Analyze the fractions to be compared and ordered, by category:
positive proper fractions: 167/253, 157/236, 142/268, 149/311, 157/347
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: 167/253
167/253 is already reduced to the lowest terms.
The numerator and denominator have no common prime factors:
- 167 is a prime number.
- 253 = 11 × 23
- GCF (167; 253) = 1
The fraction: 157/236
157/236 is already reduced to the lowest terms.
The numerator and denominator have no common prime factors:
- 157 is a prime number.
- 236 = 22 × 59
- GCF (157; 236) = 1
The fraction: 142/268
- The prime factorizations of the numerator and denominator:
- 142 = 2 × 71
- 268 = 22 × 67
- Multiply all the common prime factors: if there are repeating prime factors we only take them once, and only the ones having the lowest exponent (the lowest powers).
- GCF (142; 268) = 2
142/268 = (142 ÷ 2)/(268 ÷ 2) = 71/134
The fraction can also be reduced without calculating GCF; factor the numerator and denominator and cross out all the common prime factors:
142/268 = (2 × 71)/(22 × 67) = ((2 × 71) ÷ 2)/((22 × 67) ÷ 2) = 71/134
The fraction: 149/311
149/311 is already reduced to the lowest terms.
The numerator and denominator have no common prime factors:
- 149 is a prime number.
- 311 is a prime number.
- GCF (149; 311) = 1
The fraction: 157/347
157/347 is already reduced to the lowest terms.
The numerator and denominator have no common prime factors:
- 157 is a prime number.
- 347 is a prime number.
- GCF (157; 347) = 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:
167 is a prime number.
157 is a prime number.
71 is a prime number.
149 is a prime number.
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 (167, 157, 71, 149) = 71 × 149 × 157 × 167 = 277,370,801
Calculate the expanding number of each fraction:
Divide the LCM by the numerator of each fraction.
167/253 ⟶ 277,370,801 ÷ 167 = (71 × 149 × 157 × 167) ÷ 167 = 1,660,903
157/236 ⟶ 277,370,801 ÷ 157 = (71 × 149 × 157 × 167) ÷ 157 = 1,766,693
71/134 ⟶ 277,370,801 ÷ 71 = (71 × 149 × 157 × 167) ÷ 71 = 3,906,631
149/311 ⟶ 277,370,801 ÷ 149 = (71 × 149 × 157 × 167) ÷ 149 = 1,861,549
157/347 ⟶ 277,370,801 ÷ 157 = (71 × 149 × 157 × 167) ÷ 157 = 1,766,693
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:
167/253 = (1,660,903 × 167)/(1,660,903 × 253) = 277,370,801/420,208,459
157/236 = (1,766,693 × 157)/(1,766,693 × 236) = 277,370,801/416,939,548
71/134 = (3,906,631 × 71)/(3,906,631 × 134) = 277,370,801/523,488,554
149/311 = (1,861,549 × 149)/(1,861,549 × 311) = 277,370,801/578,941,739
157/347 = (1,766,693 × 157)/(1,766,693 × 347) = 277,370,801/613,042,471