math help

What is 7/16 + 7/8?

What is 7/16 + 7/8?

This is how we add

7
16
+
7
8

Step 1

We have to make sure the denominators are equal.

Since 8 is evenly divided by 16, we can multiply just one term to get a common denominator.

Multiply 7 by 2, and get 14, then we multiply 8 by 2 and get 16.

7/8 times 2

The problem now has new fractions to add:

7
16
+
14
16

Step 2

Since our denominators match, we can add the numerators.

7 + 14 = 21

The sum we get is

21
16

Step 3

The last step is to reduce the fraction if we can.

To find out, we try dividing it by 2...

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 16. So we're done reducing.

And we're done! Here's the final answer to 7/16 + 7/8

7
16
+
7
8
=
21
16
© 2014 Randy Tayler