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:
342,574 = 2 × 157 × 1,091
342,574 is a composite number.
599,430 = 2 × 3 × 5 × 13 × 29 × 53
599,430 is a composite number.
342,574/599,430 =
(342,574 ÷ 2) / (599,430 ÷ 2) =
171,287/299,715
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.
342,574/599,430 =
(2 × 157 × 1,091)/(2 × 3 × 5 × 13 × 29 × 53) =
((2 × 157 × 1,091) ÷ 2) / ((2 × 3 × 5 × 13 × 29 × 53) ÷ 2) =
(157 × 1,091)/(3 × 5 × 13 × 29 × 53) =
171,287/299,715
As a decimal number:
Simply divide the numerator by the denominator, without a remainder, as shown below:
171,287/299,715 =
171,287 ÷ 299,715 =
0.571499591278 ≈
0.57