Rohit says multiplication always makes a number bigger, so multiplying 1/2 by 1/3 will give an…

Why

Rohit's rule has served him well with whole numbers his whole life — 3 × 4 = 12, always bigger than both 3 and 4, and multiplying two whole numbers bigger than 1 always grows the result. But multiplying by a fraction between 0 and 1 doesn't mean 'combine more of something', it means taking a PART of something — and taking a part of a part gives you something smaller, not bigger. Work it out: 1/2 × 1/3 = 1/6, and 1/6 is smaller than both 1/2 and 1/3. Picture it directly: half of a roti is already less than the whole roti, and now take a THIRD of that half — you end up with an even smaller sliver, one-sixth of the original roti. Test: try 1/2 × 1/2 — taking half of a half gives 1/4, smaller again, and that pattern holds for multiplying any two fractions that are each less than 1. No, the answer will be smaller than both: multiplying by a fraction less than 1 means taking a part of something, which shrinks it rather than growing it — the 'multiplication always grows' rule only holds for numbers bigger than 1.