Answer:
Steps to add fractions:
1. Reduce each of the fractions to its lowest term.
2. Find a common denominator for all the fractions in the problem. Changing the denominators will change the numerator too.
3. Combine the fractions now that they have the same denominator.
4. Add all numbers in the numerator together.
5. Simplify by reducing the final fraction to its lowest terms.
Explanation:
In fractions, the numerator means the top number. The denominator means the bottom number.
Here is an example problem:
1. Reduce each fraction to lowest terms. This means to make sure that the top and bottom number don't have any common factors (numbers they can both divide by that are not 1).
1/2 is in the lowest terms. The only number they can both divide by is 1.
4/12 is not in the lowest terms. They can both divide by 4.
Reduce 4/12 by dividing the top and bottom number by 4.
1/3 is in the lowest terms because the only number that the numerator and denominator can both divide by is 1.
The question now becomes
.
2. Find a common denominator. This means that 1/2 and 1/3 have to get the same bottom numbers.
If you change the bottom number in a fraction, you also have to change the top number to make sure it's still equal.
How do you make 2 and 3 the same? They can both becomes 6, the common denominator.
Multiply the entire first fraction by 3.
Multiply the entire second fraction by 2.
The problem now becomes
.
3. Combine the fractions. Because they have the same bottom number, you can just put them together:
4. Add the numbers in the numerator (top number) together.
5. Reduce to lowest terms.
5/6 is already in its lowest terms. The top and bottoms numbers don't have anything they can both divide by that is not 1.
5/6 would be the final answer.