math help

What is 48/30 + 2/6?

What is 48/30 + 2/6?

This is how you add

48
30
+
2
6

Step 1

We have to make sure the denominators are equal.

Since 6 is evenly divided by 30, we can multiply just one term to get a common denominator.

Multiply 2 by 5, and get 10, then we multiply 6 by 5 and get 30.

2/6 times 5

The problem now has new fractions to add:

48
30
+
10
30

Step 2

Since our denominators match, we can add the numerators.

48 + 10 = 58

The sum we get is

58
30

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:

58
30
÷ 2 =
29
15

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...

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. So next you try the next prime number, which is 13...

No good. So next you try the next prime number, which is 17...

No good. 17 is larger than 15. So we're done reducing.

And we're done! Here's the final answer to 48/30 + 2/6

48
30
+
2
6
=
29
15
© 2014 Randy Tayler