Basic Math/fractions

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Expert: Josh - 9/1/2007


Question
if i had 1 1/3 cups of sultanas and 4 people wanted some, how would i divided them evenly, what would be the equation?

Answer
Hi Joanne,

Do not be confused by fractions. It is just a number which represents an amount of something. The bottom line is that you want to divide what you have got into 4 parts. So, you divide "one and a third" by four.

First, realize that 1=3/3 (one equals three lots of one third). Then, 1 1/3 equals 3/3+1/3 which is 4/3. This means four lots of "one third". Dividing this by four gives one third.

Summary:
1 1/3 = 3/3+1/3 =(3+1)/3 =4/3.
Dividing by 4 gives 1/3.

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Josh

Expertise

When I work through problems, I like to emphasize concepts which I believe are worth noting. I will try to answer questions in the following areas, but not at the advanced level. Algebra. Sequences & Series. Trigonometry. Functions & Graphs. Coordinate Geometry. Quadratic Polynomials. Exponential & Logarithms. Basic Calculus. Probability, Permutation and Combination. Mathematical Induction. Complex numbers. Physics problems.

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I have worked as a teaching assistant in college. My hope is that more people will share knowledge without boundary, give help without seeking recognition or monetary rewards.

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Bachelor degree in Engineering Science

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