Sharing and Measuring – Class 4 Maths Chapter 5 Notes & NCERT PDF

Class 4MathematicsChapter 5NCERT book: Maths Mela - Class 4

Notes and a simple summary of Chapter 5 of the NCERT Class 4 Mathematics book, with the official chapter PDF, flashcards, an MCQ quiz and an AI tutor for your doubts.

🎧 Listen to the content

Chapter 5: Sharing and Measuring

Introduction

Ikra and her little sister Samina have one drawing sheet. Ikra offers Samina "half of the paper" or "two quarters". Samina chooses two quarters because it sounds bigger, but both are the same amount. This story opens the chapter on fractions: equal parts of a whole and equal shares of a group.

What's in this Chapter

Parts and wholes: When a whole is divided into two equal parts, each part is a half, written 1/2. When it is divided into four equal parts, each part is a quarter, written 1/4. Children colour shapes that are correctly divided into halves and draw lines to make halves and quarters.

Many ways to make halves and quarters: A rectangle can be folded into two or four equal parts in several different ways. Children match parts with their wholes.

Ding Dong Bell: Sumedha's mother makes dhokla. With Vinayak it is shared in 2 halves; when Kumar comes it is shared among 3; with cousin Paridhi each gets 1/4; with neighbour Idha each gets 1/5. Idha does not like dhokla and gives her share to Sumedha. Children notice that the more people share, the smaller each share. Six pieces of 1/6 make a whole, and 5 pieces of 1/5 make a whole dhokla.

Comparing fractions of the same whole: using the fraction kit at the end of the book, 1/4 is greater than 1/5, 1/6 is greater than 1/9, and 1/6 is greater than 1/8.

My Flower Garden: Idha plants 5 flowers equally, so each gets 1/5 of the garden. When Rose takes 2 parts it gets 2/5, then 3/5, 4/5, and finally 5/5, the whole garden. Children plan a garden with seven flowers using sevenths.

Dream Dosa Designer: Karan puts four toppings (classic potato, spicy onion, chilly paneer, tangy tomato) on one dosa, each 1/4. Children design dosas such as 2/3 spicy onion and 1/3 classic potato.

Fractions of a group: Meena has 8 diyas; 1/4 of them is 2 diyas. 12 cookies shared among 3 children gives 4 each; among 6 children, 2 each. 1/4 of 16 barfis is 4 barfis.

Equal fractions by folding: a strip folded into 3 with one part coloured shows 1/3 = 2/6 after folding again. Halving repeatedly shows 1/2 = 2/4 = 4/8. A fraction chart shows, for example, two 1/4s make 1/2, and ten pieces of 1/10 make a whole.

Checking claims: children check whether shapes are cut into truly equal parts before naming the fraction.

Key Ideas

A fraction names equal parts of a whole or equal shares of a group.

1/2 is the same amount as 2/4.

For the same whole, the more parts it is cut into, the smaller each part.

All the parts together make the whole: 5/5 or 7/7 is one whole.

Activities from the Book

Paper folding for halves and quarters, the dhokla story with a paper circle, the fraction kit, planning a flower garden, designing dosas, colouring diyas and hairbands, and folding strips to find equal fractions.

Words to Learn

Fraction (भिन्न)

Whole (पूरा)

Half (आधा) – 1/2

Quarter (चौथाई) – 1/4

One-third (एक-तिहाई) – 1/3

One-fifth (पाँचवाँ भाग) – 1/5

Equal parts (बराबर भाग)

Share (हिस्सा)

Tips for Parents & Teachers

Cut a roti or chapati into halves and quarters at mealtime and name the parts.

Share 12 biscuits among family members and ask what fraction each gets.

Fold paper napkins in different ways to make quarters.

Ask: "Would you rather have 1/3 or 1/5 of a cake?" and discuss why.

Common Mistakes

Calling any two pieces "halves" even when they are not equal.

Thinking 1/5 is bigger than 1/4 because 5 is bigger than 4.

Believing two quarters is more than one half.

Forgetting that the parts must come from the same whole when comparing.

💡 Key Learning Points

✓Equal parts of a whole are named by fractions such as 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 and 1/5.
✓Two quarters make one half, and all the equal parts together make the whole.
✓When the same whole is shared among more people, each share becomes smaller.
✓Fractions can also describe part of a group, such as 1/4 of 8 diyas = 2 diyas.
✓Different fractions can name the same amount, for example 1/3 = 2/6 and 1/2 = 2/4.

👨‍🏫 Teaching Tips

→Act out Ikra and Samina's story with a real sheet of paper and let children prove half equals two quarters.
→Narrate the dhokla story with a paper circle, cutting it again each time a guest arrives.
→Let children make and use the fraction kit to compare unit fractions.
→Use a floor 'garden' divided into strips to show 1/5, 2/5 up to 5/5.
→Give counters to share fairly and write the fraction each child gets.
→Fold paper strips repeatedly to discover equal fractions.

📋 Assessment Questions

Can the child tell whether a shape is divided into equal parts before naming a fraction?
Can the child show 1/2 and 1/4 of a shape in more than one way?
Can the child compare two unit fractions of the same whole and explain the answer?
Can the child find a fraction of a group, such as 1/4 of 16?
Can the child show that 1/2 = 2/4 by folding?

Ask the AI tutor about Class 4 Mathematics Chapter 5

Get question answers, important questions, a quick MCQ quiz or a simple explanation of “Sharing and Measuring”. Free — sign in with Google.

How the AI tutor works →