Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 2: Multiplying Fractions
• Method 2 of 2: Division of Fractions
• Tips
• Warnings

To multiply ordinary fractions, you just need to multiply the numerators and denominators and simplify the result. To divide, you need to swap the numerator and denominator of one of the fractions, multiply and simplify. After reading this article, you can do it without any problems.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Multiplying Fractions

1. 1 Multiply the numerators of the fractions (the numbers above). Write down the fractions side by side. For example, when multiplying 1/2 by 12/48, first multiply 1 and 12. 1 x 12 = 12. Write your answer in the numerator of the answer.
2. 2 Multiply the denominators of the fractions. Now do the same with the denominators. Multiply 2 and 48. 2 x 48 = 96. Write this answer in the denominator of the answer. So the new fraction is 12/96.
3. 3 Simplify the fraction. To do this, find the greatest common factor of the numerator and denominator and divide them by that number. In our case 96 is divisible by 12, so we simplify the denominator to 1 and the numerator to 8. So 12/96 ÷ 12/12 = 1/8.
   • If both numbers are even, they can be simply divided by 2 and 2, etc. 12/96 ÷ 2/2 = 6/48 ÷ 2/2 = 3/24. Then we notice that 24 is divided by 3, and we get 3/24 ÷ 3/3 = 1/8.

Method 2 of 2: Division of Fractions

1. 1 In one of the fractions, swap the numerator and denominator and change the multiplication sign to the division sign. Let's say you want to divide 1/2 by 18/20. Let's swap the numerator and denominator of the second fraction and get 20/18 instead of 18/20 and change the sign. So 1/2 ÷ 18/20 = 1/2 x 20/18. Notice, it doesn't matter what fraction we turn over. 2/1 x 18/20 - and we get the same result.
2. 2 Multiply the numerators and denominators and simplify your answer. Now - the same as with multiplication. Multiply the numerators 1 and 20 to get 20 in the numerator. Multiplying the denominators 2 and 18, we get 36 in the denominator. Total 20/36. The greatest common factor is 4, we divide and we get a simplified answer 20/36 ÷ 4/4 = 5/9.

Tips

• Check your decisions.
• Whole numbers can be written as fractions: 2 is the same as 2/1.
• To simplify the calculations, you can reduce as the solution proceeds, i.e. divided by the diagonals by the same number, for example (8/20) * (6/12) can be abbreviated to (2/10) * (3/3).

Warnings

• Follow the steps one by one, this will reduce the likelihood of making a mistake.
• Be sure to shorten to the end, otherwise the answer may not be counted.