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| Math Central | Quandaries & Queries |
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Question from Nick, a student: Hi i would like to thank penny for helping me last time and need more assistance. It would seem I understand you better then my teacher 2m/t + 5/mt |
Hi Nick,
Thanks for the compliment.
You need to find a common denominator as you would in adding 2/3 and 5/6. In this numeric case if you multiply the numerator and denominator of 2/3 by 3 you get
2/3 = (2 × 2)/(2 × 3) = 4/6.
Thus
2/3 + 5/6 = 4/6 + 5/6 = (4 + 5)/6 = 9/6 = 3/2.
In your algebraic expression
2m/t + 5/mt
Multiplying the numerator and denominator of the first fraction by m gives a common denominator to the two fractions which then allows you to combine them.
I hope this helps,
Penny
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