Fraction Chart

Fraction wall and fraction strips

A fraction wall stacks fraction strips of the same length: one whole on top, then halves, thirds, fourths and so on. Because every strip is the same width, it works as an equivalent fraction chart: draw a straight line down from the end of 1/2 and it lands exactly on 2/4, 3/6, 4/8, 5/10 and 6/12. It also shows at a glance that 1/3 is bigger than 1/4, which surprises many students who expect the bigger number to win.

For hands-on work, choose None under Labels for a blank fraction strips printable: print it on card stock, let students write the fractions themselves, then cut the fraction bars apart to compare and add them. Fractions and decimals, decimals only or percents turn the same wall into a decimal fraction chart for converting.

Fraction circles printable

Fraction circles show the same idea as parts of a pie, which helps with fractions of a whole and with adding pieces that make one. Each circle is split into equal sectors from halves to twelfths, labeled or blank, three to a row. Print two copies in different colors so students can swap pieces. Like the other two charts, each fraction chart printable here fits on one page.

Decimal to fraction chart for inches and mm

The third chart is the one machinists, woodworkers and DIYers keep on the wall: every fraction of an inch in 1/16, 1/32 or 1/64 steps with its exact decimal and its size in millimeters. It works as an inch fraction chart, a fraction chart in inches for reading drill and wrench sizes, and a mm to inches fraction chart in one.

Every fraction of an inch with a power of two below it ends in a decimal that stops, so these decimals are exact; millimeters use the exact 1 inch = 25.4 mm and are rounded to 0.01 mm. On the classroom charts, fractions like 1/3 never end, so they are shown as ≈0.333. For measuring on paper, see the printable ruler and the number line maker for fractions on a line.

How we tested this tool

We checked every chart by script in Google Chrome on Windows. On the fraction wall, each strip has exactly as many equal pieces as its denominator and every piece boundary sits where its fraction says, so equivalent fractions line up exactly. In the conversion chart, all 112 rows (1/16, 1/32 and 1/64 steps) have a fully reduced fraction, a decimal that multiplies back exactly, and millimeters rounded correctly; that check caught a real bug, where floating-point rounding printed 1/8 inch as 3.17 mm instead of 3.18 mm, now fixed. Across 160 wall and circle sheets, no label overlaps another, leaves its piece or circle, or runs off the page; the first run found decimal labels colliding in circles of sevenths and more, so those now sit on a second ring near the rim. We printed the charts to PDF with Microsoft Edge (one portrait page each, Letter and A4) and tested the page at a 375 px phone width.

Frequently asked questions