Working with Fractions Explained
Fractions represent parts of a whole, made up of a numerator (top number) and a denominator (bottom number).
Basic Fraction Operations:
- Adding & Subtracting: Requires finding the Least Common Denominator (LCD) before combining the numerators.
- Multiplying: Multiply straight across (numerator by numerator, denominator by denominator) without finding common denominators.
- Dividing: Multiply by the reciprocal (flip the second fraction and multiply).
Simplifying to Lowest Terms
Our calculator automatically computes common divisors to simplify fractions into their simplest form.