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1 vote
Is 5/6 equal to 2/3?

1 Answer

6 votes

Answer: They are not equal

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Work Shown:

For now, let's assume they are equal. We'll show a contradiction happens.

5/6 = 2/3

5*3 = 6*2 ... cross multiply

15 = 12 ... here's the contradiction

If the original equation was true, then we would get the same thing on both sides in the final step shown above. However, we get a contradiction, so that means the original equation is false.

Furthermore, the left side is larger in the third step, so the left side is larger for each of the three steps. We can then say

5/6 > 2/3

5*3 > 6*2

15 > 12

Which helps show 5/6 is larger than 2/3.

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Or you can use a calculator to see that

5/6 = 0.833 approximately

2/3 = 0.667 approximately

which shows the two fractions aren't equal and 5/6 is larger.

User Jebaseelan Ravi
by
6.3k points
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