How to Learn Decimals & Fractions

Adding and Subtracting Fractions

• 1

  Determine whether the denominators of the fractions are the same number.

• 2

  Add the numerators or subtract one numerator from the other if the denominators are the same.

• 3

  Find the least common denominator between the fractions if the denominators are different. A least common denominator is the smallest number that is a multiple of all of the denominators.

• 4

  Multiply the denominator and numerator of each fraction by the number needed to reach the least common denominator.

• 5

  Subtract or add the results.

Adding and Subtracting Decimals

• 6

  Place one decimal above the other so that the decimal points are aligned.

• 7

  Add or subtract starting from the right.

• 8

  Place the decimal in the same decimal place it was in the original numbers. Example, 2.5 + 2.6 = 5.1.

Multiplying Fractions

• 9

  Multiply the numerators.

• 10

  Multiply the denominators.

• 11

  Write the result in fraction format with the numerator result on top and the denominator result on the bottom.

Multiplying Decimals

• 12

  Place the numbers so that one decimal point is above the other.

• 13

  Multiply the numbers, ignoring the decimal point.

• 14

  Count the number of digits to the right of the decimal point in both numbers. Place the decimal point in the product that many places in from the right of the number.