OPERATIONS ON

FRACTIONS
Definition of fraction
Parts of Fraction
Classification of Fractions.
Problem Solving. Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication
and Division involving different class of fractions
 LEARNING COMPETENCY
The learners
1. Perform fundamental operations on fractions and
decimals
 OBJECTIVES – SESSION 1
Describe what fraction is and its parts

Explain the fundamental operations of fraction:

Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division
 FRACTION
A fraction is a part of a whole written in the form a/b.

The variable a above the fraction bar is called the

numerator. It tells how many parts of the whole are being
considered.

The variable b below the fraction bar is called the

denominator. It indicates into how many equal parts a
whole is divided.
 FRACTION
A number in the form

Numerator
Denominator

Or
N
D
 FRACTION
The denominator can never be equal to 0.

12 Does not
=
0 exist!
 FRACTION
A fraction with a numerator of 0 equals 0.

0 0
= 0 = 0
4 156
EQUIVALENT FRACTIONS
A B C

6/9 4/6 2/3

 EXPRESSING FRACTIONS IN
SIMPLEST FORM
To reduce a fraction in lowest terms or to express it in
simplest form, divide both the numerator and the
denominator by their GCF. For instance, in fraction 8/16,
divide the terms by 8, which is the GCF of 8 and 10, as
shown below:
8 8÷8 1
16 16 ÷ 8 2
SIMILAR and DISSIMILAR FRACTIONS
Two or more fractions may be classified as similar or
dissimilar depending on their denominator. Similar
fractions are those that have the same denominator, like:
7 & 1
9 9
Dissimilar fractions are those that have different
denominators, like:
3 & 4
7 9
PROPER and IMPROPER FRACTIONS
A proper fraction is a fraction whose numerator is less than
its denominator. For example,
7 & 1
9 9

An improper fraction is a fraction whose numerator is

greater than or equal to its denominator. For example,
7 & 3 & 9
3 3 4
 MIX NUMBER
When a number is expressed as a whole number and a
proper fraction, it is called a mixed number. For instance,
1 & 3
2 5
3 7
 MIX NUMBER
When a number is expressed as a whole number and a
proper fraction, it is called a mixed number. For instance,
1 & 3
2 5
3 7
 MATH WITH FRACTIONS
Four basic functions

• Multiply

• Divide

• Add

• Subtract
Multiplication
• Multiply the numerators and put in
the numerator of the result

• Multiply the denominators and put

in the denominator of the result

7 4 7x4 28
x = =
8 9 8x9 72
Multiplication - Let’s Try It!

7 1 7 4 9 36
x = x =
9 2 18 7 11 77

7 1 7 30 7 210
x = x =
5 3 15 4 14 56
210 These numbers get
pretty big!
56
What if we needed
to multiply again?

Let’s make the fraction more simple,

so it will be easier to use in the future.
Simplification
• Divide by the Greatest Common Factor

28
But what is a
72
Common Factor?
Factors
• A factor is a number that can be divided
into another number with no remainder
• 8’s factors are:
• 1 (8/1 =8)
• 2 (8/2 = 4)
• 4 (8/4 = 2)
• 8 (8/8 = 1)
• 3 is NOT a factor of 8, because 8 is not evenly divisible by 3
(8/3 = 2 with R=3)
Common Factors
• A common factor is a factor that
two numbers have in common
• For example, 7 is a factor of both 21 and 105,
so it is a common factor of the two.
• The greatest common factor is the largest
factor that the two number share

So let’s go back to our simplification

problem from before…
Simplification
• Divide both numerator and denominator by
the Greatest Common Factor

Factors are 1, 2, 4, 7, 14, 28

28
Factors are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 18, 24, 48, 72
72
Greatest Common Factor is 4

28 ÷ 4 = 7 28 7
So =
72 ÷ 4 = 18 72 18
Simplification - Let’s Try It!

3 1 7 1 18 2
= = =
9 3 21 3 63 7

24 2 6 2 78 13
= = =
84 7 15 5 114 19
Division
• Just like multiplication with one more step
• Invert the second fraction and multiply

3 1 3 2 6
÷ = x =
8 2 8 1 8
 Division - Let’s Try It!

7 1 14 4 9 44
÷ = ÷ =
9 2 9 7 11 63

7 1 21 20 7 50
÷ = ÷ =
5 3 5 4 10 7
Addition
• To add two fractions, you must make
sure they have a Common Denominator

What is a
3 5 Common
+ Denominator?
8 16
Common Denominator
• A common denominator is a number with which
both of the denominators share at least one factor
that is not the number 1
• For example, if the denominators are 4 and 7, then a
common denominator is 28.
• 28 shares the factors 1, 2 and 4 with the number 4,
and the factors 1 and 7 with the number 7.

So let’s go back to our simplification

problem from before…
Addition
• To add two fractions, you must make sure
they have a Common Denominator
• What can you multiply each fraction by to give the
smallest common denominator?

8 goes into 16 two times 16 goes into 16 one time

3 5
+ 3 x 2 6 5 x 1 5
8 16 8 2 = 16 16 1 = 16
The smallest number that has
both of these as factors is 16 6 5 11
Once you have a common
+ =
denominator, add the numerators. 16 16 16
 Addition - Let’s Try It!

1 1 3 4 2 1
+ = + =
4 2 4 16 8 2

6 2 17 13 3 25
+ = + =
8 3 12 16 4 16
 Subtraction
• To subtract two fractions, they also must
have a Common Denominator
• What can you multiply each fraction by to
give the smallest common denominator?

8 goes into 16 two times 16 goes into 16 one time

3 - 5 3 x 2 6 5 x 1 5
8 16 8 2 = 16 16 1 = 16

The smallest number that has

6 5 1
both of these as factors is 16
- =
Once you have a common
denominator, subtract the numerators.
16 16 16
Subtraction - Let’s Try It!

7 1 3 9 3 3
- = - =
8 2 8 16 8 16

6 1 1 5 7 13
- = - =
8 2 4 4 16 16
Review
• A fraction has a numerator and a denominator

• The denominator can never be 0

• You can multiply, divide, add and subtract fractions

• A common factor is a number that both

denominators are evenly divisible by
• A common denominator is a number that both
denominators share a factor with