How do you subract the fraction 2/5 and 4/9?
Form a common denominator and subtract the numerators, like this:
20/45 - 18/45 = (20-18)/45 = ?
I assume you wanted 2/5 subtracted from 4/9, not the other way around. If you want 2/5 - 4/9, the sign changes.
To subtract fractions, such as 2/5 and 4/9, you need to find a common denominator and then subtract the numerators. Here's how you can do it step-by-step:
Step 1: Find a common denominator
To subtract fractions, you need a common denominator. The common denominator is the least common multiple (LCM) of the denominators of the fractions you want to subtract. In this case, the denominators are 5 and 9.
The LCM of 5 and 9 is 45. Therefore, the common denominator for 2/5 and 4/9 is 45.
Step 2: Convert the fractions to have the common denominator
To have the same denominator of 45, you need to adjust the numerators of both fractions. Let's convert 2/5 and 4/9 to fractions with a denominator of 45.
For the first fraction, 2/5, you multiply both the numerator and denominator by 9:
2/5 = (2 * 9) / (5 * 9) = 18/45
For the second fraction, 4/9, you multiply both the numerator and denominator by 5:
4/9 = (4 * 5) / (9 * 5) = 20/45
Now, both fractions have a common denominator of 45.
Step 3: Subtract the numerators
Since both fractions now have a common denominator of 45, you can subtract them directly by subtracting their numerators:
18/45 - 20/45 = (18 - 20) / 45 = -2/45
So, the result of subtracting 2/5 from 4/9 is -2/45.