Fractions and Decimals

Date: 02/15/99 at 08:21:05
From: Brittney
Subject: Fractions and Decimals

I have to make 17/11 a proper fraction, and I don't know how to do it.

Date: 02/15/99 at 22:47:01
From: Doctor Peterson
Subject: Re: Fractions and Decimals

The basic idea in this problem is that a proper fraction has to be 
less than one; that is, the numerator (top) must be less than the 
denominator (bottom). In 17/11, that isn't true, so you have to find a 
way to rewrite it as a mixed number so that the fraction part is 
proper.

Suppose I take a piece of paper and cut it into 11 equal strips. That 
gives me 11 elevenths. To get 17 elevenths, how many more do I need? 
Yes, 17 - 11 = 6. So I take another sheet of paper and cut it into 
elevenths, and take 6 of them. Now I have 17 elevenths. But I can also 
call it one whole sheet and 6 more elevenths: 1 6/11. That's the mixed 
fraction form for 17/11.

What I did was to divide 17 by 11 and find that the result is 1 with a 
remainder of 6. That is, it took one whole sheet and 6 extra elevenths. 
That's how you solve this sort of problem: divide the numerator by the 
denominator, and use the quotient as the whole number part and the 
remainder as the new numerator (with the same denominator you started 
with).

Here's another example: what is 28/3 as a mixed number?

Divide 28 by 3 and you get 9 with a remainder of 1. So the 28/3 can be 
written as 

       1
    9 ---
       3

I hope that helps.

- Doctor Peterson, The Math Forum
  http://mathforum.org/dr.math/