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Editorial
How long is a fraction of a second? In everyday life, we would simply say that it is a very short time; in mathematics, however, we would be led to look for two integers—a numerator and a larger denominator—with which to quantify it.
One problem, four approaches
Line and Maurice are keen gardeners. Line takes two hours to complete a particular task, while Maurice takes three. How long will it take them if they work together? This problem can be solved in many ways. Here is a small selection…
Fractions: word origins and history | Tangente
The word fraction seems to have appeared in its modern sense in 1549, in an arithmetic book published that year by the mathematician and Pléiade poet Jacques Peletier du Mans (1517–1582).
The people of the rational numbers
A brief imaginary, non-chronological history that attempts to answer a question less straightforward than it seems: are fractions numbers?
Geopolitics of fractions in 19th-century China | Tangente
Is mathematics really immune to human passions? The introduction of fractional notation in China shows that things can be more complicated, as national sentiment comes into conflict with the need for scientific development.
The limits of the pie chart
To represent the fraction 5/6 graphically or geometrically, it is tempting to draw a pie chart with six slices, five of them shaded, as shown opposite. This solution is often described as "taking five out of six equal slices."