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Primary 6 · Chapter 2

Primary 6 Fractions Question Types

Build from equal parts to fraction division and word problems. Try three questions below, then choose a lesson for the skill you want to practise.

Self-paced lessons · Modelled on top school exam questions · No sign-up for the samples

The Fractions chapter

Watch · The introduction

Start with the first idea

Watch the explanation, then try a question for yourself.

Explore the introductory lesson →

Try · Modelled on top school exam questions

Try three questions, from easier to harder

Try each question yourself first, then check your answer or compare it with the solution. These questions are written by Mathweave, not copied from school papers. No sign-up is needed.

Question 1 of 3

Start with a set

Try solving it yourself before opening the solution.

A bag holds 20 apples. 3/4 of the apples are red. How many of the apples are red?

Show the step-by-step solution
  1. 4 units = 20
  2. 1 unit = 20 ÷ 4 = 5
  3. 3 units = 3 × 5 = 15

Ans: 15

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Question 2 of 3

Share a fraction equally

Try solving it yourself before opening the solution.

1/2 of a tray of cake is shared equally among 4 friends. How much of a whole tray does each friend get?

Show the step-by-step solution
  1. share for each friend = 1/2 ÷ 4 = 1/2 × 1/4
  2. share for each friend = 1/2 × 1/4 = 1/8

Ans: 1/8

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Question 3 of 3

Work back to the whole

Try solving it yourself before opening the solution.

Bala spent 1/3 of his money on a book and 1/4 of the remainder on a pen. He had $30 left. How much money did he have at first?

$

Show the step-by-step solution
  1. take the denominators of the two fractions, 3 and 4
  2. the bar = 3 × 4 = 12 units
  3. fraction remaining after the book = 1 - 1/3 = 2/3
  4. 2/3 × 12 = 8, so 8 units are left after the book
  5. fraction of that remainder left = 1 - 1/4 = 3/4
  6. 3/4 × 8 = 6, so 6 units are left after the pen
  7. 6 units = $30
  8. 1 unit = $30 ÷ 6 = $5
  9. 12 units = 12 × $5 = $60

Ans: $60

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Continue with the method you need

Follow a lesson link beside a question, or browse the chapter below.

See practice plans See how practice works

The chapter · Seven question types

Primary 6 fractions questions by question type

A linked row opens a published lesson with its own film. Explore the explanation and available practice on that page.

Mixed practice, where the types return unannounced and unlabelled, is a chapter-level activity. It has no lesson page of its own.

The order · Three groups

The order to learn them

  1. Essential fraction skills

  2. Dividing with fractions

    2.1 and 2.2

  3. Word problems: which whole is being cut

    2.3 to 2.5

The number tells you where a question type sits in this chapter, not what your child needs to learn first. A child who has already met a type in school can practise it without working through the ones above it.

The papers · Modelled against top school papers

How Paper 1 and Paper 2 set these questions

The PSLE Maths format from 2026.

Paper 1 has 30 questions for 50 marks: 18 multiple-choice questions and 12 short-answer questions. Paper 2 has 15 questions for 50 marks: 5 short-answer questions and 10 structured or long-answer questions.

Source: SEAB examination syllabus, from 2026

Fraction questions appear in both Paper 1 and Paper 2.

Every paper includes one or two bare fraction calculations, and in Paper 1 that is usually a division. The three- and four-mark items appear in Paper 2, and they are almost always a fraction of a remainder, a fraction of one group set equal to a fraction of another, or a ratio read as a fraction.

Many higher-mark Paper 2 questions combine topics.

Close to half of Paper 2 questions combine two or more topics, often fractions with ratio or percentage. Practice questions are not labelled by type, so children must choose the methods they need.

Everything here is modelled against top school papers. Those papers are never reproduced, and every question on this site is original.

Written working · Clear methods, line by line

How to set out the working clearly

These examples show Mathweave's clear, consistent layout for each method. The layout is informed by the answer keys we reviewed.

  • Write every method step on its own lineShow each unit value, conversion and subtotal on its own line so the calculation can be checked.
  • A division is rewritten as a multiplication before it is workedDividing by 1/4 is the same as multiplying by 4. Write this conversion before calculating, using the reciprocal in the multiplication.
  • Cancel across the times sign, then multiplyWhere a top number and a bottom number share a factor, both are struck across the times sign and the reduced values are written beside them before multiplying. This gives the answer in its simplest form without writing the unreduced product.
  • Mathweave writes the unit chain with equals signsEach unit value is a line of its own, connected with an equals sign: 6 units = 36, then 1 unit = 6, then 15 units = 90. Other keys may use arrows or different unit tokens.

Parents · Asked and answered

Questions parents ask

Is this the PSLE syllabus?

The question types follow the latest MOE Primary Mathematics syllabus. The syllabus defines what is taught; the papers we model against show how it is examined.

Why does the chapter start with work from earlier years?

Primary 6 adds two division outcomes. The chapter first secures fractions of sets and multiplying fractions because later word problems use both.

Are the questions from past papers?

We write the questions ourselves rather than copy them from papers. Each chapter is modelled on the types of question that top school papers set. A question may look like one your child has met before because it is the same type.

What does the practice add over the films?

Practice uses different numbers for each question type, points out the common mistake when your child makes it and records which types your child can complete independently.

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