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:
413,188 = 2 × 2 × 53 × 1,949 = 22 × 53 × 1,949
413,188 is a composite number.
2,333,314 = 2 × 19 × 61,403
2,333,314 is a composite number.
413,188/2,333,314 =
(413,188 ÷ 2) / (2,333,314 ÷ 2) =
206,594/1,166,657
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.
413,188/2,333,314 =
(22 × 53 × 1,949)/(2 × 19 × 61,403) =
((22 × 53 × 1,949) ÷ 2) / ((2 × 19 × 61,403) ÷ 2) =
(2 × 53 × 1,949)/(19 × 61,403) =
206,594/1,166,657
As a decimal number:
Simply divide the numerator by the denominator, without a remainder, as shown below:
206,594/1,166,657 =
206,594 ÷ 1,166,657 =
0.17708203868 ≈
0.18