Joseph had a quarter of a cookie. Ellen had a half of a different cookie. The piece Joseph had was larger. How could Ellen's piece be smaller? Explain.

My theory is the cookie could be smaller because Ellen's cookie might have been smaller as a full than Joseph's.
For example, Joseph's cookie may have 24 pieces, while Ellen's cookie may have been 4 pieces.

Answered by TacoGod | 2024-06-10

The Cookie that joseph was eating was larger. Half of a small cookie is smaller than a quarter of a larger cookie.

Answered by Matt104 | 2024-06-10

Joseph's quarter of a cookie can be larger than Ellen's half of a cookie if the whole cookie that Joseph was taking from is much larger than the one Ellen had. For example, if Joseph's whole cookie weighed 200 grams, then his quarter (50 grams) would be larger than Ellen's half of a smaller cookie weighing 80 grams (40 grams). Thus, fractions alone do not determine size; the total size of the original cookies matters.
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Answered by TacoGod | 2024-10-01