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[WooingWyandotte]

Ok..Im on dads phone and trying to type is a pain on the keister. In a half hour i will be home. We live a ways out in the sricks...whenI get home I will do it on thw computer instead.

 

[equinehugger3]

Diva - About simplifying fractions all the way: My teacher that taught us that always said to divide by two as many times as you could if you didn't know the biggest number.

 

[Sassymygirl]

Everyone ready for thanksgiving? I am! Gimme that turkey-lurkey! hahaha

 

[miss heny]

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no turkey for us

 

[chickendiva25]

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I'm ready as well!

I can't wait for the squash.

 

[Zinnia-Hen]

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Mmmm!

 

[equinehugger3]

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I so am!

 

[WooingWyandotte]

Chickendiva25, I'm working on the thing right now on the computer. And I'm almost done.

 

[chickendiva25]

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Oooo, you're making a thing?

 

[WooingWyandotte]

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Ah. Hi

I dropped out of our conversation last night and want to pick it up again. What probs are you having wirh fractions? Im pretty good at them and I know how it feels to be in the depths of despair about them.

OH, where to start.

I guess I'm just having trouble fully reducing them. I just can't get a grasp on it.

Also, I'm quite horrible with Math, so this is a little bit embarassing to admit.

So let's start with with the basics. 2/4. The top number (2 in this problem) is called the numerator, it is how many pieces you have. The bottom number is called the denominator and that is how many pieces it takes to make one whole. 2/4 means you have two pieces, but it takes four to make one whole.
Reducing a fraction is a way to make the fractions simpler. Simpler is making the pieces bigger; for example were going to change 2/4 into 1/2. Which means it will take two pieces to make one whole (so the pieces are bigger), were changing the denominator from '4' to '2'. See? That is reducing.

Reducing is finding the factors in the number. For practice of finding factors, let's use the number 27 and find it's factors. That would be 9x3, 27x1, 3x9...etc. So the factors are just the numbers that you multiply to get the number 27. (Or whatever number your trying to find the factors for, not just the number 27 )
Now let's go another step, which is the actual problem.

Let's do.... 9/27. Now let's find the factors of 9. 3x3, 9x1, 1x9. Well, the 1's and 9's cancel each other out. (On paper you would cross them out) Leaving 3x3. And there you have it! We reduced 9 to 3.
Now we will reduce 27. Factors: 9x3, 27x1, 1x27...(I cannot think of anymore).....So the 27's and 1's cancel each other out, see? Your left with 9x3..yet you can still reduce the 9; after reducing the 9 you are left with 3x3. On your paper every number would be crossed out except for your three 3's. Two of those 3's cancel each other out, leaving one 3.
There you have it, we've reduced 9 into 3, and 27 into 3. (Not everything will reduce to three, but in this problem it did.) So your reduced problem is 3/3.
Ironically, 9x3 = 27.

Did that make sense?