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:
3,333,324 = 2 × 2 × 3 × 229 × 1,213 = 22 × 3 × 229 × 1,213
3,333,324 is a composite number.
19,999,990 = 2 × 5 × 17 × 71 × 1,657
19,999,990 is a composite number.
3,333,324/19,999,990 =
(3,333,324 ÷ 2) / (19,999,990 ÷ 2) =
1,666,662/9,999,995
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.
3,333,324/19,999,990 =
(22 × 3 × 229 × 1,213)/(2 × 5 × 17 × 71 × 1,657) =
((22 × 3 × 229 × 1,213) ÷ 2) / ((2 × 5 × 17 × 71 × 1,657) ÷ 2) =
(2 × 3 × 229 × 1,213)/(5 × 17 × 71 × 1,657) =
1,666,662/9,999,995
As a decimal number:
Simply divide the numerator by the denominator, without a remainder, as shown below:
1,666,662/9,999,995 =
1,666,662 ÷ 9,999,995 =
0.166666283333 ≈
0.17