math help

What is 50/8 + 1/3?

What is 50/8 + 1/3?

This is how to add

50
8
+
1
3

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 50 by 3, and get 150, then we multiply 8 by 3 and get 24.

50/8 times 3

Do the same for the second term. We multiply 1 by 8, and get 8, then multiply 8 by 3 and get 24.

1/3 times 8

The problem now has new fractions to add:

150
24
+
8
24

Step 2

Since our denominators match, we can add the numerators.

150 + 8 = 158

The sum we get is

158
24

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:

158
24
÷ 2 =
79
12

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. 13 is larger than 12. So we're done reducing.

And we're done! Here's the final answer to 50/8 + 1/3

50
8
+
1
3
=
79
12
© 2014 Randy Tayler