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Find The Lowest Common Denominator (Bottom Number) - For Both Adding and Subtracting

Fraction problems become easier with practice and understanding the fundamentals. The document outlines four methods for performing basic fraction calculations: 1) Adding and subtracting fractions involves finding the lowest common denominator and converting fractions to match before adding or subtracting the numerators. 2) Converting mixed numbers to improper fractions involves multiplying the whole number by the denominator and adding to the numerator. 3) Multiplying fractions involves multiplying the numerators and denominators. 4) Dividing fractions involves flipping the second fraction, changing division to multiplication, and multiplying top/bottom.

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Alexander Lucas
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33 views6 pages

Find The Lowest Common Denominator (Bottom Number) - For Both Adding and Subtracting

Fraction problems become easier with practice and understanding the fundamentals. The document outlines four methods for performing basic fraction calculations: 1) Adding and subtracting fractions involves finding the lowest common denominator and converting fractions to match before adding or subtracting the numerators. 2) Converting mixed numbers to improper fractions involves multiplying the whole number by the denominator and adding to the numerator. 3) Multiplying fractions involves multiplying the numerators and denominators. 4) Dividing fractions involves flipping the second fraction, changing division to multiplication, and multiplying top/bottom.

Uploaded by

Alexander Lucas
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as ODT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 6

raction questions can look tricky at first, but they become easier with practice and know-how.

Once you understand the fundamentals of what fractions are, you'll be breezing through
Object 2

Object 1

fraction problems like a knife through butter. You will have to start with Step 1 and learn how
to perform basic addition and subtraction, and then move on to more complex calculations.
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Method 1 of 4: Adding and Subtracting Fractions


1.

1
Find the lowest common denominator (bottom number). For both adding and subtracting
fractions, you'll start with the same process. Figure out the lowest common fraction that both
denominators can go into.
For example, if you have 1/4 and 1/6, the lowest common denominator is 12. (4x3=12,
6x2=12)
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2
Multiply fractions to match the lowest common denominator. Remember that when
you're doing this, you're not actually changing the number, just the terms in which it's
expressed. Think of it like a pizza - 1/2 of a pizza and 2/4 of a pizza are the same amount.
Figure out how many times your current denominator goes into the lowest common
denominator. For 1/4, 4 multiplied by 3 is 12. For 1/6, 6 multiplied by 2 is 12.
Multiply the fraction's numerator and denominator by that number. For 1/4, you would
multiply both 1 and 4 by 3, coming up with 3/12. 1/6 multiplied by 2 becomes 2/12. Now your
problem looks like 3/12 + 2/12 or 3/12 - 2/12.
3.

3
Add or subtract the two numerators (top number) but NOT the denominators.The
reason is because you are trying to say how many of that type of fraction you have, total. If
you added the denominators as well, you would be changing what type of fractions they are.

For 3/12 + 2/12, your final answer is 5/12. For 3/12 - 2/12, it's 1/12

Method 2 of 4: Converting Mixed Numbers into Improper Fractions


1.

1
Convert mixed numbers into improper fractions. Improper fractions are those whose
numerators are larger than their denominators. (For example, 17/5.) If you are multiplying and
dividing, you must convert mixed numbers into improper fractions before you begin the rest of
your calculations.
Say you have the mixed number 3 2/5 (three and two-fifths).

2.2
Take the whole (non-fraction) number and multiply it by the denominator.
In our example, that means 3 x 5, which is 15.

3.

3
Add that answer to the numerator.

For our example, we add 15 + 2 to get 17


4.

4
Put that amount over the original denominator and you will have an improper fraction.

In our case, we get 17/5.


Method 3 of 4: Multiplying Fractions
1.

1
Make sure you're working with two fractions. These instructions work only if you have two
fractions. If you have any mixed numbers involved, convert them to improper fractions first..

2.

2
Multiply numerator x numerator, then multiply denominator x denominator.
So say I had 1/2 x 3/4, I would multiply 1 x 3 and 2 x 4. The answer is 3/8.
Method 4 of 4: Dividing Fractions
1.

1
Make sure you're working with two fractions. Again, this process will work ONLY if you
have already converted any mixed numbers into improper fractions.

2.

2
Flip the second fraction upside down.

3.

3
Change the division sign into a multiplication sign.
If you started with 8/15 3/4 then it would become 8/15 x 4/3
4.

4
Multiply top x top and bottom x bottom.

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