Comparing Fractions with Unlike Denominators — Grade 4
Practice comparing two fractions with different numerators and denominators by finding common denominators, common numerators, or using 1/2 as a benchmark fraction.
Download
Three different problem sets — same skill, same layout, fresh numbers.
Preview — Set A
Compare each pair of fractions by writing >, <, or = in the blank.
- 1.1/2 ___ 3/8
- 2.2/3 ___ 3/4
- 3.3/5 ___ 1/2
- 4.4/6 ___ 2/3
- 5.5/8 ___ 3/4
- 6.2/5 ___ 3/10
- 7.1/3 ___ 2/6
- 8.3/4 ___ 7/8
- 9.2/3 ___ 5/9
- 10.1/4 ___ 3/8
- 11.5/6 ___ 7/8
- 12.3/8 ___ 1/2
- 13.4/5 ___ 7/10
- 14.2/4 ___ 3/6
- 15.5/12 ___ 1/2
- 16.7/10 ___ 2/3
- 17.3/7 ___ 1/2
- 18.5/9 ___ 1/2
- 19.2/5 ___ 3/8
- 20.4/9 ___ 1/2
- 21.3/4 ___ 9/12
- 22.5/6 ___ 3/4
What this worksheet covers
Set A of this grade 4 mixed review sheet holds 22 fractions problems on one printable page, with the answer key on the page behind it. Several problems use mixed numbers, which have to be handled without dropping the whole-number part and the numbers run as high as 12. Two problems from the middle of the page — "3/4 ___ 7/8" and "5/12 ___ 1/2" — show the range. Common Core 4.NF.2 is the slot this page fills.
Skills practiced
Grade 4 fractions means adding and subtracting like denominators, equivalent fractions, and multiplying by a whole number. Specifically, the problems practice comparing Fractions with Unlike Denominators. Working the page asks a student to work in fractional units and give the answer in lowest terms and reason backwards from a result to a missing part. Three different answers appear across the 22 problems, so a student cannot copy one result down the page.
About the mixed review format
The 22 problems are deliberately assorted — problem 8, "3/4 ___ 7/8" is followed by something of another shape — so the student has to read each one rather than run the last method again. Comparison, equivalence and computation on one page stops the sheet from being a single procedure repeated.
Set A, Set B and Set C
Set A is the original sheet, and Sets B and C were derived from it problem by problem: each number became a slot redrawn with the same shape, and every answer was recomputed exactly. Where Set A's problem 12 is "3/8 ___ 1/2", Set B's is "3/8 ___ 1/2".
How to use this worksheet
By grade 4 a student should take all 22 fractions problems in one sitting. If the page takes more than about fifteen minutes, the underlying facts are probably not automatic yet, and that is worth fixing before more fractions practice piles on. Use the key as a check, not as a grade; none of the 22 problems needs a score attached to be useful.
One mistake to watch for
A larger denominator is taken to mean a larger fraction: 1/8 is judged bigger than 1/4. On this grade 4 mixed review, problem 5 ("5/8 ___ 3/4") is the kind of item where it shows.
Whole-number thinking — eight is more than four — is being applied to the size of the pieces.
Fold a strip into fourths and another into eighths and compare one piece of each; more pieces means smaller pieces.
Other grade 4 fractions formats
The same skill in the other formats available at this grade.
A step either side
The same format one grade down and one grade up — the easier sheet is often the faster fix when this one is not landing.
- Grade 3 Fractions Mixed Review — grade 3, 30 problems
- Grade 5 Fractions Mixed Review — grade 5, 30 problems
Mixed Review sheets in other grade 4 topics
Free to download, print and photocopy for a whole class: three mixed review sheets of grade 4 fractions, 22 problems each, keys included.