Name: Kathleen

Who is asking: Student
Level: Secondary

Question:
Problem of the Week5:

Three Fractions

a/bc + d/ef + g/hi = 1

Each of three fractions has a one-digit numerator and a two digit denominator. The three fractions together add up to one. Place the nine digits 1-9 into the fractions to make the equation correct.

Source: Nob Yoshigara, c/o Scot Morris in OMNI, April 1994.

Hint:
1/2 + 1/3 + 1/6 = 1. This is not the answer, but you can try to model your answer on this using equivalent fractions; for instance 1/2 = 8/16, 1/3 = 9/27, 1/6 = 9/54, so you get

8/16 + 9/27 + 9/54 = 1. This is not what you are looking for, because 9 is used twice and 3 is not used. So, try other equivalent representations, until you hit one that uses all digits once. If you cannot find any, try other representations of 1, such as 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/4, or 1/3 + 1/3 + 1/3.