math help

What is 24/5 + 6/12?

What is 24/5 + 6/12?

Here's how you add

24
5
+
6
12

Step 1

Can you add yet? Nope! The denominators don't match. We need a common denominator. So next we take both denominators and multiply them. Next, take each numerator and multiply it by the denominator of the other term.

So, we multiply 24 by 12, and get 288, then we multiply 5 by 12 and get 60.

24/5 times 12

Now for the second term. You multiply 6 by 5, and get 30, then multiply 5 by 12 and get 60.

6/12 times 5

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

288
60
+
30
60

Step 2

Since our denominators match, we can add the numerators.

288 + 30 = 318

That gives us the sum, which is

318
60

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:

318
60
÷ 2 =
159
30

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...

Are both the numerator and the denominator evenly divisible by 3? Yes! So we reduce it:

159
30
÷ 3 =
53
10

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 5...

No good. So next you try the next prime number, which is 7...

No good. So next you try the next prime number, which is 11...

No good. 11 is larger than 10. So we're done reducing.

And we're done! Here's the final answer to 24/5 + 6/12

24
5
+
6
12
=
53
10
© 2014 Randy Tayler