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:
6,818,184 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 × 3 × 281 × 337 = 23 × 32 × 281 × 337
6,818,184 is a composite number.
Written with exponents:
8,999,991 = 3 × 3 × 3 × 3 × 3 × 7 × 11 × 13 × 37 = 35 × 7 × 11 × 13 × 37
8,999,991 is a composite number.
6,818,184/8,999,991 =
(6,818,184 ÷ 9) / (8,999,991 ÷ 9) =
757,576/999,999
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.
6,818,184/8,999,991 =
(23 × 32 × 281 × 337)/(35 × 7 × 11 × 13 × 37) =
((23 × 32 × 281 × 337) ÷ 32) / ((35 × 7 × 11 × 13 × 37) ÷ 32) =
(23 × 281 × 337)/(33 × 7 × 11 × 13 × 37) =
757,576/999,999
As a decimal number:
Simply divide the numerator by the denominator, without a remainder, as shown below:
757,576/999,999 =
757,576 ÷ 999,999 =
0.757576757577 ≈
0.76