Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A simple fraction (also known as a common fraction or vulgar fraction, where vulgar is Latin for "common") is a rational number written as a / b or , where a and b are both integers. [9] As with other fractions, the denominator (b) cannot be zero. Examples include 1 2 , − 8 5 , −8 5 , and 8 −5 .
Conversely the period of the repeating decimal of a fraction c / d will be (at most) the smallest number n such that 10 n − 1 is divisible by d. For example, the fraction 2 / 7 has d = 7, and the smallest k that makes 10 k − 1 divisible by 7 is k = 6, because 999999 = 7 × 142857. The period of the fraction 2 / 7 is ...
The simplified equation is not entirely equivalent to the original. For when we substitute y = 0 and z = 0 in the last equation, both sides simplify to 0, so we get 0 = 0 , a mathematical truth. But the same substitution applied to the original equation results in x /6 + 0/0 = 1 , which is mathematically meaningless .
For example, 1 / 4 , 5 / 6 , and −101 / 100 are all irreducible fractions. On the other hand, 2 / 4 is reducible since it is equal in value to 1 / 2 , and the numerator of 1 / 2 is less than the numerator of 2 / 4 . A fraction that is reducible can be reduced by dividing both the numerator ...
Now, 93 / 43 = 2 + 7 / 43 ; the remaining fractional part, 7 / 43 , is the reciprocal of 43 / 7 , and 43 / 7 is around 6.1429. Use 6 as an approximation for this to obtain 2 + 1 / 6 as an approximation for 93 / 43 and 4 + 1 / 2 + 1 / 6 , about 4.4615, as the third approximation.
The fraction 99 / 70 (≈ 1.4142857) is sometimes used as a good rational approximation with a reasonably small denominator. Sequence A002193 in the On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences consists of the digits in the decimal expansion of the square root of 2, here truncated to 65 decimal places: [2]
Fractions such as 22 / 7 and 355 / 113 are commonly used to approximate π, but no common fraction (ratio of whole numbers) can be its exact value. [21] Because π is irrational, it has an infinite number of digits in its decimal representation, and does not settle into an infinitely repeating pattern of digits.
Slices of approximately 1/8 of a pizza. A unit fraction is a positive fraction with one as its numerator, 1/ n.It is the multiplicative inverse (reciprocal) of the denominator of the fraction, which must be a positive natural number.