Make a Fraction Manageable
What does reducing a fraction mean? It is taking both the numerator and the denominator to their lowest terms. For example, suppose you have the fraction ²⁄₄. You don’t want to leave that fraction hanging like that. Look at the fraction. What number will divide evenly into both 2 and 4? If you answered 2, then you are correct. Divide both 2 and 4 by 2. You will get 1 and 2; therefore, ²⁄₄ reduced to its lowest terms is ½.
Sometimes you might reduce a fraction and then realize that it can be reduced again. No worries! Just reduce again. That tends to happen when reducing bigger numbers. In fact, it can be helpful to break it down to better manageable numbers.
Since both numbers in the fraction, ⁴²⁄₉₈, are even let’s start by dividing each by 2 to get them smaller. That gives us 21 and 49. It is a lot easier to see that 7 goes into both of those numbers than it does the original problem. Perhaps you started off with a larger number like 7 or 14. No matter which number you choose to start reducing, the ending result will be the same. In this example, it is ³⁄₇.
