Question

Is there a specific rule to follow when dividing simplified fractions? i mean if you were to have the numerator and demoninator you divide them by two four? or is it optional?

Answer 1

for dividing you keep the first fraction as is but with the second one you switch the top and bottom denominator and multiply those.

For Example if my equation was 7/9 divided by 4/5 then you would do 7/9 X 5/4 = 35/36

Answer 2

Explanation:

This method consists of multiplying the numerator of the first fraction by the denominator of the second fraction and then writing the answer in the resulting fraction’s numerator.

Next, we multiply the denominator of the first fraction by the numerator of the second fraction, and then write the answer in the resulting fraction’s denominator*.

Lastly, we simplify the final fraction.

For example, in order to divide the fraction

dividing fractions

We multiply the numerator of the first fraction (3) by the denominator of the second fraction (10). This gives us the numerator for the final fraction: 3 x 10 = 30.

Next, we multiply the denominator of the first fraction (4) by the numerator of the second fraction (6). This gives us the denominator of the final fraction: 4 x 6 = 24.

dividing fractions

The last step is to simplify the fraction. Since both numbers are multiples of 6, we can divide the numerator and denominator by 6.

30 ÷ 6 = 5

24 ÷ 6 = 4

Therefore, the result of the division is 5/4.

dividing fractions

Method 2 of dividing fractions: Inverting and multiplying

Step 1: Invert the second fraction. That is, swap the numerator for the denominator.

Step 2: Simplify any numerator with any denominator.

Step 3: Multiply across.

For example, we are going to divide:

dividing fractions

Step 1: We invert the second fraction 6/4. This becomes 4/6.

Step 2: We simplify the numerators with the denominators.

Numerators are:

12 = 2 x 2 x 3

4 = 2 × 2

Denominators are:

5 = 5

6 = 2 × 3

We can simplify both from numerator and denominator a 2 and a 3. We call this process “cross canceling” if one numerator has a common factor with the other denominator.

And we multiply across:

dividing fractions