Question

What is the ratio 175 to 250 written in fraction in LOWEST TERMS?

What is the ratio 16 to 40 written in fraction in LOWEST TERMS ?

Answer 1

For 175 : 250 divide them both by 25 to get
`(7)/(10)` <
`(175)/(250)`
25 goes into 175 > 7 times > 25 into 250 is 10 times! >
`(7)/(10)`
For the second one 16 : 40 just divide the top and bottom by 8 since 8 is a common factor of both which will give us
`(2)/(5)`.
8 goes into 16, 2 times and 40, 5 times.

Answer 2

Well, factor each to find the GCF of the two numbers in a ratio, then divide by the GCF to simplify the fraction.

175 250
/ \ / \
25 7 25 10
/ \ / \ / \
5 5 5 5 5 2

So the GCF of the two numbers in the ratio is 5 * 5 = 25.

(175/250) / (25/25) = 7/10

Now we do the same with 16 and 40:

16 40
/ \ / \
4 4 10 4
/ \ / \ / \ / \
2 2 2 2 5 2 2 2

GCF = 2 * 2 * 2 = 8

(16 / 40) / (8 / 8) = 2/5