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ELI5 Yahaaa

One of four

What Is a Quarter?

Split something into four equal pieces and take one. That is a quarter.

1One whole2 Halve it3 Halve again —quarters
Four equal pieces. Take one.

  1. Step 1 of 5

    Four friends, one cake.

    Four equal shares

    Everyone should get the same. Cut it into four matching pieces and each person has a quarter — no arguments.

  2. Step 2 of 5

    A quarter is half of a half.

    One half Two of these make awholeOne quarter Four of these make awhole

    Cut the cake in half, then cut each half in half. You now have four pieces, and each one is a quarter.

  3. Step 3 of 5

    The bottom number counts the pieces.

    1/2 — cut into 2big pieces1/4 — cut into 4smaller1/8 — cut into 8smaller still

    In 1/4, the 4 says the whole was cut into four. The 1 says you have one of them. A bigger bottom number means smaller pieces.

  4. Step 4 of 5

    Two quarters are the same as a half.

    1 One quarter2+Plus anotherquarter3 Equals one half

    Take two of the four pieces and you have exactly what one half was. Different names, identical amount.

  5. Step 5 of 5

    Quarters are everywhere in daily life.

    1 Quarter past —15 minutes2 A quarter of apound3 A quarter cupof flour

    Quarter past and quarter to on a clock. A quarter of an hour is 15 minutes. Money, recipes and sports all divide by four constantly.

    Quarter comes from the Latin quartus, meaning fourth — the same root as quartet.

The short version

A quarter is one of four equal shares, and two quarters always rebuild a half.

Try it yourself

Fold a square of paper in half, then in half again. Open it up — four equal boxes, each a quarter.

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