math help

What is 1/3 - 4/12?

What is 1/3 - 4/12?

Here's how to subtract 4/12 from 1/3:

1
3
4
12

Step 1

We can't subtract two fractions with different denominators. So you need to get a common denominator. To do this, you'll multiply the denominators times each other... but the numerators have to change, too. They get multiplied by the other term's denominator.

So we multiply 1 by 12, and get 12.

Then we multiply 4 by 3, and get 12.

Next we give both terms new denominators -- 3 × 12 = 36.

So now our fractions look like this:

12
36
12
36

Step 2

Since our denominators match, we can subtract the numerators.

12 − 12 = 0

So the answer is:

0
36
Zero divided by anything is just zero. So that's the final answer:
0