5.MD.2: Line Plots with Fractions
Also written as 5.MD.B.2 and CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.MD.B.2 · Cluster: Represent and interpret data.
The Official Wording
Make a line plot to display a data set of measurements in fractions of a unit (1/2, 1/4, 1/8). Use operations on fractions for this grade to solve problems involving information presented in line plots. For example, given different measurements of liquid in identical beakers, find the amount of liquid each beaker would contain if the total amount in all the beakers were redistributed equally.
Common Core State Standards, Grade 5, Measurement & Data · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026
What 5.MD.2 Means in Plain English
Fifth graders measure a set of objects to the nearest eighth of an inch, say eight pencils, and stack an X above each length on a number line marked in eighths. Then they add, subtract and share those fractions to answer questions about the plot.
The 4th-grade version used the same plot to add and subtract (4.MD.4). The 5th-grade twist is the redistribution question: pool everything, divide by the count, and the answer is a fraction. That is the mean in all but name, which 6th grade names and computes directly (6.SP.3, 6.SP.5).
5.MD.2 I Can Statements
- I can make a line plot with measurements in halves, fourths and eighths.
- I can read a line plot and add or subtract its values.
- I can find the equal share if all the amounts were pooled.
5.MD.2 Worked Example
Six beakers, measured in halves, fourths and eighths of a cup, plotted and then leveled out so every beaker holds the same.
Six identical beakers hold these amounts of water, in cups: 1/2, 3/4, 1/2, 5/8, 7/8, 3/4. Make a line plot. If all the water were redistributed equally, how much would each beaker hold?
- Draw a number line from 0 to 1 marked in eighths, since eighths is the smallest unit here. Put one X above each measurement. Equal values stack.Xs: two above 1/2, two above 3/4, one above 5/8, one above 7/8
- Rewrite every value in eighths so they can be added. 1/2 = 4/8 and 3/4 = 6/8.4/8, 6/8, 4/8, 5/8, 7/8, 6/8
- Add all six amounts.4 + 6 + 4 + 5 + 7 + 6 = 32, so 32/8 = 4 cups in total
- Redistribute: share 4 cups equally among 6 beakers. That is a division, 4 ÷ 6.4 ÷ 6 = 4/6 = 2/3 cup
Check it: Multiply back: 6 beakers × 2/3 cup = 12/3 = 4 cups, the total we started with. And 2/3 sits between the smallest value (1/2) and the largest (7/8) on the plot, where an even share has to land.
Common Mistakes with 5.MD.2
Spacing the marks by the data, not by size
Tick marks labeled 1/2, 3/4, 5/8, 7/8 in the order the data came, with no 0 or 1
Try this: Build the line first, every eighth from 0 to 1, before any data goes on. Position on a number line means size.
Counting Xs instead of adding values
“Six Xs, so 6 cups of water”
Try this: Read each X as its number on the line. Two Xs above 1/2 mean 1/2 + 1/2 = 1 cup, not 2 of anything.
Dividing the total by the wrong number
4 cups ÷ 4 different values = 1 cup each
Try this: Count the beakers, not the distinct values: six beakers get the water, so divide by 6. Then 4 ÷ 6 = 2/3.
Where 5.MD.2 Fits
Practice 5.MD.2
Quick Check
- Pencil lengths in inches: 6 1/2, 6 3/4, 7, 6 1/2, 7 1/4. How much longer is the longest pencil than the shortest?
- Four plants measured 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and 1/2 foot tall. What is their total height?
- If those four plants were all the same height, how tall would each be?