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| Math Central | Quandaries & Queries |
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Question from Brianna, a student: I'm a seventh grader and we're learning about fractions. How would you list the numbers in order from least to greatest? |
Brianna,
You need to find a common denominator for these fractions. I would start by finding the prime factorization of the denominators.
- 14 = 2 × 7
- 28 = 22 × 7
- 21 = 3 × 7
Hence the least common denominator is 22 × 3 × 7 = 84. Now express each fraction with this denominator. For example 9/14 = (9 × 6)/(14 × 6) = 72/84. Once you have expressed all three fractions with the same denominator you can order them using the numerators.
Penny
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