Lesson4

Fractions

1st course of ESO

Carlos Alberto Cortijo Bon

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Table of contents
1.Fractions..................................................................................................................................................1 2.Properandimproperfractions.Mixednumbers......................................................................................2 3.Equivalentfractions.................................................................................................................................3 3.1.Buildingequivalentfractions.................................................................................................................. 4 3.2.Irreduciblefractions............................................................................................................................... 4 4.Reductionoffractionstoacommondenominator...................................................................................5 4.1.Reductiontotheproductofthedenominators.......................................................................................5 4.2.Reductiontotheleastcommonmultiple................................................................................................ 5 5.Operationswithfractions.........................................................................................................................6 5.1.Additionandsubtractionoffractions..................................................................................................... 6 5.2.Multiplicationoffractions...................................................................................................................... 6 5.3.Divisionoffractions............................................................................................................................... 7

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Mathematics Lesson 4: Fractions

1st course of ESO

1. Fractions
A fraction represents the result of dividing a whole in a specified number of equal parts and taking a specified number of those equal parts. Example:

3 4

3 is the numerator,of the fraction. 4 is the denominator of the fraction.

3 represents the result of dividing a whole in 4 equal parts and taking three of those parts. 4
There are different ways in which a fraction can be seen.

Fraction as a part of a unit:

dividing the pizza in 4 equal parts and taking 3 of those parts. The whole pizza would be

3 of a pizza results from 4

4 , which is equivalent to 4

3 of a pizza 4

1 (one unit).

Fraction as an operator: If the pizza weighs 480g, then:

Each portion weighs

The whole pizza weighs

480g 1 of the pizza weighs 4 480g 4 =120 g

3 of the pizza weigh 3120g =360g 4 3 of 480= 480 43 =360 In short: 4 4803 4

480g 4 =120 g . This 1 corresponds to . 4 1 Thus, of 480 is 120 . 4 1 3 represents three times which is 4 4 3120 g =360 multiply by 3 and divide by 4 3 of 480= =360 or 4 divide by 4 and multiply by 3 3 Thus, of 480g is 360g . 4

Carlos Alberto Cortijo Bon

Mathematics Lesson 4: Fractions

1st course of ESO

Fraction as a division: A fraction can be seen as a division that is left undone. But we can actually make the division.

The whole pizza is the unit,

3 = 3 4= 0.75 4

3 = 3 4= 0.75 4

Fraction as a percentage: The result of dividing is multiplied by 100. In our case:

The whole pizza is

1=100 % 3 of the pizza is 0.75= 75 % 4

3 = 3 4= 0.75=0.75100 % =75 % 4

2. Proper and improper fractions. Mixed numbers

A proper fraction has a numerator that is smaller than the denominator. A proper fraction represents a quantity less than one unit. An improper fraction has a numerator that is equal to or bigger than the denominator. An improper fraction represents a quantity bigger than one unit.

3 1 4

3 is a proper fraction. 4
The numerator is smaller than the denominator. It is less than one unit

4 =1 4

4 is an improper fraction. 4
The numerator is equal to the denominator. It is equal to one unit

Carlos Alberto Cortijo Bon

Mathematics Lesson 4: Fractions

1st course of ESO

5 is an improper fraction. 4

5 1 4

The numerator is bigger than the denominator. It is bigger than one unit.

An improper fraction can be represented as a mixed number, consisting of a natural number and a proper fraction.

5 is an improper fraction. 4
It is equal to one unit plus This is represented as

1 . 4

1 as a mixed number. 4

11 is an improper fraction. 4 3 It is equal to two units plus . 4 3 This is represented as 2 as a mixed number. 4
How do we obtain the mixed number equivalent to a given improper fraction? For instance:
17 2 5 3

17 . 5

1. We divide numerator by denominator, without decimals, obtaining quotient and remainder.

2. We build the mixed number as follows:

17 __ 5

2 = 3 __ 5

17 2

5 3

Denominator: Denominator of the original fraction. Integer part: Quotient of the division. Numerator: Remainder of the division.

3. Equivalent fractions
Two fractions are equivalent if their cross products are the same.

1 3 and equivalent? Their cross products are 16 =6 and 23=6 . The cross products 2 6 1 3 are the same. Thus, and are equivalent. 2 6
Are

Carlos Alberto Cortijo Bon

Mathematics Lesson 4: Fractions

1st course of ESO

1 __ 2

3 __ 6

6 =6 equivalent fractions {1 23=6 }

2 5 and equivalent? Their cross products are 26= 12 and 35 =15 . The cross 3 6 2 5 products are different. Thus, and are not equivalent. 3 6
Are

2 __ 3

5 __ 6

6=12 non-equivalent fractions {2 35 =15 }

3.1. Building equivalent fractions

An equivalent fraction can be obtained by: 1. Expanding the fraction. A fraction is expanded by multiplying numerator and denominator by the same natural number.

1 12 2 = = 2 22 4

We can multiply numerator and denominator by by other numbers to obtain more fractions equivalent to

1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 . = = = = = = = =... 2 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

2. Simplifying the fraction. A fraction is simplified by dividing numerator and denominator by a common divisor. Let's try to find equivalent fractions to

12 . The common divisors of 12 and 18 are: 2 , 3 18 12 12 2 6 12 3 4 12 6 2 and 6 . Thus, equivalent fractions to are = , = and = . In 18 182 9 183 6 186 3 12 6 4 2 other words: = = = . 18 9 6 3

3.2. Irreducible fractions

An irreducible fraction is a fraction that cannot be reduced. In other words, a fraction in which the numerator and denominator have no common divisors other than 1. There are two ways of obtaining the irreducible fraction equivalent to a given fraction: 1. Simplify repeatedly a fraction until we obtain an irreducible fraction.

Carlos Alberto Cortijo Bon

Mathematics Lesson 4: Fractions For instance:

1st course of ESO

12 12 2 6 6 3 2 2 = = = = . is irreducible because 2 and 3 have no 18 18 2 9 9 3 3 3

common divisors other than 1. 2. Divide both numerator and denominator by their gcd (greatest common divisor). For instance:

12 . 12= 223 , 18= 23 2 . gcd 12,18 =23=6. The irreducible fraction 18 12 12 6 2 equivalent to is = . 18 186 3

4. Reduction of fractions to a common denominator

It is very easy to compare, sum or subtract fractions with the same denominator. For instance:

2 1 6 , and . 5 5 5

We can order them from smallest to largest by comparing their numerators:

1 2 6 5 5 5

We can sum and subtract them and the result is another fraction with the same denominator:

1 2 1 2 3 1 2 6 1 2 6 9 6 2 6 2 4 6 1 2 6 1 2 7 = = , = = , = = , = = 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

If two fractions have not the same denominator, we cannot directly sum, subtract or compare them:

2 4 =? 3 5

Which is larger,

2 4 or ? 3 5

We first have to reduce them to common denominator. This consists in obtaining two equivalent fractions with the same denominator. There are two ways of reducing two fractions to common denominator.

4.1. Reduction to the product of the denominators

We multiply numerator and denominator of each fraction by the denominator of the other fraction.

Example: reduce

5 3 and to common denominator. 6 4 5 by 4 : 6 3 by 6 : 4 5 54 20 = = 6 64 24 3 36 18 = = 4 46 24

We multiply numerator and denominator of

We multiply numerator and denominator of

4.2. Reduction to the least common multiple

Carlos Alberto Cortijo Bon 5

Mathematics Lesson 4: Fractions

1st course of ESO

The common denominator is the least common multiple. The new denominator is the old numerator multiplied by the result of dividing the least common multiple by the old denominator.

Example: reduce

5 3 and to common denominator. 6 4 lcm 6,4 =12 3 3 12 4 9 = = 4 12 12

The common denominator is

5 5 12 6 10 = = 6 12 12

In general, it is better to reduce to the least common multiple, because we obtain simpler fractions

5. Operations with fractions

The fractions are numbers, so that they can be added, subtracted, multiplied and divided. A natural number can be expressed as a fraction with denominator

5 1 . For example: 5= . 1

5.1. Addition and subtraction of fractions

If the fractions have the same denominator:

The denominator of the result is the same. The numerator is the addition or subtraction of the numerators.

3 2 32 5 = = 7 7 7 7

3 2 32 1 = = 7 7 7 7

If the fractions have different denominators, we first reduce them to common denominator and then add or subtract them.

8 3 16 9 25 = = 15 10 30 30 30 lcm 15,10 =30 ,

8 3 16 9 7 = = 15 10 30 30 30

8 8 3015 82 16 3 3 30 10 33 9 = = = , = = = 15 30 30 30 10 30 30 30

5.2. Multiplication of fractions

a c ac = b d bd
The numerator is the product of the numerators. The denominator is the product of the denominators.

Carlos Alberto Cortijo Bon

Mathematics Lesson 4: Fractions Example:

1st course of ESO

1 2 12 2 = = 3 5 35 15

5.3. Division of fractions

The inverse of a fraction results from swapping numerator and denominator. The inverse of

2 3 1 3 3 1 is . The inverse of is = 3 . The inverse of 3= is . 3 2 3 1 1 3

The division of two fractions is the product of the first and the inverse of the second.

a c a d ad = = b d b c bc
Example:

The numerator is the product of the numerators. The denominator is the product of the denominators.

1 2 1 5 15 5 = = = 3 5 3 2 32 6

Carlos Alberto Cortijo Bon

Mathematics Lesson 4: Fractions

1st course of ESO

Glossary
Fill in the blanks to complete the glossary English Numerador Denominador Proper fraction Improper fraction Nmero mixto Fraccin irreducible Fraccin inversa Spanish

Carlos Alberto Cortijo Bon