841 Math Blog

Hi. So. I'm doing this scribe well, post because I'm sure I did pretty BAD on my math test and I want a bonus mark. So here I go.

Adding Fractions
What I understand about it.. I understand that the rule for addition also appiles to subtraction. I also understand how to add fractions. Here, I'll show you :).
2/4+3/8
the first thing you have to do is look for the denominator that both 4 and 8 go into. Oh, make sure it's the smallest common denominator, so that you don't have to simplify it. The LCD is 4.
So,
2/4+3/8 < question
_/4+_/4 < the blank spots are the numbers we need to figure out.
So, you're probably wondering.. "how do we find those numbers?" This is what you do :). You take 4 and divide it by the denominator in the question. So, 4 divided by 4 is 1. You then multiply the answer you got with the numerator from the question. 1x2=2. So your first fraction is 2/4. To get the last fraction, you do the same thing. You take 4 and divide it by 8, which is 4. Then you multiply 4 with the numerator from the question, which is 12. Your second fraction is 12/4.
.. hmm.. so,
2/4+12/4 is your fraction
all you need to do now is add them together!
2+12=14
and the denominator stays the same because it's already.. the same.
14/4. < this is what you call an improper fraction! You need to fix it and make it into a mixed fraction. You have to find out how much times 14 goes into 4. _x4=a number close to 14? 3! 3x4=12. So 14 can only go into 4 1 time, and what do you have left over? 2. So your fraction would look like this..
12/4, BUT YOU STILL NEED TO SIMPLIFY! Reduce 2/4. 1/2.
FINAL ANSWER
11/2

Subtracting Fractions
For subtracting, you basically do the same thing.. but with the final result, you subtract. :) When you can subtract the fraction, you either need to borrow or turn them into improper fractions.

Problems..
My problems with fractions is that I don't really like them. I always have trouble with them! I got use to them this year though, and they were pretty easy and quick to learn. The only problem is I always mess up on my tests.