Explain addition and subtraction of fractions with example.

Addition and subtraction of fractions:

To add or subtract like fractions, add/subtract the numerators.

For example,

$\frac{2}{5}+\frac{1}{5}=\frac{(2+1)}{5}=\frac{3}{5}$

To add or subtract unlike terms, first we need to convert them to like fractions.

We have to follow the following steps to convert unlike terms to like terms:

1. Find the LCM of the given fractions.

2. Divide each denominator by the LCM and note down the quotients for each case.

3. Now, multiply the numerator and the denominator of each fraction by the corresponding quotients that you got in the 2nd step.

4. After the multiplication, the denominators of all the fractions are same, thus the resultant fractions are like fractions.

5. We can now add or subtract the numerators as required.

$\frac{2}{3}+\frac{1}{2}=$

LCM of 3 and 2 is 6.

$\frac{6}{3}=2 and \frac{6}{2}=3$

$\frac{2}{3}=\frac{(2\times2)}{(2\times3)}=\frac{4}{6}$

$\frac{1}{2}=\frac{(1\times3)}{(2\times3)}=\frac{3}{6}$

Therefore,

$\frac{2}{3}+\frac{1}{2}=\frac{4}{6}+\frac{3}{6}=\frac{(4+3)}{6}=\frac{7}{6}$

Subtraction of fractions is similar to addition of fractions. In subtraction of fractions, we change the sign of the second fraction from + to - or - to + and then add the fractions.

For example,

$\frac{2}{5}-\frac{1}{5}=\frac{(2-1)}{5}=\frac{1}{5}$

$\frac{2}{3}-\frac{1}{2}=$

LCM of 3 and 2 is 6.

$\frac{6}{3}=2 and \frac{6}{2}=3$

$\frac{2}{3}=\frac{(2\times2)}{(2\times3)}=\frac{4}{6}$

$\frac{1}{2}=\frac{(1\times3)}{(2\times3)}=\frac{3}{6}$

Therefore,

$\frac{2}{3}-\frac{1}{2}=\frac{4}{6}-\frac{3}{6}=\frac{(4-3)}{6}=\frac{1}{6}$

Tutorialspoint

Simply Easy Learning

Updated on: 10-Oct-2022

85 Views

Kickstart Your Career

Get certified by completing the course

Get Started