math help

What is 57/7 + 5/10?

What is 57/7 + 5/10?

This is how you add

57
7
+
5
10

Step 1

Can you add yet? Nope! The denominators don't match. We need a common denominator. So next we take both denominators and multiply them. Next, take each numerator and multiply it by the denominator of the other term.

So, we multiply 57 by 10, and get 570, then we multiply 7 by 10 and get 70.

57/7 times 10

Now for the second term. You multiply 5 by 7, and get 35, then multiply 7 by 10 and get 70.

5/10 times 7

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

570
70
+
35
70

Step 2

Since our denominators match, we can add the numerators.

570 + 35 = 605

That gives us the sum, which is

605
70

Step 3

Now, do we need to simplify this fraction?

First, we attempt to divide it by 2...

Nope. Try the next prime number, 3...

Nope. Try the next prime number, 5...

Are both the numerator and the denominator evenly divisible by 5? Yes! So we reduce it:

605
70
÷ 5 =
121
14

Now, try the same number again.

Nope. Try the next prime number, 7...

Nope. Try the next prime number, 11...

Nope. Try the next prime number, 13...

Nope. Try the next prime number, 17...

No good. 17 is larger than 14. So we're done reducing.

Congratulations! Here's your final answer to 57/7 + 5/10

57
7
+
5
10
=
121
14
© 2014 Randy Tayler