math help

What is 1/2 + 2/4?

What is 1/2 + 2/4?

This is how you add

1
2
+
2
4

Step 1

Now we need to make our denominators match.

4 goes into 2 evenly, so we only need to multiply one term to get a common denominator.

Multiply 1 by 2, and get 2, then we multiply 2 by 2 and get 4.

1/2 times 2

This gives us a new problem that looks like so:

2
4
+
2
4

Step 2

Since our denominators match, we can add the numerators.

2 + 2 = 4

That gives us an answer of

4
4

Step 3

Can this fraction be reduced?

First, we attempt to divide it by 2...

Are both the numerator and the denominator evenly divisible by 2? Yes! So we reduce it:

4
4
÷ 2 =
2
2

Let's try dividing by that again...

Are both the numerator and the denominator evenly divisible by 2? Yes! So we reduce it:

2
2
÷ 2 =
1
1

Let's try dividing by that again...

No good. 2 is larger than 1. So we're done reducing.

There you have it! Here's the final answer to 1/2 + 2/4

1
2
+
2
4
=
1
1
= 1
© 2014 Randy Tayler