Fundamentals of Mathematics, 2008a

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CHAPTER 5. ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION OF FRACTIONS,
COMPARING FRACTIONS, AND COMPLEX FRACTIONS
5.5.4.1 Exercises for Review
Exercise 5.5.26 (Solution on p. 333.)
(Section 1.4) Round 267,006,428 to the nearest ten million.
Exercise 5.5.27
(Section 2.5) Is the number 82,644 divisible by 2? by 3? by 4?
Exercise 5.5.28 (Solution on p. 333.)
(Section 4.3) Convert 3 2 7
to an improper fraction.
Exercise 5.5.29
(Section 5.3) Find the value of 5 6 + 3
10 − 2 5
Exercise 5.5.30 (Solution on p. 333.)
(Section 5.4) Find the value of 8 3 8 + 5 1 4 .
5.6 Complex Fractions 6
5.6.1 Section Overview
• Simple Fractions and Complex Fractions
• Converting Complex Fractions to Simple Fractions
5.6.2 Simple Fractions and Complex Fractions
Simple Fraction
A simple fraction is any fraction in which the numerator is any whole number and the denominator is any
nonzero whole number. Some examples are the following:
1
2 , 4
3 , 763
1,000
Complex Fraction
A complex fraction is any fraction in which the numerator and/or the denominator is a fraction; it is a
fraction of fractions. Some examples of complex fractions are the following:
3
4
5
6
,
1
3 6
2
, 9
10
,
4+ 3 8
7− 5 6
5.6.3 Converting Complex Fractions to Simple Fractions
The goal here is to convert a complex fraction to a simple fraction. We can do so by employing the methods
of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions. Recall from Section 4.2 that a fraction bar
serves as a grouping symbol separating the fractional quantity into two individual groups. We proceed in
simplifying a complex fraction to a simple fraction by simplifying the numerator and the denominator of the
complex fraction separately. We will simplify the numerator and denominator completely before removing
the fraction bar by dividing. This technique is illustrated in problems 3, 4, 5, and 6 of Section 5.6.3.1 (Sample
Set A).
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