reduce first, your final answer will be in the form that the test writers are looking for. Here’s another way
to express this rule: Simplify before you multiply.
Dividing All Fractions
To divide one fraction by another, flip over (or invert) the second fraction and multiply.
Here’s an example:
Just Flip It
Dividing by a fraction is
the same thing as multi-
plying by the reciprocal of
that fraction. So just flip
over the fraction you
are dividing by and
multiply instead.Be careful not to cancel or reduce until after you flip the second fraction. You can even do the same thing
with fractions whose tops and/or bottoms are fractions. These problems look quite frightening but they’re
actually easy if you keep your cool.
Here’s an example: