What’s on the Subtracting Unlike Fractions poster
The rule, 4 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes.
- Rewrite both fractions over a common denominator, then subtract the numerators.
- 3/4 − 1/6 = 9/12 − 2/12 = 7/12
- 3/4 − 1/6 = 7/12
- 5/6 − 1/2 = 1/3
- 2 1/4 − 3/4 = 1 1/2
- 7/8 − 1/3 = 13/24
- Common mistake: 2 1/4 − 3/4 = 2 −1/2 → 2 1/4 − 3/4 = 1 1/2
Borrowing turns 2 1/4 into 1 and 5/4. It is the same trick as borrowing in column subtraction.
Questions about the Subtracting Unlike Fractions poster
- What’s on the Subtracting Unlike Fractions poster?
- The rule, 4 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes. Rewrite both fractions over a common denominator, then subtract the numerators.; 3/4 − 1/6 = 9/12 − 2/12 = 7/12; 3/4 − 1/6 = 7/12; 5/6 − 1/2 = 1/3; 2 1/4 − 3/4 = 1 1/2; 7/8 − 1/3 = 13/24; Common mistake: 2 1/4 − 3/4 = 2 −1/2 → 2 1/4 − 3/4 = 1 1/2. Borrowing turns 2 1/4 into 1 and 5/4. It is the same trick as borrowing in column subtraction.
- Who is the Subtracting Unlike Fractions poster for?
- Subtracting Unlike Fractions is filed under 5th Grade (ages 10–11), so it matches what that year asks a child to remember. It is equally useful to an older student revisiting math, and to the parent or teacher answering the question at the kitchen table.
- When should you use the Subtracting Unlike Fractions poster?
- Point at the rule they need instead of reteaching the whole topic. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Subtracting Unlike Fractions belongs on the wall where that math work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with Subtracting Unlike Fractions?
- Adding Unlike Fractions, Comparing Fractions and Dividing Fractions sit alongside Subtracting Unlike Fractions in the 5th Grade set. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Adding Unlike FractionsComparing FractionsDividing Fractions
- Is the Subtracting Unlike Fractions poster free to download and print?
- Yes. Subtracting Unlike Fractions downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the 5th Grade set. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the Subtracting Unlike Fractions poster print at?
- Subtracting Unlike Fractions is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Subtracting Unlike Fractions loses nothing.Printing guide
Related posters
Charts that sit alongside Subtracting Unlike Fractions on the same wall.
Browse every 5th Grade poster, or start from the full catalogue.