How to reduce fractions to the lowest terms using online calculators

Fractions are essentially numbers presented as the ratio of two integers (whole numbers), for example: 2/3, 1/4, 11/5, or in a general symbolic form: n/d, where n is called numerator and d is called denominator. If the numerator is less than denominator (i.e. n) then the fraction is called proper fraction; otherwise (n>d) it’s called improper fraction. Any improper fraction could be presented as a mixed number, containing the integer and regular fraction, and vice versa, for example: improper fraction 5/3 is equal to mixed number 1 2/3. The following discussion covers both proper and improper fractions.

In case the both numerator and denominator have non-trivial (different from 1) common divisor(s) then the fraction could be reduced (or simplified) to the lowest terms by dividing both numerator and denominator by greatest common divisor (GCD), for example: 6/8 = (2*3) / (2*2*2) = 3 / (2*2).

Greatest common divisor is also known as greatest common factor (GCF) or largest common factor (LCF); all these terms could be used interchangeably. Finding the greatest common divisor implies the prime factoring of both numerator and denominator; this topic is discussed in details on Examiner.com (please refer to the article: Online prime factoring calculator). It’s relevant to mention, that factoring of big integers could be rather lengthy, labor intensive procedure. Online calculators, utilizing the full computational power of modern web servers, could be quite handy.

To reduce any proper/improper fraction or mixed number to the lowest term you could use, for example, free online fractions calculator . Following steps demonstrates how to reduce the fraction 36/64 online:

1. Open web browser and navigate to the online fractions calculator web page: you should see browser window similar to the one shown on the image.
2. Enter the fraction 36/63 into the text box titled “fraction1” and click on the screen button marked with "=" sign to get the result: original fraction (36/64) reduced to the lowest term (9/16) and the corresponding decimal equivalent (0.5625).

The same procedure is applicable to any improper fraction or mixed number.

The users of portable Internet-enabled devices (like Apple iPod Touch™, iPhone™, Microsoft Zune™ HD, SmartPhones™) could benefit from mobile fractions calculator ; the version is optimized specifically for the use on the mobile platforms with reduced screen-size.

Copyright© 2009 Alexander Bell