Numbers: Fractions
Equivalent fractions
When we cut a pizza into #6# slices of equal size and take #2# of those slices, we have #\tfrac{2}{6}# of the pizza.
If we cut the pizza into #3# slices of equal size and take #1# slice, we will have the same amount of pizza.
We therefore see that #\tfrac{2}{6}= \tfrac{1}{3}#.
In the fraction #\require{color} \definecolor{blue}{RGB}{45, 112, 179}\tfrac{\orange{2}}{\blue{6}}#, we can divide both the numerator and denominator by #2#, and then we find #\tfrac{\orange{1}}{\blue{3}}#.
In general, we can say:
A fraction does not change if we divide or multiply both the numerator and denominator by the same number.
Examples
\[\begin{array}{rcl}
\dfrac{\orange{2}}{\blue{6}} = \dfrac{\orange{1}}{\blue{3}} \\
\dfrac{\orange{3}}{\blue{6}} = \dfrac{\orange{1}}{\blue{2}} \\
\dfrac{\orange{4}}{\blue{6}} = \dfrac{\orange{2}}{\blue{3}}
\end{array} \]
The value of a fraction does not change when we multiply the numerator and the denominator by the same number.
\[\begin{array}{rcl}
\dfrac{5}{12}&=&\dfrac{\box}{60} \\ &&\phantom{xxx}\blue{\text{denominator multiplied by } \dfrac{60}{12}=5 } \\
\dfrac{5}{12}&=&\dfrac{25}{60} \\ &&\phantom{xxx}\blue{\text{numerator also has to be multiplied by } 5 } \\
\end{array}\]
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