Analyze the fractions to be compared and ordered, by category:
negative proper fractions: - 278/427, - 268/425, - 298/443, - 290/409
Simplify the operation
Reduce (simplify) the fractions to their lowest terms equivalents:
- To reduce a fraction to the lowest terms equivalent: divide both the numerator and denominator by their greatest common factor, GCF.
The fraction: - 278/427
- 278/427 is already reduced to the lowest terms.
The numerator and denominator have no common prime factors:
- 278 = 2 × 139
- 427 = 7 × 61
- GCF (278; 427) = 1
The fraction: - 268/425
- 268/425 is already reduced to the lowest terms.
The numerator and denominator have no common prime factors:
- 268 = 22 × 67
- 425 = 52 × 17
- GCF (268; 425) = 1
The fraction: - 298/443
- 298/443 is already reduced to the lowest terms.
The numerator and denominator have no common prime factors:
- 298 = 2 × 149
- 443 is a prime number.
- GCF (298; 443) = 1
The fraction: - 290/409
- 290/409 is already reduced to the lowest terms.
The numerator and denominator have no common prime factors:
- 290 = 2 × 5 × 29
- 409 is a prime number.
- GCF (290; 409) = 1
Calculate the common numerator
The common numerator is nothing else than the least common multiple (LCM) of the numerators of the fractions.
To calculate the LCM, we need the prime factorization of the numerators:
278 = 2 × 139
268 = 22 × 67
298 = 2 × 149
290 = 2 × 5 × 29
Multiply all the unique prime factors: if there are repeating prime factors we only take them once, and only the ones having the highest exponent (the highest powers).
LCM (278, 268, 298, 290) = 22 × 5 × 29 × 67 × 139 × 149 = 804,829,460
Calculate the expanding number of each fraction:
Divide the LCM by the numerator of each fraction.
- 278/427 ⟶ 804,829,460 ÷ 278 = (22 × 5 × 29 × 67 × 139 × 149) ÷ (2 × 139) = 2,895,070
- 268/425 ⟶ 804,829,460 ÷ 268 = (22 × 5 × 29 × 67 × 139 × 149) ÷ (22 × 67) = 3,003,095
- 298/443 ⟶ 804,829,460 ÷ 298 = (22 × 5 × 29 × 67 × 139 × 149) ÷ (2 × 149) = 2,700,770
- 290/409 ⟶ 804,829,460 ÷ 290 = (22 × 5 × 29 × 67 × 139 × 149) ÷ (2 × 5 × 29) = 2,775,274
Make the numerators of the fractions the same:
- Expand each fraction: multiply both its numerator and denominator by its corresponding expanding number, calculated above.
- This way all the fractions will have the same numerator:
- 278/427 = - (2,895,070 × 278)/(2,895,070 × 427) = - 804,829,460/1,236,194,890
- 268/425 = - (3,003,095 × 268)/(3,003,095 × 425) = - 804,829,460/1,276,315,375
- 298/443 = - (2,700,770 × 298)/(2,700,770 × 443) = - 804,829,460/1,196,441,110
- 290/409 = - (2,775,274 × 290)/(2,775,274 × 409) = - 804,829,460/1,135,087,066