Question

Subtract the following fractions using the common denominator/equivalent fractions method. Show all of your work.

7/6 - 1/4
7/8 - 1/2

Answer 1

To subtract fractions, we find a common denominator, convert the fractions to equivalent fractions with this denominator, and then subtract the numerators. For 7/6 - 1/4, the answer is 11/12, and for 7/8 - 1/2, the answer is 3/8.

Step-by-step explanation:

To subtract the fractions using the common denominator method, we need to find a common denominator for each pair of fractions and then subtract the numerators.

Example 1: Subtracting 7/6 - 1/4

The least common denominator (LCD) for 6 and 4 is 12. Therefore, we convert each fraction to an equivalent fraction with a denominator of 12:

• 7/6 becomes (7×2)/(6×2) = 14/12
• 1/4 becomes (1×3)/(4×3) = 3/12

We now subtract the numerators:

• 14/12 - 3/12 = 11/12

Example 2: Subtracting 7/8 - 1/2

The least common denominator for 8 and 2 is 8. We convert 1/2 to an equivalent fraction with a denominator of 8:

• 1/2 becomes (1×4)/(2×4) = 4/8

Then we subtract the numerators:

• 7/8 - 4/8 = 3/8

This method ensures that we never add or subtract denominators, but only the numerators after creating equivalent fractions with a common denominator.