Date: 7/25/96 at 14:49:8
From: Doctor Mike
Subject: Re: Fraction Basics
Hello Karina,
Thanks for your question. Lots of people have problems when they
start learning about fractions. I cannot tell from your question
exactly what is giving you problems right now, so I will give you a
few pointers, and you can write back if you still need more. Okay?
Basically, fractions are about "parts of a whole." For instance, if a
sandwich is cut exactly down the middle so that two people could have
the same amount, then the whole amount on the plate is 2 portions, and
each person gets 1 of them. So, each person gets 1/2 or one half.
If there are 30 people in a room and 20 of them are women, then the
fraction 20/30 tells what part of the entire group are women. Also,
the part of the whole group that are men is 10/30.
One common problem with fractions is multiplying them. There is a
simple rule for this. When you multiply 2 fractions (some people use
the term Rational Numbers, since a/b is the Ratio of a to b) you get
another fraction. This new fraction has a numerator that comes from
multiplying the other 2 numerators, and it has a denominator that
comes from multiplying the other 2 denominators. Using symbols ....
A B A*B
--- * --- = -----
C D C*D
Let's go back to the 30 people in the room. You might have thought
that 20/30 looks a lot like 2 thirds. Well, it is, and here is why.
The numerator 20 is the same as 2 times 10. The denominator is the
same as 3 times 10. So, we can use the simple rule for multiplying to
get
20 2*10 2 10 2 2
---- = ------ = --- * ---- = --- * 1 = ---
30 3*10 3 10 3 3
You might wonder why I changed 10/10 to one. The denominator of 10
means that the whole consists of 10 parts. The numerator of 10 means
that you have all 10 of those parts. So, if you have all of the
parts of the whole, you have one (1) whole thing.
By the way, what I have shown you above with the 20/30 and 2/3 is the
"long way". It is important for you to understand the long way. When
you REALLY understand the long way, you can then use the "short way"
which is often called Cancellation. But be careful; it can be tricky!
Another common problem with fractions is adding them. The simple
rule for this in symbols is
N M N+M
--- + --- = -----
D D D
Note that in this rule the denominators are all the same. It MUST be
that way for the rule to work. If the denominators are not the same,
you must MAKE them the same before you use the rule. This process of
making them the same involves finding a Common Denominator. This is
the process of taking the fractions you want to add, and changing them
to two other fractions which mean the same, but that have the same
denominator.
I will show this with an example. 3/8 equals 9/24 and 1/6 equals
4/24. The common denominator here is 24.
3 1 3 3 1 4 3*3 1*4 9 4 13
- + - = -*- + -*- = --- + --- = -- + -- = --
8 6 8 3 6 4 8*3 6*4 24 24 24
I hope this helps to give you a good start. Write back when and if
you need more. Specific questions are easier for the doctors here to
answer, because then we understand exactly what you need to know.
-Doctor Mike, The Math Forum
Check out our web site! http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
Date: 7/25/96 at 14:49:8From: Doctor MikeSubject: Re: Fraction BasicsHello Karina,Thanks for your question. Lots of people have problems when theystart learning about fractions. I cannot tell from your questionexactly what is giving you problems right now, so I will give you afew pointers, and you can write back if you still need more. Okay? Basically, fractions are about "parts of a whole." For instance, if a sandwich is cut exactly down the middle so that two people could have the same amount, then the whole amount on the plate is 2 portions, andeach person gets 1 of them. So, each person gets 1/2 or one half. If there are 30 people in a room and 20 of them are women, then thefraction 20/30 tells what part of the entire group are women. Also,the part of the whole group that are men is 10/30. One common problem with fractions is multiplying them. There is a simple rule for this. When you multiply 2 fractions (some people usethe term Rational Numbers, since a/b is the Ratio of a to b) you getanother fraction. This new fraction has a numerator that comes frommultiplying the other 2 numerators, and it has a denominator that comes from multiplying the other 2 denominators. Using symbols .... A B A*B --- * --- = ----- C D C*D Let's go back to the 30 people in the room. You might have thoughtthat 20/30 looks a lot like 2 thirds. Well, it is, and here is why.The numerator 20 is the same as 2 times 10. The denominator is the same as 3 times 10. So, we can use the simple rule for multiplying to get 20 2*10 2 10 2 2 ---- = ------ = --- * ---- = --- * 1 = --- 30 3*10 3 10 3 3 You might wonder why I changed 10/10 to one. The denominator of 10means that the whole consists of 10 parts. The numerator of 10 meansthat you have all 10 of those parts. So, if you have all of the parts of the whole, you have one (1) whole thing. By the way, what I have shown you above with the 20/30 and 2/3 is the "long way". It is important for you to understand the long way. When you REALLY understand the long way, you can then use the "short way" which is often called Cancellation. But be careful; it can be tricky! Another common problem with fractions is adding them. The simple rule for this in symbols is N M N+M --- + --- = ----- D D D Note that in this rule the denominators are all the same. It MUST bethat way for the rule to work. If the denominators are not the same,you must MAKE them the same before you use the rule. This process ofmaking them the same involves finding a Common Denominator. This isthe process of taking the fractions you want to add, and changing themto two other fractions which mean the same, but that have the samedenominator. I will show this with an example. 3/8 equals 9/24 and 1/6 equals 4/24. The common denominator here is 24. 3 1 3 3 1 4 3*3 1*4 9 4 13 - + - = -*- + -*- = --- + --- = -- + -- = -- 8 6 8 3 6 4 8*3 6*4 24 24 24 I hope this helps to give you a good start. Write back when and ifคุณต้องเพิ่มเติม คำถามเฉพาะได้ง่ายขึ้นสำหรับแพทย์ที่นี่ตอบ เพราะ แล้วเราเข้าใจว่าสิ่งที่คุณต้องการรู้ -หมอไมค์ เวทีคณิตศาสตร์ ตรวจสอบเว็บไซต์ของเรา http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
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