Expert: Abe Mantell - 7/19/2009

Question
Which is the shortest length, 5/16, 1/4, or 1/6?

Answer
Hello Margarita,

With a calculator, or by hand using long division, you can convert each one to a decimal to see:
5/16=0.3125
1/4=0.25
1/6=0.166666...

So, now it is obvious that 1/6 is the smallest.

If you want to do it without a calculator or long division, then just
convert them all to the same denominator, i.e. common denominator.
The LCD = 48

5/16 = 15/48
1/4 = 12/48
1/6 = 8/48

Again, you can see that 1/6 (8/48) is the smallest.

Abe