2. Write the number as a proper fraction.
- 0.142857143 can be written as a proper fraction.
- A proper fraction = the numerator is smaller than the denominator..
Write down the number divided by 1, as a fraction:
0.142857143 = 0.142857143/1
Turn the top number into a whole number.
- Multiply both the top and the bottom by the same number.
- This number is: 1,000,000,000.
- 1 followed by as many 0-s as the number of digits after the decimal point.
0.142857143/1 =
(0.142857143 × 1,000,000,000)/(1 × 1,000,000,000) =
142,857,143/1,000,000,000
3. Reduce (simplify) the fraction above:
142,857,143/1,000,000,000
to the lowest terms, to its simplest equivalent form, irreducible.
To reduce a fraction to the lowest terms divide the numerator and denominator by their greatest (highest) common factor (divisor), GCF.
Factor the numerator and denominator (prime factorization).
142,857,143 = 11 × 13 × 19 × 52,579
1,000,000,000 = 29 × 59
Calculate the greatest (highest) common factor (divisor), GCF.
Multiply all the common prime factors by the lowest exponents.
But, the numerator and the denominator have no common factors.
GCF (11 × 13 × 19 × 52,579; 29 × 59) = 1
The numerator and the denominator are coprime numbers (no common prime factors, GCF = 1). So, the fraction cannot be reduced (simplified): irreducible fraction.