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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 .
For instance, 1/3+1/4 = 7/12, so a notation like would represent the number that would now more commonly be written as the mixed number , or simply the improper fraction . Notation of this form can be distinguished from sequences of numerators and denominators sharing a fraction bar by the visible break in the bar.
Partial fraction decomposition. In algebra, the partial fraction decomposition or partial fraction expansion of a rational fraction (that is, a fraction such that the numerator and the denominator are both polynomials) is an operation that consists of expressing the fraction as a sum of a polynomial (possibly zero) and one or several fractions ...
Clearing denominators. In mathematics, the method of clearing denominators, also called clearing fractions, is a technique for simplifying an equation equating two expressions that each are a sum of rational expressions – which includes simple fractions.
Any improper rational fraction can be expressed as the sum of a polynomial (possibly constant) and a proper rational fraction. In the first example of an improper fraction one has x 3 + x 2 + 1 x 2 − 5 x + 6 = ( x + 6 ) + 24 x − 35 x 2 − 5 x + 6 , {\displaystyle {\frac {x^{3}+x^{2}+1}{x^{2}-5x+6}}=(x+6)+{\frac {24x-35}{x^{2}-5x+6}},}
A complex fraction is a fraction whose numerator or denominator, or both, contains a fraction. A simple fraction contains no fraction either in its numerator or its denominator. A fraction is in lowest terms if the only factor common to the numerator and the denominator is 1. An expression which is not in fractional form is an integral ...
Every terminating decimal representation can be written as a decimal fraction, a fraction whose denominator is a power of 10 (e.g. 1.585 = 1585 / 1000 ); it may also be written as a ratio of the form k / 2 n ·5 m (e.g. 1.585 = 317 / 2 3 ·5 2 ).
Calculus. In mathematics, the harmonic series is the infinite series formed by summing all positive unit fractions: The first terms of the series sum to approximately , where is the natural logarithm and is the Euler–Mascheroni constant. Because the logarithm has arbitrarily large values, the harmonic series does not have a finite limit: it ...