Simple Rule: Flip the bottom fraction and multiply it by the top fraction.
Simple? Well, actually it is. You just have to recognize each individual
fraction. Label the complex fraction like this:
What the Simple Rule says is that you can simplify any complex fraction by
flipping the bottom fraction and multiplying it by the top fraction. It works
because when you divide you are really just multiplying by the reciprocal
(reciprocal means “whatever it was, only flipped over”). This is what the Simple
Rule looks like:
You may want to draw arrows:
Using real numbers:
Basically, multiply the outsides together and then divide that by the insides.
—Samantha