math help

What is 3/6 - 1/2?

What is 3/6 - 1/2?

Here's how to subtract 1/2 from 3/6:

3
6
1
2

Step 1

We can't subtract two fractions with different denominators. So you need to get a common denominator. To do this, you'll multiply the denominators times each other... but the numerators have to change, too. They get multiplied by the other term's denominator.

So we multiply 3 by 2, and get 6.

Then we multiply 1 by 6, and get 6.

Next we give both terms new denominators -- 6 × 2 = 12.

So now our fractions look like this:

6
12
6
12

Step 2

Since our denominators match, we can subtract the numerators.

6 − 6 = 0

So the answer is:

0
12
Zero divided by anything is just zero. So that's the final answer:
0