Multiplying Fractions Definitions & Examples

Fractions can be a difficult concept for students to grasp. In order to fully understand fractions, students need to be able to visualize them. This can be difficult when fractions are often thought of as numbers less than one. One way to help students understand fractions is by teaching them about multiplying fractions. Multiplying fractions is a way to combine two or more fractions to equal one whole fraction. This concept can be difficult for students to understand, so it is important to provide them with clear definitions and examples. In this blog post, we will explore the definition of multiplying fractions and provide examples to help students better understand the concept.

What are fractions?

A fraction is a number that represents part of a whole. The whole can be thought of as being divided into equal parts, and the fraction represents a certain number of those parts. For example, if a cake is cut into 8 equal pieces, then 1/8 of the cake would be one piece.

Fractions are written using a fraction bar. The numerator (the number above the fraction bar) represents the number of parts being considered, and the denominator (the number below the fraction bar) represents the total number of parts in the whole. So, in the example above, 1/8 would be written as follows:

The fractions 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, and 1/6 are called common fractions because they are some of the most basic and commonly used fractions.

When two or more fractions are multiplied together, it’s called a complex fraction. In order to multiply complex fractions, you first need to simplify each fraction by finding a common denominator. For example, let’s say you want to multiply the following two fractions:

To find a common denominator between these two fractions, you need to find a number that is divisible by both 4 and 6. The lowest common multiple of 4 and 6 is 12, so that will be our common denominator. Once you have found the common denominator, you can rewrite each fraction using that denominator. The new fractions would look like this

Rules of Multiplying Fractions

To multiply fractions, you need to first understand the definition of a fraction. A fraction is a part of a whole. It is represented by two numbers: the numerator (the top number) and the denominator (the bottom number). The numerator represents how many parts of the whole you have, while the denominator represents how many parts the whole is divided into.

Now that you know the definition of a fraction, let’s look at the rules of multiplying fractions. There are three rules you need to remember when multiplying fractions:

1. To multiply fractions with different denominators, you need to find the least common multiple (LCM) of the two denominators. The LCM is the smallest number that both denominators can be evenly divided into. Once you have found the LCM, you will change both denominators to match it. For example, if you’re multiplying 1/2 by 1/3, the LCM of 2 and 3 is 6. So, you would change 1/2 to 3/6 and 1/3 to 2/6 before multiplying them together.

2. To multiply fractions with the same denominator, simply multiply the numerators together and leave the denominator unchanged. For example, if you’re multiplying 1/4 by 3/4, you would simply multiply 1 by 3 to get 3/4 as your answer.

3. To multiply mixed numbers (a whole number and a fraction), simply convert

Multiplying Fractions with Same Denominator

When you multiply fractions with the same denominator, you are simply multiplying the numerators. For example, if you have two fractions, both with a denominator of 8, and one fraction has a numerator of 3 while the other has a numerator of 5, then your answer would be 15/8.

What is a proper fraction?

A proper fraction is a fraction in which the numerator (top number) is less than the denominator (bottom number).

Here’s an example:

1/4

The top number, 1, is less than the bottom number, 4. So, this is a proper fraction.

What is an improper fraction?

An improper fraction is a fraction in which the numerator (top number) is greater than or equal to the denominator (bottom number).

One way to think of an improper fraction is as a “mixed” fraction, where the whole number is represented by the numerator and the remainder is represented by the denominator. For example, 4/5 can be thought of as four fifths, or one and four fifths.

Improper fractions are also sometimes called “top-heavy” fractions.

To convert an improper fraction to a mixed number, divide the numerator by the denominator. The quotient will be the whole number part of the mixed number, and the remainder will be the numerator of the fractional part. For example, if we divide 4 by 5, we get 0 as a quotient and 4 as a remainder. So 4/5 would be written as 0 4/5, or simply 0 4 (since division by 5 leaves no remainder).

What is a mixed number?

A mixed number is a whole number combined with a fraction. For example, 3 1/2 can be written as a mixed number. To multiply mixed numbers, first convert them to improper fractions. To convert a mixed number to an improper fraction, multiply the whole number by the denominator and add the result to the numerator. In the example above, 3 1/2 becomes 7/2 because 3 × 2 = 6 and 6 + 1 = 7.

How to multiply fractions

To multiply fractions, you first need to understand what a fraction is. A fraction is a number that represents a part of a whole. The bottom number of the fraction (the denominator) represents how many parts the whole is divided into, while the top number (the numerator) represents how many of those parts you have.

For example, if someone has 1/2 of a pizza, that means they have one out of two total pizza slices. If someone has 3/4 of a pizza, that means they have three out of four total pizza slices.

Now that we understand what fractions are, let’s talk about how to multiply them. To multiply fractions, you simply multiply the numerators (top numbers) together and multiply the denominators (bottom numbers) together.

For example, if you wanted to multiply 1/2 by 3/4, you would take 1 times 3 to get 3 and 2 times 4 to get 8. So, 1/2 multiplied by 3/4 equals 3/8.

Multiplying fractions examples

When multiplying fractions, you are essentially multiplying the numerators (top numbers) and multiplying the denominators (bottom numbers). The result will be a new fraction with the product of the old numerators for a new numerator and the product of the old denominators for a new denominator. For example, if you multiply 1/2 by 3/4, your new fraction will be 3/8 because 1 x 3 = 3 and 2 x 4 = 8.

It’s important to simplify fractions before multiplying them so that the calculation is easier. For example, if you’re asked to multiply 2/3 by 4/5, you would first want to simplify each fraction by finding a common denominator. In this case, the common denominator would be 15 (3 x 5 = 15 and 5 x 4 = 20). So 2/3 would become 10/15 and 4/5would become 12/15. Then, you can multiply across to get your answer, which would be 120/225 or simply 8/15 after further simplification.

Conclusion

We hope this article has helped clear up any confusion you may have had about multiplying fractions. Remember, when multiplying fractions, you are simply multiplying the numerators and denominators to find an equivalent fraction. The process is pretty simple once you get the hang of it and with a little practice, you’ll be a pro in no time!