math help

What is 10/100 + 2/10?

What is 10/100 + 2/10?

This is how we add

10
100
+
2
10

Step 1

We have to make sure the denominators are equal.

Since 10 is evenly divided by 100, we can multiply just one term to get a common denominator.

Multiply 2 by 10, and get 20, then we multiply 10 by 10 and get 100.

2/10 times 10

The problem now has new fractions to add:

10
100
+
20
100

Step 2

Since our denominators match, we can add the numerators.

10 + 20 = 30

This yields the answer

30
100

Step 3

The last step is to reduce the fraction if we can.

To find out, we try dividing it by 2...

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

30
100
÷ 2 =
15
50

So far so good... let's try to divide by that number again.

No good. So next you try the next prime number, which is 3...

No good. So next you try the next prime number, which is 5...

Are both the numerator and the denominator evenly divisible by 5? Yes! So we reduce it:

15
50
÷ 5 =
3
10

So far so good... let's try to divide by that number again.

No good. 5 is larger than 3. So we're done reducing.

And we're done! Here's the final answer to 10/100 + 2/10

10
100
+
2
10
=
3
10
© 2014 Randy Tayler