Question

Janessa wants to order these fractions: 4/9, 2/3, 1/6, -2 1/2. What should she use as her common denominator?

Answer 1

the answer is 18

Explanation:

9 x 2= 18

3 x 6 = 18

6 x 3 = 18

2 x 9 = 18

Answer 2

18

Explanation:

The given fractions are:

`(4)/(9),(2)/(3) ,(1)/(6),-2(1)/(2)`

We can change the mixed number to a proper fraction to get;

`(4)/(9),(2)/(3) ,(1)/(6),-(5)/(2)`

Janessa needs to find the least common multiple of the denominators.

The denominators are;
`9,3,6,2`

We can express each of the denominators as product of primes.

`9=3^2`

`3=3`

`6=2*3`

`2=2`

The least common multiple of these numbers is the product of the highest powers common to all the numbers.

The LCD is
`2*3^2=18`