How to Add Fractions: Steps and Examples
Adding fractions is a common math problem that children study in school. It can look intimidating at first, but it can be easy with a shred of practice.
This blog post will guide the process of adding two or more fractions and adding mixed fractions. We will ,on top of that, provide examples to demonstrate how it is done. Adding fractions is crucial for various subjects as you move ahead in science and math, so make sure to master these skills early!
The Steps of Adding Fractions
Adding fractions is a skill that many students have difficulty with. Despite that, it is a somewhat simple process once you grasp the essential principles. There are three major steps to adding fractions: determining a common denominator, adding the numerators, and streamlining the answer. Let’s closely study each of these steps, and then we’ll do some examples.
Step 1: Determining a Common Denominator
With these useful tips, you’ll be adding fractions like a professional in no time! The first step is to determine a common denominator for the two fractions you are adding. The least common denominator is the minimum number that both fractions will share evenly.
If the fractions you want to sum share the same denominator, you can skip this step. If not, to determine the common denominator, you can determine the amount of the factors of each number until you determine a common one.
For example, let’s assume we want to add the fractions 1/3 and 1/6. The smallest common denominator for these two fractions is six because both denominators will split uniformly into that number.
Here’s a quick tip: if you are not sure about this process, you can multiply both denominators, and you will [[also|subsequently80] get a common denominator, which would be 18.
Step Two: Adding the Numerators
Once you acquired the common denominator, the immediate step is to convert each fraction so that it has that denominator.
To convert these into an equivalent fraction with the same denominator, you will multiply both the denominator and numerator by the identical number required to get the common denominator.
Following the last example, 6 will become the common denominator. To change the numerators, we will multiply 1/3 by 2 to achieve 2/6, while 1/6 will remain the same.
Since both the fractions share common denominators, we can add the numerators collectively to achieve 3/6, a proper fraction that we will be moving forward to simplify.
Step Three: Streamlining the Answers
The last process is to simplify the fraction. Consequently, it means we need to lower the fraction to its minimum terms. To achieve this, we search for the most common factor of the numerator and denominator and divide them by it. In our example, the biggest common factor of 3 and 6 is 3. When we divide both numbers by 3, we get the final result of 1/2.
You follow the exact steps to add and subtract fractions.
Examples of How to Add Fractions
Now, let’s continue to add these two fractions:
2/4 + 6/4
By applying the steps above, you will observe that they share the same denominators. Lucky you, this means you can avoid the first step. Now, all you have to do is sum of the numerators and leave the same denominator as before.
2/4 + 6/4 = 8/4
Now, let’s attempt to simplify the fraction. We can notice that this is an improper fraction, as the numerator is higher than the denominator. This might indicate that you can simplify the fraction, but this is not necessarily the case with proper and improper fractions.
In this example, the numerator and denominator can be divided by 4, its most common denominator. You will get a final result of 2 by dividing the numerator and denominator by 2.
Provided that you follow these procedures when dividing two or more fractions, you’ll be a professional at adding fractions in no time.
Adding Fractions with Unlike Denominators
This process will require an supplementary step when you add or subtract fractions with dissimilar denominators. To do this function with two or more fractions, they must have the same denominator.
The Steps to Adding Fractions with Unlike Denominators
As we stated before this, to add unlike fractions, you must follow all three steps stated prior to transform these unlike denominators into equivalent fractions
Examples of How to Add Fractions with Unlike Denominators
At this point, we will put more emphasis on another example by summing up the following fractions:
1/6+2/3+6/4
As you can see, the denominators are distinct, and the smallest common multiple is 12. Hence, we multiply each fraction by a number to get the denominator of 12.
1/6 * 2 = 2/12
2/3 * 4 = 8/12
6/4 * 3 = 18/12
Now that all the fractions have a common denominator, we will go forward to total the numerators:
2/12 + 8/12 + 18/12 = 28/12
We simplify the fraction by splitting the numerator and denominator by 4, finding a ultimate answer of 7/3.
Adding Mixed Numbers
We have mentioned like and unlike fractions, but presently we will revise through mixed fractions. These are fractions followed by whole numbers.
The Steps to Adding Mixed Numbers
To figure out addition sums with mixed numbers, you must start by turning the mixed number into a fraction. Here are the procedures and keep reading for an example.
Step 1
Multiply the whole number by the numerator
Step 2
Add that number to the numerator.
Step 3
Write down your result as a numerator and keep the denominator.
Now, you proceed by summing these unlike fractions as you usually would.
Examples of How to Add Mixed Numbers
As an example, we will work out 1 3/4 + 5/4.
First, let’s transform the mixed number into a fraction. You will need to multiply the whole number by the denominator, which is 4. 1 = 4/4
Next, add the whole number represented as a fraction to the other fraction in the mixed number.
4/4 + 3/4 = 7/4
You will conclude with this result:
7/4 + 5/4
By summing the numerators with the exact denominator, we will have a final answer of 12/4. We simplify the fraction by dividing both the numerator and denominator by 4, ensuing in 3 as a conclusive answer.
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