Answer:
1/20
Explanation:
To multiply two fractions, you simply multiply their numerators (top numbers) together and multiply their denominators (bottom numbers) together.
So, for 2/5 x 1/8, we have:
(2/5) x (1/8) = (2 x 1) / (5 x 8) = 2/40 = 1/20
Therefore, 2/5 x 1/8 is equal to 1/20.
Multiplying the numerators and denominators directly is the most straightforward method to solve the multiplication of fractions. However, there is another method called cross-multiplication, which you can use to solve this problem as well.
To use cross-multiplication, you multiply the numerator of the first fraction by the denominator of the second fraction, and then multiply the denominator of the first fraction by the numerator of the second fraction.
Then, you simplify the resulting fraction.
So, for 2/5 x 1/8, we have:
(2/5) x (1/8) = (2 x 1) / (5 x 8)
Cross-multiplying, we get:
(2/5) x (1/8) = (2 x 1) / (5 x 8) = (2 x 1) / (5 x 8) = 2/40
Simplifying the fraction 2/40, we can divide both the numerator and denominator by 2, to get:
2/40 = 1/20
Therefore, using cross-multiplication, we get the same answer as before:
2/5 x 1/8 is equal to 1/20.