Reducing factions to lowest terms?

Question

I never understood this really...I'm going back to school in the fall and if any one can help me with this it would really help...it makes no sense to me...I suck at math in general but especially at fractions....HELP!!!!! Talk real slow.....Thanks

Answer 1

Simplest way to put it...find the largest number that will go into both the numerator (top #) and the denominator (bottom #) evenly. The number is called the greatest common factor (GCF). If you can't find the GCF, then just start off with small numbers like 2, 3, 4. When you get better at it, then you can start using larger numbers.

Ex. Look at the fraction 4/12...well I know that 2 will go into 4 and 12. 4 divided by 2=2 and 12 divided by 2= 6. So, now you have the fraction 2/6. Ask yourself "is there any other number other than 1 that can go in 2 and 6 evenly?" Your answer should be "Yes, 2 can!" Now, 2 divided by 2=1 and 6 divided by 2= 3. Your new fraction is 1/3! Ask yourself that same question. This time, your answer should be "No!"

Your fraction is now in simplest form. When you get better at this, then you can start looking at fractions and instantly know the GCF. The GCF in my example is 4. We could have started with 4 saying 4 divided by 4=1 and 12 divided by 4=3. As you can see, you will still get 1/3 as your answer.

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

For this example, let's use 36/90

This is kind of a time-consuming way to do it, but if you have real difficulty, I guess it's the best way to go:

You should take the numerator (the number on top) and find all of its factors (in other words, which whole numbers can be multiplied to produce the numerator). In the above example, 36 can be produced by multiplying: 1 x 36, 2 x 18, 3 x 12, 4 x 9, and 6 x 6. So, the factors for 36 are: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 36.

Now, you need to find the factors for the denominator (the number on the bottom). In this example, 90 can be produced by multiplying: 1 x 90, 2 x 45, 3 x 30, 5 x 18, 6 x 15, and 9 x 10. So, the factors for 90 are: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 15, 18, 30, 45, and 90.

What is the largest factor that the numerator and the denominator have in common (the greatest common factor)? In this case, it would be 18. So, to reduce the fraction, you would divide the numerator and the denominator by 18: [36 ÷ 18 = 2] and [90 ÷ 18 = 5]. So, the reduced fraction in its lowest terms is: 2/5

Ta-da!!

Answer 3

The key to this is finding the greatest common factor (GCF) of the numerator and denominator. For instance, if you are given 27/90, you would look for the largest number that could go into both. In this case, 9 is the largest number. You find this number by trial and error, and a little common sense. 9 goes into 27 three times, and into 90 ten times, so your reduced fraction would be 3/10. A common mistake is to divide by any common factor. Say you originally chose to divide by 3. Your reduced fraction would then be 9/30. However, this can be further reduced by dividing by 3 again to get 3/10. It works just the same to divide and then divide again if that is all you can do, but it will save you a step to find the GCF first.

Answer 4

To reduce a fraction to lowest terms, find the largest number that will divide evenly into both the numerator and the denominator.

Example:
Reduce 6/18 to lowest terms.

The largest number that will divide evenly into both the numerator and the denominator is 6.

6 into 6 = 1 and 6 into 18 = 3. Put the 1 over the 3 and you have 1/3rd.

superkids.com/aweb/tools/math/fraction/reducing/howto.sht ·

Answer 5

No one 'sucked' at math as much as I did, and I finally returned to college at age 50 (I'm 54 now), got a B in 1250 Algebra, so I'll try to help - DON'T PANIC!!!!!

First, think of fractions as a part of a whole, pieces of a pie, part of a dollar.

1 quarter is 1/4 of a dollar
2 " 1/2 of a dollar
3 " 3/4 "
4 " 4/4 "

so far so good? notice that the 4 quarters = 4/4 or 1 or the whole.
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If I have a pie cut into 6 pieces, I give you 2/3, Suzie 1/6 and me 1/2 that means you need to find common denominator...mmmm denominator is BOTTOM number denom as in demon who lives in hell (work with me here). And in this case, seems like 6 is our common denominator, right?
so if Suzie has 1/6, what can we multiply 2/3 by to make it 4/6? (ok, 2). Now we have to find what we can multiply 1/2 by to make it 3/6 (ok, 3) because when we add 1/6 + 2/6 + 3/6 we will have 6/6 or 1 or a whole pie! (wish I could color this for you)

Hoped this helped GOOD LUCK and don't be afraid to ask for tutorial help - I did and was glad I did!! So I'm paying it forward

Answer 6

To reduce fractions to lowest terms, you need to multiply the numerator(top) and denominator(bottom) by the same number. For example 4/16, I can divide both 4 and 16 by 4 so it would be 1/4. But for 5/16, they can't be divided by a same number so it is in lowest terms.

Answer 7

you find the lowest common factor between the 2 numbers
example 244/488 lowest value goes to 122/244 this is using 2 first then use 2 again = 61/122 this is the lowest term

Answer 8

Examples would be the best.

3/6 = 1/2

7/21 = 1/3

Is this what you are looking for?

Answer 9

Factions? erm............ ah. Fractions?

Like 24/144 > 12/72 > 6/36 > 1/6 ?

Oh, I have no idea! English is my major I am afraid!

Answer 10

ASK YOUR TEACHER