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:
9,716 = 2 × 2 × 7 × 347 = 22 × 7 × 347
9,716 is a composite number.
Written with exponents:
41,636 = 2 × 2 × 7 × 1,487 = 22 × 7 × 1,487
41,636 is a composite number.
9,716/41,636 =
(9,716 ÷ 28) / (41,636 ÷ 28) =
347/1,487
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.
9,716/41,636 =
(22 × 7 × 347)/(22 × 7 × 1,487) =
((22 × 7 × 347) ÷ (22 × 7)) / ((22 × 7 × 1,487) ÷ (22 × 7)) =
347/1,487 =
347/1,487
As a decimal number:
Simply divide the numerator by the denominator, without a remainder, as shown below:
347/1,487 =
347 ÷ 1,487 =
0.233355749832 ≈
0.23