Fraction Multiplication Word Problems: Recipes
Explain scaling a recipe by referring to the original ingredient amount.
Teaching notes for parents and teachers
How to teach it
Draw the amount needed for one recipe, then show half of that amount. Keep the measuring unit unchanged.
Example to work through together
Use the model below as you explain the example. Have your student point to the quantities as you discuss them.
Each full bar represents one cup. Every small part is 1/8 of a cup. The whole does not change when the recipe gets smaller.
3/4 × 1/2 = 3/8
Three fourths of a cup for a full recipe becomes three eighths of a cup for half the recipe.
Ask your student
Are we finding half a cup or half of the amount in the recipe?
If your student needs help
If the student always answers one-half cup, compare two recipes with different starting amounts.
Choosing and using the worksheet
Each set has four different recipe stories: two starting with less than one cup and two starting with more than one but less than two cups. Every multiplier is a proper fraction, and the original input denominators range from 2 to 8. Some fractions are not simplified, so students can practice equivalent forms without changing the original numbers.
Make a practice set
Select the worksheet, answer key, or both. When both are selected, the answer key prints after the questions. Keep it separate if you want your student to work independently.
After your student finishes
Ask whether the answer is smaller than the original amount and why the unit is cups, not a fraction of a recipe.
Calculation practiceMultiplying Fractions by Whole Numbers Worksheets
Count repeated groups of equal fraction parts and simplify the product.
6 problems · Answer key included
Word problemsMultiplying Two Fractions Word Problems: Area
Find rectangle area when both side lengths are written as fractions; include lengths greater than one foot.
4 problems · Answer key included
Word problemsAdding and Subtracting Fractions Word Problems With Unlike Denominators
Use equivalent fractions to combine or remove cable lengths measured against the same one-foot whole.
4 problems · Answer key included
More about multiplication · Grade 5 worksheets
Grade 5 selected skill connection: Selected 5.NF.B.6 with scaling reasoning from 5.NF.B.5: multiply proper or improper cup amounts by a proper fraction. No enlarged batches or mixed-number notation in the generated inputs. See the Common Core standards for this grade. This worksheet does not cover every requirement in the standard.