Ambiguous Fractions
This is more a notational issue than an algebra issue. I decided to put it here because too many students come out of algebra classes without understanding this point. There are really three kinds of “bad” notation that people often use with fractions that can lead to errors in work.
The first is using a “/” to denote a fraction, for instance 2/3. In this case there really isn’t a problem with using a “/”, but what about 2/3x? This can be either of the two following fractions.
It is not clear from 2/3x which of these two it should be! You, as the student, may know which one of the two that you intended it to be, but a grader won’t. Also, while you may know which of the two you intended it to be when you wrote it down, will you still know which of the two it is when you go back to look at the problem when you study?
You should only use a “/” for fractions when it will be clear and obvious to everyone, not just you, how the fraction should be interpreted.
The next notational problem I see fairly regularly is people writing . It is not clear from this if the x belongs in the denominator or the fraction or not. Students often write fractions like this and usually they mean that the x shouldn’t be in the denominator. The problem is on a quick glance it often looks like it should be in the denominator and the student just didn’t draw the fraction bar over far enough.
If you intend for the x to be in the denominator then write it as such that way, , i.e. make sure that you draw the fraction bar over the WHOLE denominator. If you don’t intend for it to be in the denominator then don’t leave any doubt! Write it as .
The final notational problem that I see comes back to using a “/” to denote a fraction, but is really a parenthesis problem. This involves fractions like
Often students who use “/” to denote fractions will write this is fraction as
These students know that they are writing down the original fraction. However, almost anyone else will see the following
This is definitely NOT the original fraction. So, if you MUST use “/” to denote fractions use parenthesis to make it clear what is the numerator and what is the denominator. So, you should write it as