Are the parts equal?

In your book, Maths Mela (Chapter 5), Bablu is playing with paper squares. He wants to cut them so that every piece is the same size. Before we name a fraction, we must check: are the parts equal? Only then can we say 'one of 3 equal parts is 1/3' or 'one of 4 equal parts is 1/4'.

Think of a square cut by two straight lines through its middle, one from top to bottom and one from side to side. It makes 4 small squares, all the same size. If 1 is shaded, the shaded part is 1/4. If 3 are shaded, it is 3/4. But think of a square cut into 3 strips of different widths: one wide, one middle, one thin. If one strip is shaded, we cannot call it 1/3, because the 3 parts are not equal.

The book shows 6 hexagons of the same size joined together. 4 of them are blue and 2 are orange. The blue part is 4 out of 6 equal parts: 4/6. It also shows 9 pieces of the same shape and size fitted together: 6 are blue and 3 are green. The blue part is 6/9.

So there are two steps. First, check that all the parts are equal. Then count: the number of shaded parts goes on top, and the total number of equal parts goes at the bottom.