NCERT Solutions for Class 5th Maths Chapter 2 Raman's father cuts the parathas into halves — Fractions Greater Than 1
Book page 24–26 Updated on2026-09-19
Q1.
Raman's father cuts the parathas into halves (2 equal parts) or fourths (4 equal parts) before serving them. Maa took 5 pieces of 1/2 paratha. How many parathas did she eat?
Answer
Maa ate 5/2 parathas, that is 2 1/2 parathas.
Name the quantity first: we need the number of parathas, and each piece is half a paratha.
Maa took 5 pieces. Each piece is 1/2 paratha.
1/2 + 1/2 + 1/2 + 1/2 + 1/2 = 5/2 parathas.
Group the halves in twos, because 2 halves make 1 whole paratha. (1/2 + 1/2) + (1/2 + 1/2) + 1/2 = 1 + 1 + 1/2.
So Maa ate 2 whole parathas and 1 half = 2 1/2 parathas.
Pair them up — every 2 halves make 1 whole: (1/2 + 1/2) + (1/2 + 1/2) + (1/2 + 1/2) = 1 + 1 + 1.
So Radhika ate 3 whole parathas, with nothing left over.
6/2 parathas = 6 ÷ 2 = 3 parathas
Six halves land exactly on a whole number, so there is no half left over.
Compare with Q1: Maa's 5 halves left one half over, so her answer was a mixed number. Radhika's 6 halves paired up perfectly, so her answer is a whole number.
Q3.
Dadiji had 7 pieces of 1/2 paratha. How many parathas did she eat? Find out.
Answer
Dadiji ate 7/2 parathas, that is 3 1/2 parathas.
Dadiji had 7 pieces, each 1/2 paratha, so she ate 7/2 parathas.
Pair the halves: (1/2+1/2) + (1/2+1/2) + (1/2+1/2) + 1/2.
Three pairs make 3 whole parathas, and one half is left.
So she ate 3 1/2 parathas.
7 ÷ 2 = 3 with 1 left over 7/2 = 3 + 1/2 = 3 1/2 parathas
Raman ate 6 pieces of 1/2 paratha, Dadaji ate 7 pieces of 1/2 paratha and Baba ate 5 pieces of 1/2 paratha. How many parathas did each of them eat? Use the number line to find the answer.
The three number lines printed on page 25. Each small step is half a paratha.
On each number line, mark 0, then step forward one half at a time and count the steps.
Person
Pieces of 1/2
As a fraction
Where it lands
Parathas eaten
Raman
6
6/2
exactly on 3
3
Dadaji
7
7/2
half a step past 3
3 1/2
Baba
5
5/2
half a step past 2
2 1/2
Three number lines, each with a half-step tick. Count the steps from 0.
Who ate the most? Dadaji, with 3 1/2 parathas. Compare 7/2, 6/2 and 5/2 — same bottom number, so the biggest top number wins.
Q5.
How many parathas were made on this day? Find out.
Answer
18 parathas were made on this day.
On the halves day, all six members of Raman's family ate. Count every half piece and then change the halves into whole parathas.
Person
Pieces of 1/2 eaten
Parathas
Maa
5
2 1/2
Radhika
6
3
Dadiji
7
3 1/2
Raman
6
3
Dadaji
7
3 1/2
Baba
5
2 1/2
Total
36
18
Add up all the half pieces. 5 + 6 + 7 + 6 + 7 + 5 = 36 pieces.
Remember that 2 halves make 1 paratha.
Divide. 36 ÷ 2 = 18.
Total = 36/2 parathas 36 ÷ 2 = 18 parathas
Why we add first: Every piece on the table came from a paratha that Raman's father cut. If we know how many half pieces were served in all, we know how many parathas were cut, because each paratha gave exactly 2 halves.