Fourths and Quarters: Four Equal Parts of One Whole

This idea walks around your house all day. Quarters show up in money, in clocks, and in cut sandwiches. The word means the same thing every time. This is worth learning because fourths connect fractions, money, and time all at once.

Watch for it today, and when you spot it, tell someone what you noticed and how you knew. Ask yourself where else the same idea might be hiding, then go and look.

This idea is simple once you see it. Split a whole into four equal parts and each part is one fourth, also called a quarter. Fold a paper in half and then in half again, and you have four equal parts. Four fourths make one whole.

This is why twenty five cents is called a quarter, because four of them make a whole dollar. Check your folds carefully, because four parts that are not equal are not fourths at all.

Try folding a paper into fourths two different ways: two folds in the same direction, or one fold each way. Both give four equal parts, which shows there is more than one road to the same fair share. Try a few on your own, and be patient with yourself.