simplifying fractions

Improper fractions and cancelling down tog ether 8... How to simplifyJust look at these fractions and decide which one is the simplest.. The way to simplify fractions is to make the top

Simplifying

Fractions

1 How to simplify

2 More simplifying

3 Fractions that cannot be simplified

4 Activity

5 Improper fractions

6 More improper fractions

7 Improper fractions and cancelling down tog ether

8 Activity

9 Mini Test

How to simplify

Just look at these fractions and decide which one is the simplest

You probably chose, which represents a half All these other fractions can be simplified and they are the

same as

1

1 2

The way to simplify fractions is to make the top and bottom

numbers smaller You can only do this by finding a number that divides into them Any other method would change the value of the fraction This is sometimes called cancelling down.

For the top number:

4 ÷ 4 = 1

For the bottom number:

8 ÷ 4 = 2

So = 1 over 2, which is the same as 1

2

More simplifying

Take a look at these fractions:

To simplify fractions you must find a number to divide both the top and the botto

m number by

Does 2 divide into 4 and 6 exactly without a remainder?

4 ÷ 2 = 2 So 2 goes into 4 exactly.

6 ÷ 2 = 3 So 2 goes into 6 exactly.

That means that can be simplified to because 2 goes

into 4 and into 6.

4

4

Now simplify the other

fractions.

Fractions that cannot be simplified

Take a look at these fractions:

What do you notice about them? Can they be simplified?

There is no number that can go into both the top number and the

bottom number exactly, so these fractions cannot be simplified an

y further.

3

4 4 5 7 8 11 9

3

Improper fractions

Take a look at these fractions:

What do you notice about them?

These are called improper or 'top heavy' fractions

4

2 Now simplify the other 6 3 8 4 10 5

fractions.

More improper fractions

Take a look at these fractions:

The bottom number can be divided into the top number to

simplify the fraction into whole numbers, but it doesn't divide e xactly There is a remainder which should be written as a fractio

n

Let's have a look at the first example:

9

9 4

When we have a denominator of 4 we are dealing with quarters 4 quarters

equal one whole, or 1

8 quarters equal two wholes, or 2 One more quarter is 9 quarters, and that

will be 2 and 1 quarter left over.

When we have 9 quarters that means that we have two wholes and one quarter left over, so can be simplified to

read 9

4

Improper fractions and cancelling down together

Let's look at simplifying the following fractions:

7 ÷ 2 = 3 remainder 1 That means one half left as a

remainder

So =

7

2

2

Now simplify the other

fractions.