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:
2,601 = 3 × 3 × 17 × 17 = 32 × 172
2,601 is a composite number.
Written with exponents:
90,000 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 × 3 × 5 × 5 × 5 × 5 = 24 × 32 × 54
90,000 is a composite number.
2,601/90,000 =
(2,601 ÷ 9) / (90,000 ÷ 9) =
289/10,000
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.
2,601/90,000 =
(32 × 172)/(24 × 32 × 54) =
((32 × 172) ÷ 32) / ((24 × 32 × 54) ÷ 32) =
172/(24 × 54) =
289/10,000
As a decimal number:
Simply divide the numerator by the denominator, without a remainder, as shown below:
289/10,000 =
289 ÷ 10,000 =
0.0289 ≈
0.03