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Fractions
1
2
/
10
1
/
12
1
/
8
1
11
/
12
55
/
60
What is a fraction?
Loosely speaking, a fraction is a quantity that
cannot be represented by a whole number.
Why do we need fractions?
Consider the following scenario.
Can you finish the whole cake?

If not, how many cakes did you
eat?
1 is not the answer,
neither is 0.

This suggest that we need a
new kind of number.
Definition:
A fraction is an ordered pair of whole numbers, the 1
st
one
is usually written on top of the other, such as or .
The denominator tells us how many congruent pieces
the whole is divided into, thus this number cannot be 0.

The numerator tells us how many such pieces are
being considered.
numerator
denominator b
a
Examples:
How much of a pizza do we have below?
The blue circle is our whole.
- if we divide the whole into 8
congruent pieces,
- the denominator would be 8.
We can see that we have 7 of
these pieces.
Therefore the numerator is 7,
and we have

of a pizza.
we first need to know the size of the original pizza.
8
7
Equivalent fractions
a fraction can have many different appearances, these
are called equivalent fractions
In the following picture we have of a cake
because the whole cake is divided into two congruent
parts and we have only one of those parts.
But if we cut the cake into smaller
congruent pieces, we can see that
2
1
=
4
2
Or we can cut the original cake
into 6 congruent pieces,
Equivalent fractions
a fraction can have many different appearances, these
are called equivalent fractions
Now we have 3 pieces out of 6 equal pieces, but
the total amount we have is still the same.
Therefore,
2
1
=
4
2
=
6
3
If you dont like this, we can cut
the original cake into 8 congruent
pieces,
Equivalent fractions
a fraction can have many different appearances, they
are called equivalent fractions
then we have 4 pieces out of 8 equal pieces, but the
total amount we have is still the same.
2
1
=
4
2
=
6
3
=
8
4
We can generalize this to
2
1
=
n
n

2
1
whenever n is not 0
Therefore,
How do we know that two fractions are the same?
we cannot tell whether two fractions are the same until
we reduce them to their lowest terms.
A fraction is in its lowest terms (or is reduced) if we
cannot find a whole number (other than 1) that can divide
into both its numerator and denominator.

Examples:
is not reduced because 2 can divide into
both 6 and 10.
is not reduced because 5 divides into
both 35 and 40.
10
6
40
35
How do we know that two fractions are the same?
More examples:
is not reduced because 10 can divide into
both 110 and 260.
is reduced.
is reduced
260
110
15
8
23
11
To find out whether two fraction are equal, we need to
reduce them to their lowest terms.
How do we know that two fractions are the same?
Examples:

Are
21
14
and
45
30
equal?
21
14 reduce
3
2
7 21
7 14

45
30 reduce
9
6
5 45
5 30

reduce
3
2
3 9
3 6

Now we know that these two fractions are actually

the same!
How do we know that two fractions are the same?
Another example:

Are and equal?
reduce
reduce
This shows that these two fractions are not the same!
40
24
42
30
42
30
40
24
20
12
2 40
2 24

reduce
5
3
4 20
4 12

7
5
6 42
6 30

Improper Fractions and Mixed Numbers

An improper fraction can be converted to a mixed
number and vice versa.
3
5
An improper fraction is a fraction
with the numerator larger than or
equal to the denominator.
A mixed number is a whole
number and a fraction together
7
3
2
Any whole number can be
transformed into an improper
fraction.
,
1
4
4
7
7
1
Improper Fractions and Mixed Numbers
3
2
1
3
5

Converting improper fractions into

mixed numbers:
- divide the numerator by the denominator
- the quotient is the leading number,
- the remainder as the new numerator.
7
17
7
3 7 2
7
3
2

Converting mixed numbers

into improper fractions.
,
4
3
1
4
7

More examples:
5
1
2
5
11

How does the denominator control a
fraction?
If you share a pizza evenly among two
people, you will get
2
1
If you share a pizza evenly among three
people, you will get
3
1
If you share a pizza evenly among four
people, you will get

4
1
How does the denominator control a
fraction?
Conclusion:
The larger the denominator the smaller the pieces,
and if the numerator is kept fixed, the larger the
denominator the smaller the fraction,
If you share a pizza evenly among eight
people, you will get only
8
1
Its not hard to see that the slice you get
becomes smaller and smaller.
c. b
c
a
b
a
r wheneve i.e.
Examples:
Which one is larger, ?
5
2
or
7
2
Which one is larger, ?
25
8
or
23
8
Which one is larger, ?
267
41
or
135
41

135
41
: Ans

23
8
: Ans

5
2
: Ans
How does the numerator affect a fraction?
Here is
1
/
16

,
here is
3
/
16
,
here is
5
/
16
,
Do you see a trend?
Yes, when the numerator gets larger
we have more pieces.
And if the denominator is kept fixed,
the larger numerator makes a bigger
fraction.
Examples:
Which one is larger, ?
12
5
or
12
7
Which one is larger, ?
20
13
or
20
8
Which one is larger, ?
100
63
or
100
45

100
63
: Ans

20
13
: Ans

12
7
: Ans
Comparing fractions with different
numerators and different denominators.
In this case, it would be pretty difficult to tell just from
the numbers which fraction is bigger, for example
This one has less pieces
but each piece is larger
than those on the right.
This one has more pieces
but each piece is smaller
than those on the left.

12
5

8
3

One way to answer this question is to change the appearance
of the fractions so that the denominators are the same.

In that case, the pieces are all of the same size, hence the
larger numerator makes a bigger fraction.

The straight forward way to find a common denominator is to
multiply the two denominators together:
96
36
12 8
12 3

8
3

and
96
40
8 12
8 5

12
5

8
3

12
5

Now it is easy to tell that 5/12 is actually a bit bigger than 3/8.
A more efficient way to compare fractions
This method is called cross-multiplication, and make sure that you
remember to make the arrows go upward.

11
7

8
5

7 8 = 56 11 5 = 55
Since 56 > 55, we see that
8
5
11
7

From the previous example, we see that we dont
really have to know what the common denominator
turns out to be, all we care are the numerators.
Therefore we shall only change the numerators by
cross multiplying.
Which one is larger,
?
8
5
or
11
7

Addition of Fractions
- addition means combining objects in two or
more sets
- the objects must be of the same type, i.e. we
combine bundles with bundles and sticks with
sticks.
- in fractions, we can only combine pieces of the
same size. In other words, the denominators
must be the same.
Addition of Fractions with equal denominators
Click to see animation
+
= ?
Example:
8
3
8
1

Example:
8
3
8
1

Addition of Fractions with equal denominators

+
=
Addition of Fractions with equal denominators
is NOT the right answer because the denominator tells

us how many pieces the whole is divided into, and in this
addition problem, we have not changed the number of pieces in
the whole. Therefore the denominator should still be 8.
+
=
(1+3)
(8+8)
Example:
8
3
8
1

The answer is
8
) 3 1 (
which can be simplified to
2
1
Addition of Fractions with equal denominators
More examples

5
1
5
2
5
3

10
7
10
6

10
13
10
3
1

15
8
15
6
15
14
Addition of Fractions with
different denominators
In this case, we need to first convert them into equivalent
fraction with the same denominator.

Example:
15
5
5 3
5 1
3
1

15
6
3 5
3 2
5
2

5
2
3
1

An easy choice for a common denominator is 35 = 15

Therefore,
15
11
15
6
15
5
5
2
3
1

Addition of Fractions with
different denominators
Remark: When the denominators are bigger, we need to
find the least common denominator by factoring.

If you do not know prime factorization yet, you have to
multiply the two denominators together.

More Exercises:
8
1
2 4
2 3

8
1
4
3

7
2
5
3

9
4
6
5

=
=
=
5 7
5 2
7 5
7 3

6 9
6 4
9 6
9 5

=
=
=
8
1
8
6

=
8
7
8
1 6

35
10
35
21

35
31
35
10 21

=
54
24
54
45

54
15
1
54
69
54
24 45

=
Adding Mixed Numbers
Example:
5
3
2
5
1
3
5
3
2
5
1
3
5
3
5
1
2 3
5
3 1
5


5
4
5
5
4
5
Adding Mixed Numbers
Another Example:
8
3
1
7
4
2
8
3
1
7
4
2
8
3
7
4
1 2
56
7 3 8 4
3


56
53
3
56
53
3
Subtraction of Fractions
- subtraction means taking objects away.
- the objects must be of the same type, i.e. we
can only take away apples from a group of
apples.
- in fractions, we can only take away pieces of
the same size. In other words, the denominators
must be the same.
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

This means to take away
12
3
from
12
11
(Click to see animation)
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

12
11
This means to take away
12
3
from
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

This means to take away

12
3
from
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

This means to take away

12
3
from
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

This means to take away

12
3
from
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

This means to take away

12
3
from
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

This means to take away

12
3
from
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

This means to take away

12
3
from
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

This means to take away

12
3
from
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

This means to take away

12
3
from
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

This means to take away

12
3
from
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

This means to take away

12
3
from
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

This means to take away

12
3
from
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

This means to take away

12
3
from
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

This means to take away

12
3
from
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

This means to take away

12
3
from
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

This means to take away

12
3
from
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

This means to take away

12
3
from
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

This means to take away

12
3
from
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

This means to take away

12
3
from
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

This means to take away

12
3
from
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions with equal denominators
Example:
12
3
12
11

Now you can see that there are only 8 pieces left,
therefore
12
3 11
12
3
12
11

3
2
12
8

This means to take away
12
3
from
12
11
Subtraction of Fractions
More examples:

16
7
16
15

16
7 15
2
1
16
8


9
4
7
6

7 9
7 4
9 7
9 6

63
28
63
54

63
28 54 26
63

23
11
10
7

10 23
10 11
23 10
23 7

23 10
10 11 23 7
230
110 161
230
51

Did you get all the answers right?
Subtraction of mixed numbers
This is more difficult than before, so please take notes.
Example:
2
1
1
4
1
3
Since 1/4 is not enough to be subtracted by 1/2, we better convert
all mixed numbers into improper fractions first.
2
1 2 1

4
1 4 3

2
1
1
4
1
3

2
3

4
13

4
6

4
13

4
3
1
4
7