How do you simplify the following fraction;

72
---
-68

I know the answer is
-18
---
-17

What I do not know is how this is the answer.The example I looked at did not tell me how it came to the answer. What do I do to find the answer?

divide the numerator by 4. Divide the denominator by 4.

Thank you, but how do I determine what number to divide by? So that I an solve other fractions like this one. Must I still find the greatest common number to divide by?

Yes. You find the largest common divisor to reduce a fraction.

Example?

10/15
Divide by 5
10/15 = 2/3

Be careful. You posted (72)/(-68) reduces to (-18)/(-17). You had a sign change in the numerator. Probably just a typo, but you might want to check.

To simplify the given fraction, we need to find the greatest common divisor (GCD) of the numerator and denominator and then divide both the numerator and denominator by the GCD.

Step 1: Find the GCD of 72 and -68.
To find the GCD, we can use the Euclidean algorithm:
- Start by dividing the larger number, 72, by the smaller number, -68, which gives us a quotient of -1 and a remainder of 4.
- Then, divide the divisor, -68, by the remainder, 4, which gives us a quotient of -17 and no remainder.
- Since we have reached a remainder of 0, the divisor at this point, which is 4, is the GCD.

Step 2: Divide both the numerator and denominator by the GCD.
Divide 72 by 4: 72 ÷ 4 = 18
Divide -68 by 4: -68 ÷ 4 = -17

Therefore, the simplified fraction is -18 / -17, which can be further simplified to 18 / 17.