math help

What is 96/2 + 3/9?

What is 96/2 + 3/9?

Here's how you add

96
2
+
3
9

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 96 by 9, and get 864, then we multiply 2 by 9 and get 18.

96/2 times 9

Do the same for the second term. We multiply 3 by 2, and get 6, then multiply 2 by 9 and get 18.

3/9 times 2

The problem now has new fractions to add:

864
18
+
6
18

Step 2

Since our denominators match, we can add the numerators.

864 + 6 = 870

The sum we get is

870
18

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:

870
18
÷ 2 =
435
9

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...

Are both the numerator and the denominator evenly divisible by 3? Yes! So we reduce it:

435
9
÷ 3 =
145
3

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 5...

No good. 5 is larger than 3. So we're done reducing.

And we're done! Here's the final answer to 96/2 + 3/9

96
2
+
3
9
=
145
3
© 2014 Randy Tayler