Add/Subtract the fraction in lowest term
To add or subtract fractions, you need to ensure that the fractions have a common denominator. Once they have a common denominator, you can add or subtract the numerators and keep the denominator the same.
Here's an example of adding fractions in lowest terms:
1/3 + 2/5
To find the common denominator, you need to find the least common multiple (LCM) of 3 and 5. In this case, the LCM is 15.
Now, you need to convert the fractions to have a denominator of 15:
1/3 becomes 5/15 (multiply numerator and denominator by 5)
2/5 becomes 6/15 (multiply numerator and denominator by 3)
Now that the fractions have a common denominator, you can add the numerators:
5/15 + 6/15 = 11/15
So, 1/3 + 2/5 = 11/15
To subtract fractions, you follow the same process. Here's an example:
2/7 - 1/4
The common denominator is the LCM of 7 and 4, which is 28.
2/7 becomes 8/28 (multiply numerator and denominator by 4)
1/4 becomes 7/28 (multiply numerator and denominator by 7)
Now you can subtract the numerators:
8/28 - 7/28 = 1/28
So, 2/7 - 1/4 = 1/28
Remember to simplify the fraction to its lowest terms if needed. In this case, 1/28 is already in its lowest terms.