The product of a fraction and a whole number,
, can be found by
partitioningthe whole number,
, into
equal parts, and then selecting
of those parts.
One way to think of is as 5 parts of a partition of 4 into 12 equal parts.
Start by partitioning, or dividing, 4 into 12 equal parts.
Since 12 ÷ 4 = 3, each whole is divided into 3 equal parts so there are 12 parts total.
is 5 parts of the partition, so shade 5 of the parts.
Each whole is divided into 3 equal parts, so each part represents one-third.
One whole and two 's are shaded.
So, .