When is the Wholes and Parts Icon most useful?

The Wholes and Parts Icon is particularly beneficial when there is a need to highlight the relationship between a whole and its components. This icon visually represents how a whole is divided into its constituent parts, making it easier for students to grasp the concept of division and the relationship between different quantities involved. By focusing on this relationship, students can better understand how parts make up a whole, which is fundamental to many areas of math, including addition, subtraction, and basic algebra.

While the other choices involve concepts that could be related to wholes and parts, they don't specifically emphasize the direct relationship that the Wholes and Parts Icon is designed to illustrate. For example, ratios and fractions both involve parts of a whole but do not specifically address the highlighting of wholes and parts as distinct visual elements in the way the icon does. Percentages also relate to parts and wholes but are more abstract and often applied in different contexts that don’t require a visual representation of parts making up a whole.