Multiplying Fractions Worksheets

Show tops times tops, bottoms times bottoms on one example, then let students go. Twenty problems take about fifteen minutes. Ask them to try cross-cancelling before multiplying and compare with multiplying first and reducing after. Both reach the same fraction. Since the starting fractions are already in lowest terms, any reduction comes from cross-cancelling or from simplifying the product. Check the answer key together. You can print the 5 versions switch for a test day and a retake.

Multiplying a fraction by a fraction means taking a part of a part, which is why the product is smaller than either factor. Many children are surprised, since multiplication usually makes numbers bigger. The mechanics are easy, but the sheet tests simplification: cancel a common factor between one top and the other bottom to keep the numbers small. Students who know their times tables and factor pairs finish quickly. Whole numbers and mixed numbers come later.

Up to 6 gives small numbers where cancelling is easy to spot. Up to 12 brings in products that need a bigger reduction. Twelve problems is a good length for a student learning to cancel. A fun extension is to ask for a guess before computing: will the product be bigger or smaller than each factor? Missing number mode asks for an unknown factor.

Should students cancel before multiplying?

Either way reaches the same answer. Cancelling first keeps numbers small, as in 2/3 times 3/4 where the threes go. Multiplying then reducing takes more steps but less risk of a wrong cancel.

Why is the product smaller than both fractions?

Taking a part of a part leaves less than either one. Half of a third is a sixth, which is smaller than both. A drawing of a shaded bar then shaded again shows it clearly.

Are whole numbers included in the problems?

No. Both factors are proper fractions on this page. That keeps attention on the rule itself, and mixed numbers can be practiced separately on the mixed numbers page.