DIVISION: Example 2

Rule 16: To divide three or more fractions, complete the following three steps.

1.

Change the signs to sign and invert the fractions to the right of the signs.

2.

Multiply the numerators.

3.

Multiply the denominators.

4.

Reduce the results. (See Rule 10)

a.: Factor the product of the numerators.
b.: Factor the product of the denominators.
c.

Example2: Multiply tex2html_wrap_inline81

and reduce the answer.

Answer: The answer is 4.

Solution: Convert the 16 and 9 to the fractions

and

, respectively so that the problem tex2html_wrap_inline81

can be written tex2html_wrap_inline89

Change the division signs to multiplication signs and invert the fractions to the right of the signs.

Multiply the numerators and the denominators, but leave them in factored form.

Factor the numerator and the denominator and look for the fractions that have a value of 1.

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Check: You can check the answer with your calculator. Use the following steps on your calculator to calculate the value of the original problem: 16

6). If the answer is 4, you have successfully performed a division problem with two fractions and a whole number.

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Author: Nancy Marcus