Sheetsmith
All worksheets

Multiplying fractions worksheets

Fraction multiplication with answers always reduced to lowest terms, with or without mixed numbers, and denominators kept small enough that the cancelling stays visible.

Grade 4–Grade 6 · every refresh draws a new set · answer key included

Name Date

Multiplying fractions worksheets

Multiply. Give each answer in its simplest form.

1.
58×14=
2.
38×111=
3.
710×49=
4.
23×38=
5.
19×12=
6.
710×13=
7.
910×12=
8.
14×47=
9.
23×16=
10.
25×12=
11.
311×78=
12.
16×57=
13.
23×14=
14.
17×112=
15.
49×25=
16.
110×15=
Sheetsmith · sheetsmith.online · set x83na7Sheet 1 of 2

Multiplying fractions worksheets — answer key

Multiply. Give each answer in its simplest form.

1.
58×14=532
2.
38×111=388
3.
710×49=1445
4.
23×38=14
5.
19×12=118
6.
710×13=730
7.
910×12=920
8.
14×47=17
9.
23×16=19
10.
25×12=15
11.
311×78=2188
12.
16×57=542
13.
23×14=16
14.
17×112=184
15.
49×25=845
16.
110×15=150
Sheetsmith · sheetsmith.online · set x83na7Sheet 2 of 2

16 problems · US Letter · answer key — 2 sheets, page breaks marked in the preview

Worksheet
Page
Header lines

Set x83na7 — this address always prints this exact worksheet.

What this worksheet is for

Multiplying fractions is mechanically the easiest of the four operations — numerators times numerators, denominators times denominators — and conceptually the one pupils trust least, because the answer gets smaller. That is worth saying out loud in class: multiplying by a fraction less than one shrinks the number, and a page of these questions makes the pattern obvious. Denominators stay small so that cancelling before multiplying is visible rather than buried in three-digit products.

Who it suits

Grade 4 to Grade 6, ages nine to twelve. Proper fractions belong in Grade 4 and 5; mixed numbers, which have to be converted to improper fractions before anything else happens, are Grade 5 and 6 work.

How to use the settings

Keep the largest denominator low — eight or twelve — while cancelling is being taught, because the whole point of cancelling is that it keeps the numbers manageable, and that is only convincing when the uncancelled product would be awkward. Turn on mixed numbers once pupils convert to improper fractions automatically, not before: the conversion is the step that gets forgotten.

What goes wrong

Multiplying mixed numbers by handling the wholes and the fractions separately is the big one — two and a half times three is not six and a half. The other frequent error is cancelling across the wrong pair: cancelling is allowed between a numerator and a denominator, never between two numerators. Both show up clearly against a key where every answer is in lowest terms.

Questions

Do I need a common denominator to multiply?
No, and that surprises pupils who have just spent weeks finding common denominators for addition. Multiplying works straight across; only adding and subtracting need matching denominators.
Why do the answers get smaller?
Because multiplying by a fraction less than one is taking a part of something. Two thirds of a half is a third — smaller than either. It is worth doing a page of these purely to make that concrete.
Are answers reduced automatically in the key?
Yes, every answer is in lowest terms, and as a mixed number when that setting is on. A pupil who multiplies correctly but leaves six twelfths has done the arithmetic and not finished the question.