To reduce a fraction to the lowest terms equivalent: divide the numerator and denominator by their greatest common factor, GCF
To calculate the greatest common factor, GCF:
- 1. Factor the numerator and the denominator (into prime factors), build their prime factorizations.
- 2. Multiply all their common prime factors, taken by the lowest exponents.
1. Factor the numerator and the denominator:
To factor a number (into prime factors) - or, in other words, to break it down to prime factors - or, in other words, to build its prime factorization: find the prime numbers that multiply together to get that number.
The prime factorizations:
Written with exponents:
138,468 = 2 × 2 × 3 × 11 × 1,049 = 22 × 3 × 11 × 1,049
138,468 is a composite number.
Written with exponents:
200,004 = 2 × 2 × 3 × 7 × 2,381 = 22 × 3 × 7 × 2,381
200,004 is a composite number.
138,468/200,004 =
(138,468 ÷ 12) / (200,004 ÷ 12) =
11,539/16,667
Yet another method to reduce the fraction
To reduce a fraction without calculating the GCF: factor its numerator and denominator, then all the common prime factors are easily identified and crossed out.
138,468/200,004 =
(22 × 3 × 11 × 1,049)/(22 × 3 × 7 × 2,381) =
((22 × 3 × 11 × 1,049) ÷ (22 × 3)) / ((22 × 3 × 7 × 2,381) ÷ (22 × 3)) =
(11 × 1,049)/(7 × 2,381) =
11,539/16,667
As a decimal number:
Simply divide the numerator by the denominator, without a remainder, as shown below:
11,539/16,667 =
11,539 ÷ 16,667 =
0.692326153477 ≈
0.69