The fraction 6/6 is NOT a proper fraction. In fact, 6/6 is an improper fraction. In order to understand why 6/6 is not a proper fraction, we must understand the definition of a proper fraction.
Definition of a Proper Fraction:
We say that a fraction is a proper fraction if the numerator of the fraction is strictly less than the denominator. The word “strictly less” means that the numerator must be smaller and not equal to the denominator. Some examples of proper fractions are:
- 5/6
- 3/4
- 7/8
Why is 6/6 NOT a proper fraction?
From the above definition, it is clear that 6/6 is not a proper fraction. Since the definition requires to numerator to be less than the denominator whereas in this case, the numerator is equal to the denominator. So we can conclude that 6/6 is an IMPROPER fraction.
Definition of Improper Fraction:
We say that a fraction is improper if the numerator is either greater or equal to the denominator. For the fraction 6/6 since the numerator is equal to the denominator we say that it is an improper fraction. Some other examples of improper fractions are:
- 5/3 is an improper fraction since 5 is greater than 3.
- The fraction 4/4 is improper since the numerator is equal to the denominator.
- 9/5 is an improper fraction.
