What is the importance of a fraction?

Answer 1

There is really two parts to this question.

Firstly, for an your average person, fractions are going to come up - even when you don't realize it. You go for a one mile walk, and your pedometer reads 0.8 miles, you realize you only have a fifth of a mile remaining. Your boss might tell you that you need to reduce the budget by 25% and you know that is equal to 1/4 so you just divide the budget by four in your head, and you have a rough figure.

For math-rich careers (science, finance, etc.), fractions help you keep your equations in tact until you are ready for an answer. You don't want to carry hundreds of decimal places which each step, when you could just just have a couple of fractions. Additionally, understanding fractions might be the only way to solve a problem as the math gets more intense later on.

An extra point, mathematics in general is going to build upon your logic and reasoning skills. Both are forms of intelligence, so at the very minimum you do not want to be lacking in logic and reasoning later on in life.