What is 4/8 + 1/2?

Let's add

Step 1

Now we need to make our denominators match.

8 goes into 2 evenly, so we only need to multiply one term to get a common denominator.

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

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

Step 2

Since our denominators match, we can add the numerators.

4 + 4 = 8

That gives us the sum, which is

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:

Let's try dividing by that again...

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

Let's try dividing by that again...

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

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 4/8 + 1/2