math help

What is 45/3 + 2/4?

What is 45/3 + 2/4?

Here's how you add

45
3
+
2
4

Step 1

Of course, you can't add two fractions if the denominators (bottom numbers) don't match. To get a common denominator, multiply the denominators together. Then we fix the numerators by multiplying each one by their other term's denominator.

Now you multiply 45 by 4, and get 180, then we multiply 3 by 4 and get 12.

45/3 times 4

Do the same for the second term. We multiply 2 by 3, and get 6, then multiply 3 by 4 and get 12.

2/4 times 3

The problem now has new fractions to add:

180
12
+
6
12

Step 2

Since our denominators match, we can add the numerators.

180 + 6 = 186

The sum we get is

186
12

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:

186
12
÷ 2 =
93
6

Let's try dividing by that again...

Nope! So now we try the next greatest prime number, 3...

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

93
6
÷ 3 =
31
2

Let's try dividing by that again...

No good. 3 is larger than 2. So we're done reducing.

There you have it! Here's the final answer to 45/3 + 2/4

45
3
+
2
4
=
31
2
© 2014 Randy Tayler