Simplifying Fractions — Free KS3 Worksheet

Simplifying a fraction means writing it with the smallest numbers that still describe the same amount. Nothing is lost. Eight twelfths and two thirds are the same quantity, and the second is just easier to picture and easier to work with. The method is to divide the top and the bottom by the same number until you cannot any more.

What is on the sheet

Straightforward simplifying to start, with fractions that come down in one step. Then fractions that need two or three steps if you divide by small numbers, which is where finding the highest common factor starts to pay for itself. The word problems at the end give a fraction inside a sentence, so the pupil has to build it before they can reduce it. Sixteen questions, every answer in its simplest form in the key.

Marking it

The simplifying fractions lesson shows why dividing both parts leaves the amount untouched.