How To Turn An Improper Fraction Into A Mixed Number 11 Steps

If you’re not comfortable with fractions or division yet, start with the example below instead.

Compare 4 to the first digit, 1. 4 doesn’t go into 1, so we need to include the next digit. Compare 4 to the first two digits, 15. How many times does 4 go into 15? If you’re not sure, guess and see if you’re right using multiplication. The answer is 3, so write 3 on the answer line, above the 5.

Multiply the answer by the divisor (the number on the left). In our example, that’s 3 x 4. Write the result underneath the dividend (the number underneath the division bracket). In our example, 3 x 4 = 12, so write 12 underneath the 15. Subtract the result from the dividend: 15 - 12 = 3. This is the remainder

The whole number is your answer to the division problem. In this case, that’s 3. The numerator of the fraction is your remainder. In this case, that’s also 3. The denominator of the fraction is the same as the denominator in the original fraction. In this case, that’s 4. Write this as one mixed number: 33/4.

The top number of a fraction is called the numerator. The bottom number is called the denominator. This method will take a long time for large fractions. If the numerator is much larger than the bottom number, the division method above is much faster.

2/2 = 1, and 4/4 = 1, and even 397/397 equals 1!

For 3/2, the denominator (lower number) is 2. 2/2 is an easy fraction to simplify, because the top and bottom numbers are the same. We want to take this out of the larger fraction, and find out what we have left behind. Write this down: 3/2 = 2/2 + ?/2.

Once you’ve found the solution, you don’t need to write the + symbol anymore. Just write 11/2. A mixed number is a whole number plus a proper fraction. [9] X Research source

7/3 = 3/3 + ?/3 7 = 3 + ? 7 = 3 + 4 7/3 = 3/3 + 4/3 7/3 = 1 + 4/3 That fraction is improper, so ignore the 1 for now and do the same thing: 4/3 = 3/3 + ?/3 4 = 3 + ? 4 = 3 + 1 4/3 = 3/3 + 1/3 4/3 = 1 + 1/3 That fraction is proper, so we’re done. Remember to add the 1 we ignored earlier: 1 + 1 + 1/3 = 21/3.