### Home > MC1 > Chapter 6 > Lesson 6.1.4 > Problem6-42

6-42.

Ashley painted $\frac { 1 } { 2 }$ of her bathroom ceiling. Alex painted $\frac { 1 } { 4 }$ of the ceiling in the school library.

1. Who painted the larger fraction of their ceiling?

Use your imagination and think of the ceilings as being the same size.
If Ashley and Alex still painted the same fractions, which area painted would be bigger?

Two fourths are equal to one half.
Can you use this information to help with this problem?

Ashley painted the larger fraction.

2. If the drawings at right accurately represent the relationship between the ceiling sizes, who painted more ceiling area?

The area of something is the space inside of any given shape.
By looking at the drawing, can you tell if Ashely or Alex painted a larger rectangle?

Alex painted the larger area.

3. Explain why the answers for parts (a) and (b) should be different.

• It is important to keep in mind that the whole for each fraction is important.
Since the ceilings are different sizes, the portions alone do not tell us who painted a larger area.