CHAPTER5 Fractions
In This Chapter
- How to find equivalent
fractions - How to find common
denominators - Adding and subtracting
fractions and mixed
numbers - Multiplying and dividing
fractions and mixed
numbers
Your first encounter with the world of numbers was the
simple act of counting. That world is larger than you could
have imagined at that first encounter, and over the last few
chapters, we’ve moved from the counting numbers, to the
whole numbers, to the integers. When we worked with the
integers, the positive and negative whole numbers, I suggested
a number line as a way to help you think about them, and I
promised to fill in the spaces between the integers soon. That
time has come.
The spaces between the integers are filled with numbers
that talk about parts of a whole. In this chapter, you’ll look at
one of the two ways of representing those numbers that show
parts. You’ll examine the different methods of arithmetic for
fractions and learn to add, subtract, multiply, and divide frac-
tions and mixed numbers.