What is 1/2 + 2/4?

This is how you add

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.

This gives us a new problem that looks like so:

Step 2

Since our denominators match, we can add the numerators.

2 + 2 = 4

That gives us an answer of

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:

Let's try dividing by that again...

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

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