math help

What is 4/8 + 1/2?

What is 4/8 + 1/2?

Let's add

4
8
+
1
2

Step 1

Now we need to make our denominators match.

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

Multiply 1 by 4, and get 4, then we multiply 2 by 4 and get 8.

1/2 times 4

We now have a new problem, that looks like this:

4
8
+
4
8

Step 2

Since our denominators match, we can add the numerators.

4 + 4 = 8

That gives us the sum, which is

8
8

Step 3

Now, do we need to simplify this fraction?

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

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

8
8
÷ 2 =
4
4

Let's try dividing by that again...

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 4/8 + 1/2

4
8
+
1
2
=
1
1
= 1
© 2014 Randy Tayler