What is a unit fraction ? Definition and examples.

A unit fraction is a fraction with a numerator of 1. For example the fractions in the image below are unit fractions.

A unit fraction can be expressed as the sum of two equal unit fractions.

1/2 = 1/4  + 1/4

1/5 = 1/10 + 1/10

1/8 = 1/16 + 1/16

A unit fraction can also be expressed as the sum of two different unit fractions.

1/3 = 1/4 + 1/12

1/2 = 1/3 + 1/6

Any fractions can be written as the sum of unit fractions in multiple ways.

9/12 = 4/12 + 4/12 + 1/12 = 1/3 + 1/3 + 1/12

9/12 = 2/12 + 6/12 + 1/12 = 1/6 + 1/2 + 1/12