math help

What is 2/8 + 1/4?

What is 2/8 + 1/4?

Let's add

2
8
+
1
4

Step 1

Now we need to make our denominators match.

8 goes into 4 evenly, so we only need to multiply one term to get a common denominator.

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

1/4 times 2

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

2
8
+
2
8

Step 2

Since our denominators match, we can add the numerators.

2 + 2 = 4

That gives us the sum, which is

4
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:

4
8
÷ 2 =
2
4

Let's try dividing by that again...

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

2
4
÷ 2 =
1
2

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 2/8 + 1/4

2
8
+
1
4
=
1
2
© 2014 Randy Tayler