math help

What is 30/50 + 1/5?

What is 30/50 + 1/5?

This is how you add

30
50
+
1
5

Step 1

We have to make sure the denominators are equal.

Since 5 is evenly divided by 50, we can multiply just one term to get a common denominator.

Multiply 1 by 10, and get 10, then we multiply 5 by 10 and get 50.

1/5 times 10

The problem now has new fractions to add:

30
50
+
10
50

Step 2

Since our denominators match, we can add the numerators.

30 + 10 = 40

The sum we get is

40
50

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:

40
50
÷ 2 =
20
25

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:

20
25
÷ 5 =
4
5

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

No good. 5 is larger than 4. So we're done reducing.

And we're done! Here's the final answer to 30/50 + 1/5

30
50
+
1
5
=
4
5
© 2014 Randy Tayler