1/2 = 2/4 = 4/8
Some fractions look different but mean the same amount. Let's see how that works!
Here is a chocolate bar split into two equal pieces, with one piece shaded.
One out of two parts is shaded — that's one half.
Now let's cut the same size bar into four equal pieces instead.
We shade the same amount of chocolate as before — two pieces.
Two out of four parts are shaded — that's two fourths.
Look closely — the shaded part ends at exactly the same spot!
Let's slice it even smaller, into eight equal pieces.
We shade the same amount again — that takes four pieces.
Four out of eight parts shaded — four eighths.
All three cover the same chocolate, so the fractions are equal.
One half, two fourths, and four eighths are equivalent fractions — different names for the same amount!