QuestionSubtracting Fractions - Item 20117
Learning
What is the difference?
1
Studdy Solution
STEP 1
What is this asking? We need to subtract two fractions and find the simplest form of the result. Watch out! We can't subtract fractions unless they have the **same denominator**!
STEP 2
1. Find a Common Denominator
2. Subtract the Numerators
3. Simplify the Result
STEP 3
Alright, let's get these fractions speaking the same language!
We've got and .
Notice that **12** is a multiple of **3**: .
So, **12** is our **common denominator**!
STEP 4
We need to rewrite with a denominator of **12**.
To do this, we'll multiply the top and bottom by **4**.
Remember, multiplying by is the same as multiplying by **one**, so it doesn't change the *value* of the fraction, just how it looks!
STEP 5
Now that our fractions have the **same denominator**, we can subtract them!
We subtract the numerators and keep the denominator the same.
It's like subtracting apples from apples – we're subtracting twelfths from twelfths!
STEP 6
Let's do the subtraction: .
So, we have:
STEP 7
is a correct answer, but we can simplify it!
Both **3** and **12** are divisible by **3**.
Let's divide both the numerator and the denominator by **3**.
Dividing by is just dividing by **one**, which doesn't change the *value* of our fraction!
STEP 8
The difference between and is .
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