/2 of a pizza" Which of the following statements best characterizes Maria's explanation?

A) Maria's explanation is correct because larger denominators always result in smaller fractions.
B) Maria's explanation is correct and can be generalized to all fractions with the same numerator.
C) Maria's explanation is incorrect because she used the analogy of pizza, which is not related to fractions.
D) Maria's explanation is incorrect because she neglected to consider the numerator when comparing fractions.

Answer 1

Maria's explanation is incorrect because she neglected to consider the numerator when comparing fractions.

Step-by-step explanation:

Maria's explanation is incorrect because she neglected to consider the numerator when comparing fractions. Levi's claim that when the top numbers are the same, the fraction with the smaller number on the bottom is bigger is not always true. The value of a fraction depends on both the numerator and the denominator. For example, when comparing 1/4 and 1/2, although the numerator on both fractions is the same, the 1/4 fraction is actually smaller than 1/2.